Walking In Wellness
Tony Knotts Leads Annual Fitness Walk
By Raoul Dennis // PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALICIA ADAMS
Sometime around the start of the New Year, Tony Knotts got started in planning the Annual Tony Knotts Healthy Living Walk. He and wife Wanda, now a sponsor of the event, had no intention of letting a global pandemic push their plans to the curb.
The walk, now in its fifth year according to Knotts, is developing as part of his legacy. The former public servant served eight years on The Prince George’s County Council (2002 -2010). Under his watch over district 8, National Harbor was green lighted and developed. More recently as a district 26 delegate at the Maryland State House of Delegates between 2015 and 2019.
But the fact is the county is recovering from the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although Prince George’s County recently reached a vaccination milestone at serving some 300,000 residents, the county is still struggling to reach a level of normalcy.
For Knotts, a former U.S. Marine, the walk and wellness is all the more important.
“You have to get back to what you can control,” Knotts said after the eight-mile walk on April 30. “Every year my wife and I do healthy walks. This pandemic started painting restrictions on everybody. You have to get back to what you control. You control your health.”
Tony and Wanda are up and out each day by 5 a.m. for their own walk. He says the annual walk is an effort to get more people in the community to participate and that this year was especially high energy because people were anxious to get out of the house.
“We had great weather, no rain. The interest was there and we were good to go.”
Some 50 people joined the walk on the blustery morning and followed the paved trail from the children’s carousel that led to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. The group crossed the bridge and returned by 9:30 a.m.
Knotts was pleased with the walk. “We had a lot of good folks although there was a good wind out there. But it went well. We helped people to focus on what’s important in their life and in order to extend their life – and that is good health. So, I think it went well.”
Wanda Knotts is the founder of Wanda’s Hope Klozet – a non-profit that gives food and clothing to those in need in the region. The organization was one of the sponsors of the walk event.
When asked if the former elected official was running for anything besides good health, Knotts laughed and replied “Sure, I’m running to enjoy my upcoming 70th birthday. I will be in shape for whatever I do.”
Knotts said that the county has been moving in a good direction.
“I think everything is going well,” said the former delegate. “Decisions are being made in the best interests of the county and I have no complaints.”
