We worked hard on it, but the Legislature did not respond. We had some support but many of (legislators) were not as interested in the initiative as we wanted them to be.

They are preventable causes of death and as physicians, we think it's important.

For the most part, people have been supportive. I estimate about 75 to 80 percent of the people we ask actually sign the petition. It's getting close now.

We love Vermont and we love the support its communities have given us. We wanted to design a tour that covered the state geographically, but more importantly, made stops in some of our favorite towns.

Philanthropic support for this program has been fantastic.

The way I think about it is that fitness changes the building blocks -- the structure and function -- that support numerous cognitive abilities.