Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2011 > October > 21 > Entry
Heroes for Health for Marathon Kids at Four Seasons Hotel
Away from cameras and the chance to posture for niche voters, statewide office-holders act differently.
On repeated occasions, I’ve found State Attorney General Greg Abbott, for instance, more informal, less forced. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is transparently compassionate, reflective. U.S. Senator John Cornyn comes across as balanced, equitable.
Gov. Rick Perry is as energetic is he appears on TV, but, in my experience, less gracious. (He’s the only politician to turn his back on me deliberately during a casual, social conversation.)
Susan Combs and Dianne Delisi
These are but fleeting impressions. I don’t claim they offer insight. Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Susan Combs, however, is infinitely more interesting in person than when making an official announcement on camera. She has a nimble wit and a conversational style that’s as animated as it is engaging. She’s comfortable in her skin, which is so rare among politicians.
Andrea McWilliams and U.S. Congressman Lamar Smith
Marathon Kids honored Combs this week at the Four Seasons Hotel for her work on behalf of Texans’ health and fitness. The more I read, the more I discover what a pioneer she was fighting the junk food and soft drink dealers that held the state’s schools in a stranglehold through preferential contracts that often cost the schools more, while providing less nutrition for students.
Joe Ross and Christina Pesek
Combs was not the only wielder of power at the dinner. Dianne Delisi, former state representative and now senior policy advisor at Delisi Communications — also a top Perry advisor — helped introduce Combs, while Dr. Eduardo Sanchez, vice president and chief medical officer for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas and previous Texas Commissioner of Health, recounted how he and Combs teamed up during those figurative food fights.
The ongoing hero of these events, however, is Kay Morris, the former dancer who figured out she could motivate students to move by spreading out the equivalent of a marathon race over months, and by creating a simple, color-coded process for recording and rewarding the addition of fruits and vegetables to their diets. Hundreds of thousands of kids have benefited from the Morris’ Austin-based program.
At our table, we tried to eat healthy.
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