The Massachusetts Partnership for Healthy Communities held its first Mass Forum training session in Southeastern Massachusetts at Taber House on the St. Luke's Hospital campus in New Bedford on October 20, 2009. Participants from both Fall River and New Bedford organizations joined Mass Partnership director Peter Lee for the first of nine monthly sessions scheduled between October 2009 and May, 2010. Mass Forum trainings are provided every year by the Partnership in order to provide a knowledge base, skill training and team building for groups around the Commonwealth who are engaged in projects to build healthier communities. Many of the participants in the Southeastern group are part of the ACHIEVE project that will work to build a cohesive network of across seventeen communities in the South Coast. For more information about the Forum, contact Peter Lee at 617-279-2269. (Photos courtesy of Ron O'Connor)

(Top row, left and center) Massachusetts Partnership for Healthy Communities director Peter Lee leads a warm-up exercise on the lawn of the Tabor House. (Top row, right) Fall River Children In Balance project manager Marcia Picard and UMass Extension Nutrition Education Program Director Pat Bebo listen to the instructions. (Middle row, left) SE Mass Hunger Commission program director William Shell looks at the question to which he is to respond before tossing the ball to the next person in the group. (Middle row, center) Lynda Sampson of Citizens for Citizens, Sarah Freire, Donna Querim and Amanda Szot of Southcoast Hospitals, Marcia Picard, Bill Shell, Kerry Mello of Southcoast Hospitals, Pat Bebo, Nancy Bonell of Southcoast YMCA, Judith Coykendall, Jim Rattray of Southcoast Hospitals, Ron O'Connor of the Southeast Office of the Department of Public Health, and Pauline Hamel gather for a group photo before going inside. (Bottom row, left) Partners for Clean Air coordinator Judith Coykendall, New Bedford Mass In Motion coordinator Pauline Hamel and assistant project coordinator and UMass graduate student Sarah Friere listen to the discussion as Stefanie Valovic records the interaction. (Bottom row, right) Massachusetts director of the Office of Healthy Communities Cathy O'Connor listen as Peter poses some questions.