A concept everyone can get behind
By Dean Connley
A healthy, active community is a common goal for any recreation department or municipality. By most accounts, the communities surrounding Geneva Lake, Wis., are active and thriving. In summer, people hike the shore path around the lake, swim at one of the beautiful beaches, run in local marathons, participate in rec-sports leagues, etc. The summers are a busy time with lots of outdoor activities and events to keep everyone busy, but what about the winters?
As winter approaches, the seasonal residents retreat to their big-city communities, and the busy summer towns turn into more traditional “small towns in the country.” It can be a great change of pace for some, but also a struggle to remain active for others. The struggle to encourage adults and even older adults to participate in most winter activities led to the creation of a free Wellness Club to promote fitness classes and engage the community during a slow time of the year.
The Idea
The Wellness Club started as most program ideas do—talking about different segments of the community and reaching out to those not currently engaged in recreation programs. As at any rec center, fitness classes experience a surge around the New Year as most everyone chases their resolution to get healthy. While it’s one thing to get lots of people through the door, it’s quite another to hang onto them. This is where the Wellness Club was born.
The concept was simple: register for free and obtain weekly punch cards. Each punch card had each fitness and nutrition class offered for the week. Once one completed a class or a workout, the instructor or supervisor would punch the card using a heart-shaped punch. At the end of each week, participants turned in their card and claimed prizes from the recreation office. Every three punches earned the next prize. This eight-week program ran from the beginning of January to the beginning of March. With an outline for the program, the next step was to seek out experts in the field.