Health-and-Fitness online information.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger found himself surrounded by sports and fitness luminaries, plus a mouse, a duck, a dog and the most upbeat group of kids this side of a Mentos commercial. At the event, watched by thousands, Schwarzenegger launched the California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

The Get Active California Celebration, hosted by the Walt Disney Company at its California Adventure park, was attended not just by representatives of the Disney franchise, including Mickey, Donald. Goofy and Buzz Lightyear, but also by flesh-and-blood icons. They included perennially fit Jack LaLanne, baseball legend Reggie Jackson. 1998 U.S. Open tennis champ Lindsay Davenport, skateboarder Tony Hawk, figure skater Michelle Kwan, U.S. soccer player Julie Foudy and gymnast Peter Vidmar.

These sports figures, plus an impressive roster of others, have been enlisted by Governor Schwarzenegger to help spread the word to Californians, via the new nonprofit organization, that getting healthy and fit is a worthwhile goal.

Governor Schwarzenegger will assume the role of honorary chairman of the newly formed council, but Evercore Partners president and cofounder Austin Beutner will act as its official chairman and guiding force. (Evercore is the holding company of AMI, which publishes the magazine you're now reading.) In a speech at the celebration, Beutner stressed the importance of maintaining an active lifestyle and pointed out both the short- and long-term benefits of physical activity.

Schwarzenegger and Beutner have been joined in this endeavor by Vidmar, Davenport, Foudy, Hawk, Jackson, Kwan and LaLanne, plus other famous fitness board and council members, including Debbie Allen, Misty May, Jerry Rice, Serena Williams and John Wooden.

In his address at the event, Schwarzenegger, who knows a thing or two about living an active lifestyle, declared, "Nowhere on earth will you find greater opportunities to lead healthy and active lifestyles than right here in California. With the new Active California program working in partnership with the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, we're going to do even more to improve the health and well-being of all Californians."

Active California, or ActiveCA, is a program sponsored by the fitness council, and it is designed to encourage residents to take up some form of exercise at least three days a week. It's supported by a comprehensive Web site (www.activeca.org), which provides educational and motivational resources for those looking to take Schwarzenegger's worthwhile advice.

California "first lady" Maria Shriver joined her husband at the podium at the celebration of the fitness council's launch. Members of the Schwarzenegger brood were spotted in the audience, undoubtedly awaiting the moment when mom and dad would give them permission to launch themselves on a roller-coaster ride.

FLEX magazine would like to thank Governor Schwarzenegger, Mr. Beutner and all of the council members and directors on the board of the California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports for creating this worthwhile organization and for helping spread the message that muscle and fitness isn't just the name of our sister publication, it's a goal worthy of every Californian and every person everywhere.