Marshall University Health and the Office of Human Resources sponsored the Health and Wellness Fair, Thursday Oct. 11 in the Don Morris room on campus.

The event aimed to provide students, staff and alumni with opportunities to recognize, understand and take care of their physical health.

Kim Thomas, human resources representative who helped organize the event, said in some cases someone may be unware of a health concern they have, but the Wellness Fair offers a way to discover any potential issues.

Vendors at the event included the Marshall Rec Center, Healthy Connections, MU School of Nursing, West Virginia Army National Guard, Huntington Chiropractic, Studio 8 Yoga, Brown Dog Yoga and more.

Marshall Health provided flu shots to attendees, and Marshall Pharmacy offered the hepatitis A vaccine, both free of charge to staff and students.

Free chair massages were provided by Triade Tech and were a reason some visitors attended the fair.

“I saw this event on Facebook and had to come for the free massages,” Elizabeth Mayes, a senior elementary education major, said.

Kelsey Wood, a Marshall advertising major, said she also came for the chair massages.

Another Marshall student, Jarod Crowder, said he attended for the free flu shots.

Both Wood and Crowder said the convenience of having these services available on campus was important.

“Without this there are a lot of people who probably wouldn’t get flu shots because they don’t have time,” Wood said.

Jim Harris, associate director of Marshall’s Autism Training Center, said he took advantage of the Wellness Fair’s free offerings.

“Healthier employees make better employees,” Harris said. “It’s a way for us MU employees to focus on health so we can better serve the university.”

Thomas said the Wellness Fair has proven to be a success in recent years and will most likely continue in upcoming years.

Gallery • 2 Photos

Sadie Helmick

Visitors to the Health and Wellness Fair receiving free massages.

Meg Keller can be contacted at [email protected].