About 850 participants were expected at Saturday’s American Heart Association’s Jones County Start! Heart Walk, but Friday night’s heavy rain and early Saturday morning showers reduced the number of participants to about 350.

“That’s a good number for us, especially considering what we were faced with,” said Becky Ginn, the American Heart Association’s Vice President of Field Services. “We were under a tornado watch for much of Friday.

“It was pouring down rain when I got here at 6 a.m. to set up,” she added. “It slowed us down a little, but everything is going well.”

Ginn added that Jones County residents have always been supportive of heart walks in their community. Ginn said she does eight walks a year and Jones County tops them all.

“The community here always backs what you are trying to do,” she said. “You can easily tell the people here love their community and they love each other. That’s why I believe we have been so successful here.”

Ginn added that Jones County residents are so committed that many of them showed up at 6 a.m. Saturday anxious to do whatever they could to help. “They were here bright and early asking, ‘What can I do?’ ‘Do you need me to do this?’ ‘Do you need me to do that?’

“I appreciate them all,” said Ginn.

The walk, which was initially scheduled to start at 7:30 a.m., got under way at about 8:30 a.m. It was held at the Jones County Junior College Bobcat Practice Field. Jones County Sheriff Alex Hodge served as chairman of the event, with JCJC President, Dr. Jesse Smith, slated to take over the reign of chairman at next year’s event.

“Thank you for being here today,” Smith told the crowd. “Your participation shows a true commitment to stepping out and saving lives.

“We are here today to celebrate our success in raising contributions to benefit the American Heart Association. It is the mission of the Heart Association to build healthier lives free of cardiovascular disease and stroke.”

Smith added that the college is honored to help the Jones County community by promoting awareness and raising funds to address a disease that has affected every family in the community.

Ginn noted that 48 percent of the deaths in Jones County are the result of heart disease. “With the funds raised through this walk, we have money to fund more research to save lives,” she said. “Through this walk, we are also able to touch more people in the community and make them more aware of heart disease.”

David Townsend, coordinator of the program at South Central Regional Medical Center, said heart disease is perhaps the No. 1 killer in Mississippi. He noted that contributing factors are genetics.

“On top of heart disease is obesity,” explained Townsend. “Mississippi is now the most obese state in the nation.

“The best way to combat obesity and heart disease is diet and exercise. I suggest that people exercise at least 30 minutes for a minimum of two days a week.” However, Townsend noted that there is no maximum amount of exercise.