Head of Paso Del Norte Health Foundation retires

you rember this jingle! “walk el paso walk! 20 minutes day, three times a week!” who could forget this campaign to get el pasoans off the couch and out on the streets? the paso del norte health foundation was behind the ad campaign and others, aimed at bettering our lives in the borderland. one woman in particular was the driving force behind those catchy ads. her name is myrna deckert. tonight, abc-seven confirms she’s stepping down from her position. abc-7’s darren hunt is live with the story … darren. rick and estela, deckert assured me she is doing well after having lung transplant surgery about a year ago … but she and her husband feel the time has come to spend more time with their children and grandchildren. “my proudest accomplishments ar the people who have come together to make this foundation what it is … ” myrna deckert has been c-e-o of the paso del norte health foundation since 2007. but her public service in the region stretches back much further than that. “how many years of public service, all told?” “don’t even ask me that, then i’ll be telling my age … ” “well that was going to be my next question … they say never ask a lady her age, but how young are you? can you tell us that?” “uh, 29 .” the foundation has awarded more than 145 million in grants since 1995. in nearly a half century of public service, deckert has been behind many campaigns at the foundation like “walk el paso walk ” and t kids no- smoking campaign “live outsid the pack” “if you mess with one of us, yo mess with all of us … my rule, live outside the pack!” “it’s the largest foundation, private foundation, on the entire us/mexican border and that gives us a tremendous amount of responsibility to do things right.” “certainly myrna has done amazing things and is constantly focusing the attention on those around her but we know that she is just an amazing instigator in everything she does.” carolyn mora, the chair health foundation board, says deckert will remain c-e-o until another is found, but the search begins immediately. “i think a big part of what myrna does is the collaboration effort, she’s brought people to the table that would normally never sit together to discuss any issue much less the complex issues of health that we deal with in our community.” deckert told me she will remain an el pasoan, since she’s in love with our beautiful mountains … but she will now split time between here and baton rouge, louisiana, where many of her grandchildren live. i speak for everyone here in wishing myrna the best of luck in retirement! rick and estela. el paso water utilities says it wants to secure water for future el