“I have been here five years!” remarks Jen Tait. “I started in the midst of COVID. Things at the fitness club were much different than they are today. Sue Ellen Thompson and I ran the whole thing. We limited the number of people in our classes, provided Zoom classes, wore masks, and closed the gym every 50 minutes to clean and disinfect all the surfaces.” she muses.
Now, look at us! In a few short years, we’ve grown to over 850 members. We’ve also grown the team! We have five friendly faces at the front desk, as well as more aerobics, aqua aerobics, yoga, and pilates instructors. We now offer special sessions on the courts and in the classroom, like tai chi and line dancing. Did you know we now have a court maintenance person to keep our tennis and pickleball courts spick-and-span? We’ve recruited a fantastic crew of volunteers who help teach, do repairs, and do heavy lifting. We even enlisted a volunteer photographer, Ted Schindler. Ted takes the great photos you see in our bi-weekly newsletter and some in The Beacon.
Inside the Fitness Club, we’ve made several recent improvements. Our fundraising efforts (community tag sales) allowed us to update both restrooms with new vanities, sinks, and mirrors. Since we’ve raised the bar (get it?) on our member’s fitness levels, we’ve added a pull-up station, The Beast, and a new treadmill is arriving soon! When you step inside the club, you’ll see an updated front desk too.
On the outside, we’ve recently repainted, replanted, and installed new roofs on the club and the swim building. Our landscaping looks great with the addition of new lighting, new umbrellas, and a new covered tennis viewing area.
The stupendous Leigh Anne Hall will be stepping into Jen’s old shoes. And speaking of old shoes, we are always collecting donations of gently used sports shoes for the tennis subcommittee’s Sneaker Recycling Fundraiser, Just drop them off in the bin in the lobby and they are sent to GotSneakers (https://gotsneakers.com/) where they are sanitized, restored and cleaned to be sold to the thrift community markets in Latin America and the Caribbean. Worn-out shoes are responsibly recycled. To keep our community healthy, we collect for Toys for Tots and our local food banks.
“I have loved my time here. I have made so many amazing friends. My plans? I’m sticking around to work out, take classes and, of course, play lots of pickleball.”
Thank you, Jen, for helping to create the Fitness Club experience we all know and love. Thank you and your staff for fostering friendship. We appreciate you.
Tennis
BSM tennis players had lots of fun at February’s All About the Love Tournament and Social. We had 32 players in the mixed doubles tournament. It got a little rowdy with lots of cheering with the grandstand full of fans. The players were divided into 2 divisions. The winners of the Agassi Division were Jay Penney and Lori Brandt. The winners of the Graf Division were Clif Behney and Cheri Frank. When the matches concluded, Mission BBQ served their delicious fare.
Our February Clinic was a smash. Led by Jay Penny, BSM Tennis Pro, and Mark Walker, 16 tennis players participated in the high-intensity workout. Designed to keep the heart rate up for the hour-long session, drills, agility, strategy, and exercises kept our players on their toes.
Pickleball
Our pickleballers hosted their first Major League Pickleball Team Tournament. Not only was it fun to play with a team in a new type of scoring, but it really brought out the best in our players. Congrats to the winners, and to everyone who enjoyed Steve’s (and Kathy’s) barbeque dinner.
Pickleball
AND VAL O’BRIEN
MICHAEL GESKE
KELLY KELING, BOB VANDERLOO
Tennis
