Emerging Issues Forum

Pulled a shift staffing the media check-in table at the Emerging Issues Forum hosted by NC State yesterday. One of the perks was getting to attend a luncheon where the keynote speaker was former cabinet member to Pres. Bush Tommy Thompson, outgoing Health and Human Services Secretary and former governor of Wisconsin.

The theme of the forum focused on health care, and Thompson's remarks dealt with shifting the focus of health care in the United States to more of an emphasis on preventive care. He gave an interesting speech and spoke of some of the initiatives he instituted in his own department as secretary, such as fighting for healthy dining options in the office cafeteria, giving all employees padometers, having them paint pictures on the stairwell and piping music in the stairwells to encourage people to walk more. I guess I found the talk so interesting since I've become a quasi-health nut over the past few years. After the speech, I also had a chance to see North Carolina's former governor, Jim Hunt.