The annual WalkAmerica event, sponsored by the March of Dimes was held Saturday at the Altus Community Center. The walk itself began shortly after 9 a.m. followed by refreshments of hot dogs and cold drinks for the participants, followed by an awards presentation and a teddy bear auction.

Tracy Mayweather, the division director for the March of Dimes,Wichita Mountains Division, handles all of Southwest Oklahoma. She recruits local businesses for fundraising activities, some of which create teams. Individual donations are also raised through bake sales. Most monies are turned in prior to the walk event. This year's proceeds have exceeded last year's significantly, according to Mayweather.

This year's committee members for WalkAmerica were Donna James, Kim Miller, Nancy Young, Rosalind Hall, Jennifer Nolan, Mary Lambert, Carla Fancher and Mary Tolliver. Eleven businesses had teams, but several other businesses supported. The Top Walker awards were given to Terry Kratz with $445 and Joe Lally with $420, who earned a penny a pin while bowling. "It is you, the individuals, who make this all happen," Mayweather said. The Top Team award went to Boeing from Altus AFB.

The March of Dimes is an organization that was originally established in the 1930's by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in order to search for a cure for polio. It has come a long way since helping in the effort to prevent birth defects. The campaign over the last five years has been about folic acid. The new campaign this year and for the next five years concerns prematurity and will concentrate on what causes this problem.