By JACK FISHER
Columnist
Don’t read this if you already are in such good condition that you don’t need or want any improvement.
At the last Northwestern Foundation dinner, Skeeter Bird suggested that everyone should meet the staff at the J. R. Holder Wellness Center.
Now the staff is sponsoring a spring competition that accepts registration until April 22. The details of the competition are available at the Wellness Center.
I paid the $10 entry fee last fall for the fall event just to get the tee shirt. (I didn’t plan to actually compete.) Here is my opinion of the project: The staff was encouraging, helpful, educational and friendly. In fact, they are that way every day. They treated me like somebody important. In fact, they treat everyone that way.
They gave me a tee shirt as a prize for being the oldest person in the contest. I was already in almost perfect physical condition because of heart repairs, but the prize certainly helped my attitude.
There is space and equipment enough for more people to be members at the Wellness center so I thought it might be easier for the public to join if they knew some details.
The first thing is bring indoor sneakers. The shoes don’t have to be new, but no mud, etc. You are given a locker key to keep the outdoor shoes, coats, etc while you are exercising.
Then, when you leave the building, you change to the outdoor shoes, return the key to the staff and put your sneakers in your car for the next time. I embarrassed myself the first time by misunderstanding the system. But that is another story.
The walking/jogging track is synthetic material that needs to be kept clean and a good start for that is not to track in mud, snow, etc. if we ever get any.
The members learn that there are certain exercise machines that they like to use at certain times, so there is a signup sheet at a small table to put your initials for that time. There are many TV screens with plenty of remote controls in case you run out of sometime to discuss with nearby ‘athletes’.
The heated swimming pool is fun and especially important to members who need water exercises. The pool has its own set of lockers.
Rooms along the north and west sides are used for student classes, exercises groups, racquetball, etc. There is a nice parking lot on the north side of the building and when you join you will be given a parking sticker for your car.
Memberships are for one day or a year. To try it out for one day it is $10 but that is deducted if you decide to try it for a month at $25. I pay $125 for half a year so I don’t have to write a check every month.
For years I planned to join the Wellness Center but didn’t until several disasters hit, and friends told me I needed everything the Center had to offer. I hope you don’t need a disaster to get your attention.
Hours of operation: Monday-Friday 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. J. R. Holder has been involved with wellness of the local citizens for a number of years.