Issuu

The January 31 snow lef t t he Y wit h a f resh new look.

February 2021

P. 2: WHAT IS OPEN?

P. 3: VERA FLINT: WALKING BACK P. 4: STAYING OUTSIDE P. 6: ROBERTA PATTERSON: GIVING BACK P. 9: PERFECTING THE PLAYLIST P. 10: ANTHONY BOWEN: BLACK HISTORY MONTH P. 12: GROUP EXERCISE SCHEDULE

NEWSLETTER

STAUNTON- AUGUSTA FAMILY YMCA

WHAT IS OPEN HERE AT THE STAUNTON- AUGUSTA FAMILY YMCA? Hours: Mon. - Fri. 5:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m., Sat . 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. and Sun. 1:00 pm - 7:00 p.m. Due t o t he recent spikes in COVID cases in our area, we have decided t o maint ain t he f ollowing procedures and will not be opening addit ional part s of t he f acilit y at t his t ime. Wellness Cent er - no appointments needed. Equipment is spread out in the weight room and on half of the basketball court. Available to members 15 and older. We ask that members sanitize equipment before and after use. Pool: Lap Swimming - by 45- minute appointments available on the hour Family Swim - by 45- minute appointments available on the hour Group Fit ness Classes - by appointment. Limited class size. Virt ual Group Fit ness Classes (Wellbeat s) - by appointment. Limited class size. Playroom - limited availability in 1.5 hour appointments for ages 2 years - 10 years old on Mondays and Wednesday: 4:30 - 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. - noon. Children are required to wear masks while in the playroom. Raquet ball Court s and Basket ball Court s can be reserved for 45 minutes on the hour. For Individual or Family play. No competitive play. Please bring everything you will need. Tennis Court is available for use. The water cooler has been removed. Please make an appointment to play as times are limited. Please bring everything you will need. The Teen Cent er is closed - Used for students enrolled in Student Support Center. Members 14 and under must be accompanied by a responsible adult member. Family Locker Rooms are available. Masks are required as you move around the building and in between pieces of equipment. Social Dist ancing is 6 feet around the building. 10 feet while you are exercising. We are t aking t he t emperat ures of everyone entering the building. We are also asking screening quest ions. Wat er Fount ains are not available. Bottle Fillers are available. Please not e t hat t here are new t raf f ic pat t erns around t he building. Towel service is not available.

VERA FLINT: WALKING HER WAY BACK Vera Flint loves telling people that exercise is key.

Flint has over nine decades worth of proof.

laughing. ?I just love being out in the air, seeing trees blossom and all the nature stuff. I dress for the weather. The only time I don?t walk is when there?s ice. I broke all the bones on my side one year.?

After breaking her femur in June of 2020, Flint, who turns 92 on Feb. 17th, is right back in all of her normal exercise routines.

After her walk, Flint will often follow up with a trip to the YMCA. Byrd, who also teaches aquatics classes at the YMCA, first met Flint in a class.

?She?s a die- hard fitness person,? said Carol Byrd, active older adults coordinator at the Staunton- Augusta Family YMCA. ?She can tell you without even a blink of an eye that because she?s exercised all of her life ? or most of it ? when she has falling or had different things going on health wise, she?s been able to bounce back. She?s maintained her exercise schedule.?

?She?s always energetic and ready to go out,? Byrd said. ?She?s not one to sit around and twiddle her thumbs. She?s just an amazing lady that I?ve had the privilege of knowing.?

She should know.

Since moving to the area 16 years ago, Flint walks daily around Gypsy Hill Park before coming to the YMCA.

Flint has no plans to stop walking, visiting the Y, or preaching the virtues of physical fitness. ?Exercise, exercise, exercise,? Flint said. ?You?ll live a long time.?

?I used to do two laps,? Flint said, ?but then I got old.? In that 16- year span, she?s walked the equivalent of a round- trip to her previous homes in both Boston and California. ?I walk by myself, because I walk slow,? Flint said,

STAYING OUTSIDE

Cathy Leonard is giving whole new meaning to the word warm- ups. A longtime group fitness instructor at the Staunton- Augusta Family YMCA, Leonard and other instructors moved their classes outside in the late spring when the YMCA shut its doors as a COVID response.

8:30 (am), and realized it was too cold, so we changed the time to 11:00 (am), and it?s worked out very well. There?s only been a cancellation twice for weather. Otherwise, the class has been full.? Staying outdoors helped Leonard navigate keeping her exercise routine and coronavirus precautions.

Nine months later, Leonard and the Fit For Life crew are still exercising outdoors throughout the winter months.

?I just kept looking at them like, Hey, ?I?ll be here all winter,?? Leonard said. ?They looked at me like, ?Really?? And I was like, ?Yeah, I really will.??

The weather is no hindrance if you layer properly.

Shutty believes it?s been a success.

?Before class, we always discuss how many layers we have one,? Leonard said, laughing. ?You do warm up. People end up taking off their gloves and their vests. Everyone just loves the fresh air and sunshine. These ladies are absolutely amazing. They?re dressed warmly, and they come all the time.?

?I love that Cathy enjoys doing her class outside and is willing to do that ?extra?for our members,? the fitness director said. ?I?m also very confident in her ability to make adaptations due to the weather in the best interest of her class members. She would not put them at risk. That is what makes her and all of our instructors so good at what they do at our Y. They put our member?s health at the forefront.?

YMCA fitness director Wendy Shutty says winter outdoor fitness classes are fine for most people. ?Dressing appropriately, hydrating and monitoring the body will help to acclimate folks to exercising in cooler temperatures,? Shutty said. ?Of course, those who have underlying conditions such as asthma or heart disease should definitely monitor themselves and get permission from a physician prior to beginning an exercise program outdoors in cooler air.? Although the location hasn?t changed, Leonard has moved the time around a bit to optimize the weather. ?We?ve gone through changes,? Leonard said. ?We started off as an 8:30 (am) class. When it started getting warmer in the summer, we changed to 7:30 (am) to make it a little bit cooler. This fall, We went back to

OUR GROUP EXERCISE INSTRUCTORS WILL GET YOU MOVING INSIDE, TOO!

ROBERTA PATTERSON: CHOOSING TO GIVE BACK BY TUTORING By Chris Lassit er Roberta Patterson knows personally the difference a tutor can make. Before she was received her electrical engineering master?s degree from Cal State Northridge, Patterson, a volunteer with the SAW Tutoring Network, was a third- grader who couldn?t read. ?They didn?t know what dyslexia was when I was in school,? said Patterson, who grew up in Buffalo, NY. ?When I was in school, I couldn?t read. I couldn?t really read to my grade (level) until I was 12. It was very traumatic. Kids knew who the good readers were, and who couldn?t read. It was just assumed you weren?t very smart if you couldn?t read. It was quite hard on me.? In Patterson?s story, a little help made all the difference. ?My parents got me private tutors, and also the state school that taught teachers did a summer program,? Patterson said. ?In the summer, I went there to be coached in reading. It took some time, but by the time I was 12 or 13, I knew I can read.? That led to what Patterson describes at Rocky Balboa moment. ?If you?ve seen Rocky, the library in Buffalo is not as big as

the Philadelphia Library, but it?s built in that style,? she said. ?I remember getting a book out of the library when I was 12 or 13, and standing at the top of the stairs with this Rocky attitude like, ?I can read this book!?? ?GIRLS CAN DO MATH!? Reading wasn?t the only academic challenge Patterson faced. She was a math whiz, but she grew up in an area when females were discouraged from studying mathematics. ?Unfortunately, I was told back in the 50s that girls couldn?t do math,? Patterson said. ?It was very discouraging. Girls weren?t allowed in drafting or technical drawing classes. They couldn?t go to the technical high school. It was assumed that girls couldn?t do that. And even if we fought it in public education, no one in 1962 would have hired a girl.? Patterson received her nursing degree from D?Youville College in Buffalo. At age 40, however, she was presented the opportunity to do something with her mathematical gifts. ?Cal State Northridge had the Women in Science and Engineering ? the WISE program,? she said. ?It was sponsored by the National Foundation of Sciences. They had grants. The program was to get women with bachelor?s degrees in science working in technology.? 6

GIVING BACK Patterson retired from Thomas Ramo Woolridge (TRW) aerospace corporation as a test engineer. After visiting a friend in Staunton, she thought it?d be a great place to enjoy retirement and far more cost efficient than living in Los Angeles. A few months ago, Patterson learned about SAW Tutoring Network and quickly got involved. She?ll never forget that feeling of standing on top of the library steps with that Nancy Drew book, and she wants to help realize they can learn, too. ?You can?t let other people define you,? Patterson said. ?They may be smart, but smart in different ways. Academic smarts isn?t the only way you could be smart. When I was a kid, that?s how were people were defined.? The retired engineer been a welcome addition to the SAW Tutoring Network. ?Roberta is genuinely concerned for students, and her enthusiasm for the program has made a noticeable difference

to us,? said Sarah Mendonca, founder of the SAW Tutoring Network. ?She is eager to learn about new resources so that she can become more helpful in her tutoring sessions, and she knows from personal experience how powerful this kind of help can be in a child?s development.? Hillary Getsey, the YMCA?s tutoring program coordinator, agrees. ?Roberta is a wonderful asset to our program,? Getsey said. ?We?re so grateful she?s chosen to volunteer with us. She cares deeply about treating each child with dignity and respect, and she is a great tutor and cheerleader for our students.? When Patterson went back to college to pursue her master?s degree at age 40, she?d often receive help from other students half her age. She doesn?t think seeking out tutoring has to be scary. ?It?s OK to ask for help,? Patterson said. ?You?re not too old to ask. You?re not too young to ask.?

GROUP EXERCISE INSTRUCTORS: PERFECTING THE PLAYLIST They?ve perfected the playlist. Group fitness classes are more than a way for YMCA members to burn calories. It?s also an awesome auditory experience. Staunton- Augusta Family YMCA group exercise instructors work hard on curating the right music for each class. ?I learned in one of my classes I take for continuing education credits to use music from the time of your graduation years,? said Peggy Smith, who teaches PACE and aquatic classes at the Y. ?My classes love that music.? Smith also pays close attention to the calendar. ?I try to have all of the holiday theme songs,? she said. Nancy Armstrong is always thinking about matching the ambiance of the mind- body studio. ?I?m always looking for soothing music,? Armstrong said. The playlist curation process is an important part of the class. ?I personally go with my gut most of the time when choosing music,? said Eleanor Rixey, who teaches a variety of classes at the Y, many of which require upbeat music. ?I listen to playlists of different songs created by the Zumba company. When I find one that

that has a catchy melody, or I like the energy behind the rhythms, I usually find myself starting to move. That?s how I know I found the next song for my class.? And, of course, the curation process is different for each type of class. ?For my Senior Fit class, I try to be era specific,? Rixey said, continuing. ?I?m hoping to find songs that may be fun or even a bit nostalgic for the participants in my class.? Fit For Life instructor Cathy Leonard is always on her Apple Music and Pandora apps on her phone. ?I?ll hear a song that I?ve forgotten about or it might be a favorite of mine,? Leonard said. ?I have lists of types of choreography for the cardio section of my class, and I?ll choose the one that matches the beat of the song. These songs must have a fast tempo to increase heart rate.? On the weights, core, cool down and balancing sections of the class, Leonard uses songs with a slower tempo. And she loves to play around with musical themes, too. ?I like variety,? Leonard said. ?I always change up my playlists so I won?t get bored.? 9

THE Y CELEBRATES BLACK HISTORY MONTH: ANTHONY BOWEN