By Kierra Sondereker, For The Miami Student
The Oxford community now has a physical embodiment of health awareness in the form of mascot Rox the Fox - created by the Talawanda School District and McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital. While the mascot is new, the idea for it began two years ago.
In 2014, a coalition for healthy communities across the nation set up work groups in different areas in order to assess and address community health needs. These groups focused on three specific aspects: alcohol and other drugs, mental health and obesity prevention and reduction.
Director of Employee and Community Wellness at McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital, Sharon Klein, and Health and Wellness Coordinator for the Talawanda School District, Amy Macechko, teamed up through the Oxford obesity work group in order to find a positive, inviting approach to the topic of obesity prevention.
"We're working with one of our coalition members and a professor at the university and some of her students to do an initial assessment just on awareness and recognition," Macechko said.
From this came an idea for a social marketing campaign, which Klein and Macechko first witnessed in a similar health awareness program in a Kansas community.
A contest was held at Talawanda Middle School in which students were given free reign to design a logo, slogan or mascot that would encompass the idea of healthy living. The winner of this contest was revealed in October 2014.
Created by eighth grader Autumn Tyler, Rox the Fox became the mascot for Oxford's new health awareness initiative.
"There were a few ideas, but Autumn's stood out as just very thoughtful," Macechko said. "She was really going for what our vision was."
A trip to a graphic designer brought Rox out of Tyler's imagination and onto paper, but a costume designer allowed the mascot to come to life. The physical mascot was first introduced to Oxford during a community walk in Uptown park.
Rox the Fox has become an integral part of health awareness throughout the entire Oxford community and has gained considerable popularity despite being relatively new.
The mascot has participated in events ranging from a Miami University women's basketball game to being a judge for a local Halloween costume party.
Miami University's Assistant Director of Benefits and Wellness, Cassie Wilson, recently worked with Rox the Fox on Miami's Benefits and Wellness Fair and is excited about the progress the community coalition is making.
"They're promoting health in a lot of different ways and to have Rox there giving people a visual, an actual mascot dedicated to the health of our community, was really good," Wilson said. "I think a lot of people at Miami are used to seeing Swoop, but now they're seeing a different type of mascot and it just creates a lot of dialogue around the community health work that Miami and the coalition does."
Rox the Fox advocates for a broad and diverse spectrum of health awareness, despite originating from the obesity prevention work group, and was made to appeal to all ages of the community. The mascot is often tied to simple, albeit important, health habits such as wearing a seatbelt or washing hands - giving the subject of health an element of fun for younger students and acting as what Klein refers to as a "rock star" in the grade school and elementary schools.
"We want the image that if you see Rox, you know a healthy choice is being made or something healthy is happening," said Klein. "Even though he came out of the obesity prevention, he'll still be for mental health and alcohol and drugs."
Both Klein and Macechko have visions of Rox the Fox being in grocery stores and on menus in restaurants, indicating healthy options and decisions throughout the community.
Klein commended the success of Rox thus far, especially in relation to the huge impact the mascot has had on the Talawanda School District.
The Oxford health initiative coalition hopes to continue the mascots progress and make him a permanent fixture in the community.
"I don't know if his novelty will eventually wear off," Wilson said. "But right now he's definitely continuing to grow in popularity."