Several residents of The Stayton at Museum Way retirement community in Fort Worth, joined by a few staff members, recently took a trip to the mayor’s office and presented Mayor Betsy Price with a special card that residents signed, a Stayton t-shirt and a bottle of red wine with a wine glass to congratulate her on the recent success of completing The Mayor’s Triathlon in Fort Worth for the second time. When the senior residents heard about Price finishing in second place in the recent triathlon for the women’s 65-99 age group, they wanted to be sure she knew how proud and inspired they were by this feat. The triathlon included a 300-yard pool swim, a 13-mile bike ride and a 3.1-mile run, which Price completed in 1 hour, 41 minutes, 48 seconds. The Stayton residents wholeheartedly embrace the concept of staying active through the aging process and appreciate seeing their own mayor do the same as she competes regularly in 5Ks, 10Ks and bike races as well as other triathlons.

“I was honored to receive the card and gifts from The Stayton retirement community,” said Price. “It means a lot to know that what I’m doing throughout Fort Worth is making a positive impact on the citizens I serve. I enjoy collaborating with The Stayton whenever possible and am glad to know that the residents there are just as determined as I am to age successfully and stay active.”

Residents of The Stayton at Museum Way have been inspired by the mayor’s efforts to encourage the community at large to develop healthy lifestyle habits for years. They previously participated in the mayor’s FitWorth program by joining her in a fitness walk, and The Stayton is participating in the community-wide well-being improvement initiative to make the city of Fort Worth a Blue Zones Community^® by going through the process to become a designated Blue Zones Project Worksite. Additionally, as part of the retirement community’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s Kick-Off Event, The Stayton will be joined by Price as a guest speaker.

“We all feel grateful to have a mayor who promotes the importance of maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle,” said Kay Smith, a remarkably active resident of The Stayton at Museum Way in her 90s. “But more importantly, we feel inspired to see her practicing what she preaches throughout the community and participating in events like this. She is a spectacular example to follow in life, and we were excited and privileged to let her know that in person during our recent visit to her office. It was truly wonderful meeting with her.”

The Stayton incorporates The Masterpiece Living^® philosophy into daily living at the retirement community. The Masterpiece Living program is an innovative, scientific research-based program and a direct descendent of the MacArthur Foundation Study on Aging that is personally customized to help individuals age well and break the stereotypes that surround older adults. Each resident receives a Lifestyle Review in all four areas of health – physical, intellectual, social and spiritual – and The Stayton staff recommends ways each resident can maintain balance in each category.

“We at The Stayton love to keep up with the projects and events that Mayor Price promotes and participates in because her message of encouragement to the entire city of Fort Worth about making healthy lifestyle choices coincides perfectly with our Masterpiece Living philosophy and the message that we share with our residents and staff members,” said Scott Polzin, executive director of The Stayton. “Our residents embrace this new stage of life in retirement as they try new exercise classes or menu items and ultimately keep moving and staying involved. It’s always uplifting for our residents to see that lifestyle reinforced by the mayor herself.”