This article describes how the Community Readiness Model was used to initiate childhood obesity prevention in Union County, a rural county in the state of Oregon. The purposes for which the model was utilized were: (1) to determine Union County's stage of readiness to prevent childhood obesity, (2) to identify community members with expertise or interest in children's nutrition and/or physical activity who were willing to serve on a prevention coalition, (3) to engage these community members in developing strategies to increase the county's level of readiness, and (4) to gather qualitative data on community strengths and barriers that could facilitate or hinder the development of an obesity prevention program.