Polk Fit, Fresh and Friendly will hold their general meeting on Thursday at the Polk County Library at noon. 

The club will host Marla Browne, NC 2-1-1 Director for United Way of Asheville Call Center, as its speaker. Browne will present information on the NC 2-1-1- program. 

NC 2-1-1 is an information and referral service, accessible via an easy-to-remember, three-digit number. Families and individuals can call to obtain free and confidential information on health and human services and resources within their community. 

Prior to Marla’s employment in North Carolina, Marla served as a 2-1-1 Coordinator in Alabama, and was on the team that built the statewide 2-1-1 system in Alabama. 

As part of that team, Marla worked closely with emergency management and VOAD to assist in mock and real disasters, and served at the state EOC in response to the 2011 tornado outbreak in Alabama. Marla currently directs the three-time nationally accredited NC 2-1-1 call center that serves the 16 most western counties in North Carolina. 

She served on the team that responded to Hurricane Matthew and holds a CIRS Certified Information and Referral Specialist certification. 

Polk Fit, Fresh, and Friendly meets on the fourth Thursday of every other month from noon to 1 p.m. at the Polk County Library. We invite anyone that may have a passion for health and wellness to join us. 

For more information on PF3 contact Buffy Ashmore, coalition coordinator at 828-894-8271, ext. 222, or find us on the web at www.polkfitfreshandfriendly.org.

-Submitted by Buffy Ashmore