AQUA ZUMBA INSANITY!

Below is an email I received this morning from my co-worker, Lisa R.

“Witnessing the legend of Tressa again tonight made me realize that she is a relationship champion in every way!

She connects, exceeds expectations, follows up and truly cares! Her classes create such a buzz that more and more people want to follow her and then they fall in love with her! The setting itself creates opportunities for many connections and relationship building. Tonight all these women who didn’t know each other were pumped up and talking to each other about the class! That’s connecting!

I nominate her to receive the honor at some point.”

Tressa is Living Our Cause and making an impact every single time she steps foot in our Y. She is an inspiration!

Living Our Cause with Livestrong

Livestrong at the Indian Valley Family YMCA suffered our first participant loss yesterday. Lisa lost her battle with cancer, but we are all the better for the time we spent together with her.
Nikki and Danielle were the trainers for Lisa’s LS group, and while we are all saddened by Lisa’s passing, I wanted to especially thank these trainers for adding joy and knowledge to the last few months of Lisa’s life.
Sitting at my desk yesterday morning, listening to Nikki make phone calls to the other participants in Lisa’s LS class, filled me with love and pride.
Nikki offered support and memories, asking each person how they were doing and passing along happier news. With some folks Nikki laughed, with others she cried. It was an honor to ease drop on this sincere moment and watch the Living Our Cause movement come to life before my eyes. Nikki is the type of person who would behave this way anywhere with anyone…I feel singularly blessed as a supervisor and co-worker that Nikki has chosen the Indian Valley Family YMCA to be the place where she shares her gifts of enthusiasm, compassion and unconditional friendship.

Who’s that duck?

My job at the Y is a family affair. This is a picture of my 15 year old son, Aiden, dressed up as Stewey the duck for Healthy Kids day. It may be goofy, but I think he’s Living the Cause!

Serendipity strikes again…

My friend Joel became a member of the YMCA as he transitioned from physical therapy at the ECHN office inside out facility. Over the last year, Joel has built friendships with many YMCA staff and members alike. During this time we hired Hank as our Member Connector to help new members feel comfortable and welcomed and to help build affinity groups.
A while back, Joel and I started talking about creating an “Older Active Adults” group that would support the large number of senior citizens that patronize our facility. I asked Hank to work with Joel to get this idea off the ground, and suggested that Ginny, a Personl Trainer and RTBF coach here, might also be interested in helping and would bring a female perspective to planning stages.
Emails began flying back and forth, but nothing was really coming together…until yesterday…
I bumped into Joel in the hallway and asked him to stop by when he had a chance so we could catch up with each other. Joel did stop by, and then Hank walked in. I invited them to sit down and chat about the OAA group, which they did. Then Celine walked into my office to talk about our Women’s Wellness Retreat that she had attended over the past weekend. I introduced Celine to Hank and Joel, and they immediately asked her ideas and opinions about the OAA group. Celine joined right in.
Have you guessed what happened next? Ginny walked by my office of course, and we all shouted her name to come and join the discussion.
Within 10 minutes, they had a meeting day and time, a chart of work and a kick-off plan. I love it when a program comes together!

Overheard Through A Closed Door

It’s “Payroll Monday” which means that I come into the Y with a glum look on my face, a large cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee, and a promise to myself that when I finish payroll, I can reward myself with an extra handfull of almonds. I love my job, but I HATE “Payroll Monday”. One of the reasons I hate it, is because I have to close and lock my office door to ensure that I get this largely computerized task done on time. The part of my job that I love the most, is interacting with staff and members alike…
So, here I sat this morning, focused on spread sheets, numbers, names, hours, payrates etc…yearning to swap weekend workout stories and talk about how the children enjoyed their holiday treats. Well, since I couldn’t participate, I listened…
What the members and staff of the Indian Valley Family YMCA don’t know, is that I can hear them behind my locked door. Here’s a sample of what I heard today:
“I couldn’t wait to get back to the Y today.”
“I kept making plans to go to the Y yesterday (Easter Sunday), but then I would remember it was closed and just sit down.”
“Let’s sign up for the Mother’s Day 5K. I’ll stay with you the whole time”
“I fell off the wagon this weekend, but I’m going to reach my goals.”
“As soon as I woke up this morning, I knew right where I was headed.”
“My car just turns right into the parking lot.”
Happy “Day after Easter” Indian Valley Family YMCA…I’m glad to be back today too!

“Survey says….”

Here are a few quotes from our recent survey to members:
“The staff are the best!”
“The staff is friendly and professional.”
“The staff are very welcoming- always someone available and I love the group exercises.”
“The staff is helpful and friendly and the facility is beautiful, well lit, and well-maintained. Just walking in the door lifts my spirits!”
“Very supportive and helpful enviornment. Great facilities well maintained. Makes it more of a destination than a gym.”

That last one is my favorite! The Indian Valley Family YMCA is a destination!

Posted on facebook today…

Hi everybody Maria Glidden here I just wanted to share something with everybody I had a member come to me this morning to tell me Thank you. I said why? and she responded because of Nikki, Myself and her husband she has lost 30 lbs. she loves Coming to Zumba. That is why I love working for the YMCA we empowered people to achieve their goals.
I’m extremely proud of people like you ( you know who you are 🙂

Trendsetting on Sunday

This weekend, I went to attend an open house for our local running organization. I compete in many of the races that the Hartford Marathon Foundation puts on, and the short “Fun Run”​ and expo sounded like a fun event to bring my family to. I only intended to participate, shop the expo and go home. But I just couldn’t leave the Y out of it. Every booth I went to presented a new opportunity for collaboration:

I met the chair of the Hartford Marathon Foundation and they want to do an Open House at our facility

I met the liason for the Road Runners Club of America and he wants to help us run our first road race.

I met a representative from the Rainbow Coolation and was invited to their upcoming seminar at the University of CT.

It’s not difficult to include the mission of the Y wherever I go…I believe in the power of the Y to build stronger communities and enjoy seeing just how many people want to collaborate and work together to effect positive change in the lives of those we serve.

Mother and Daughter finish their first Triathlon

Olivia and I wanted to share a few thoughts with you.
We are so excited we finished the triathlon and we both feel we did better than we thought we would! We would like to acknowledge and thank all of the great staff and volunteers at the Y. Olivia did not think she would be able to finish her swim but Kendra and the volunteer in her lane were right there cheering her on and it kept her going!
During the last 2 minutes of my run I started to “sprint” . Through my headphones I heard Pam shout Lisa’s sprinting! Thats not something I though anyone would ever say about me!
The atmosphere is always so welcoming and accepting from the minute we enter the building. Its such a positive environment and so important to us. When you are extremely overweight, conifidence about your body can be non-existent.
At the Y, we ALWAYS feel that we are accepted and in a non-judgement zone!! Slowly but surely, we are believing in ourselves and believing in our abilities.
People go about their work day everyday and sometimes don’t realize what their smile or encouragement can mean to others. Sometimes it’s as small as someone at the front desk saying, it’s so good to see you guys or you guys rock….
It means the world…!!

Thank you for everything,

Lisa and Olivia

Open letter from Hank

I have been a member of several gyms in the past, but I have not found any of them to be like the Ellington, Indian Valley, “Y”. As soon as you enter the facility you are greeted by the front desk staff. I always get a bright happy smile and a “enjoy your workout”. Once inside you will always find a very warm, always clean, friendly facility.
I find many of the members are infected by the cheery atmosphere of the “Y”. I will often exchange a smile or pleasant greeting with someone I hardly know; sometimes initiated by me and sometimes initiated by the other person.
I could not ask for any more of the “Y” staff. The custodians, who are always working to keep the facility in first-class condition, are very pleasant and always have a friendly greeting. Other staff members, from the directors, the trainers, pool staff, and the daycare providers are all very professional and I believe exceptional at what they are trained or educated to do.
A wide variety of programs, various classes, exercise equipment, multiple workout rooms and excellent water facilities including sauna and steam rooms are available for beginners to advanced clients. Whenever I have participated I have always felt free of any judgment; buy staff or other participants. If I’m having any difficulty I feel like I get an extra bit of attention to help me along. I have found the entire staff to be very motivational and willing to help in every way possible. I have never had a question that went unanswered.
I believe the Y offers a friendly, family like atmosphere that welcomes everyone. My experience will keep me an active member. I truly believe my positive experience at the “Y” has changed my life. I am looking forward to many years living a healthy and fit life.
Hank Taylor