The 33rd National Wellness Conference is underway in Stevens Point, attracting people from all around the world on issues of individual and environmental wellness.

Wednesday night, the conference welcomed a keynote speaker organizers say has had a huge impact on how we see our environment, Robert F. Kennedy Junior.

Organizers say Kennedy is part of what is making this a very successful conference. "This is one of the best conferences we've ever had”, said Bill Hettler, M.D., the President of the Board of Directors for the National Wellness Institute. “The quality of the speakers, the energy of the participants."

The focus of this year's conference is not only individual wellness, but preserving the wellness of the environment in which we live.

That's a cause Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was named one of the heroes of the planet by Time magazine, says he's fought hard to carry out. "The issues of wellness and health are interconnected with all the environmental issues that I think are preoccupying our country more and more”, Kennedy said. “Particularly our addiction to fossil fuels, oil, and coal."

In his keynote address, Kennedy focused on what he calls our Country's current dependence on others, and how he says becoming energy independent can affect nearly every aspect of our lives. “We can reduce our national debt, improve economic security, our environmental health, the prosperity of our children, and our good health”, Kennedy said.

Organizers say attracting speakers with the track record and influence of Kennedy is a sign that the wellness conference is doing quite well itself. "This is the largest wellness conference in the world”, said Hettler. “And we now have a large contingent expanding it to an international situation and we're excited about that"

See below for a link to information on this year’s Wellness Conference.