Loose Leaf Notes

-The following first appeared in The Floyd Press on January 25, 2017

“It’s the best thing that ever came to Hillsville,” said Carl Nester, a Carroll Wellness Center (CWC) member.   Nester was in the center’s weight room working-out on a recumbent stepper, a stationary stepper with a back supported seat that the center’s general manager, Greg Hampton (pictured above), describes as the “ideal rehab equipment.”  

The CWC opened in 2004 after a 10-year capital campaign that raised one million dollars to get the project started. “We were profitable from the first year,” said Hampton. He explained that the center is a non-profit venture, run by a board and not subsidized by the County tax base. He noted that Mike Turman’s construction crew was integral in helping make the center a reality.

Today, the center’s primary source of revenue is membership fees, which averages from $30 – $40 a month.    The membership of about 1,200 (or 2,400 individuals) is primarily from Carroll County, but some members are from Galax and Floyd County.  Membership includes everything: unlimited classes with certified trainers, a cross training area, a weight room with state-of-the-art equipment, a six-lane Junior Olympic pool, a warm water therapy pool, a group exercise room, a basketball gym, an elevated walking track, diabetic and cardiac rehabilitation programs, a supervised playroom for children, a snack room and fully equipped locker rooms with saunas.  Day guest passes are available for $5 and less for children.

The center’s pool uses a salt water chlorination system that is less harsh than traditional chlorinated pools.  Water aerobics classes are offered at 9 and 10 a.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The lap lanes are open all day every day.  The only time they aren’t available is the evenings when the local high school swim team practices.

Hampton reported that the center has its own competitive swim team, the Tiger Sharks. The Tiger Sharks and the high school swim team fulfills the vision that the late Randall Gravely, one of the center’s main founders, had for the center. Gravely’s son was a gifted swimmer who had to travel to Blacksburg to train.  His father’s vision was to bring something that wasn’t being offered in Carroll County, and especially a pool.

Recently, the CWC received a $65,000 grant from the Twin County Foundation to expand their Living Healthy with Diabetes and Chronic Disease Program. The grant has enabled the center to purchase four new pieces of rehab equipment, including two new recumbent steppers, like the one Carl Nester works-out on.  “It’s a great opportunity for us to benefit the health of the community,” Hamilton said, adding that physical therapy patients and residents of the Virginia Training Center are transported to the center to utilize its offerings.

Hamilton explained that the Diabetes Program incorporates nutritional education, exercise with a trainer, a support group and pre-and-post exercise blood glucose and blood pressure checks.  “It’s amazing. It works every time,” he said, “if they stick with it.”  There are about 30 – 35 people currently in the program, which also includes some scholarships to those who quality and consists of a free year of membership.

The center serves all ages –individuals, couples and families with children — and has a large senior membership population.  “The good thing about our facility for seniors is not just the physical exercise but the social aspect.”

Everyone that works at the center wears a lot of differerent hats. Teresa Richardson (pictured above with Hampton) works at the front desk is and also the senior program coordinator.  She oversees regular special activities for seniors that take place once a month or more.  Most recently, Richardson helped to host a senior Christmas party and coordinated an outing to a play at the Wohlfahrt Haus Dinner Theatre in Wytheville.  Last spring, the center rented a Sunshine Tour Bus to see the last Barnum and Bailey’s Circus in Charleston, WV.

‘Exercise is nature’s medicine’ is one of Hampton’s favorite mottos.  But the CWC is about even more than that.  On this day, there was a lively pick-up basketball game in the gym, a family was cross-fit-training together, children were playing in the pool, a Body Pump Class was in session and there were smiles on the faces of members in every part of the center.  “If you want to meet people in the community, there’s no better place than here,” Hampton said. – Colleen Redman