Stephanie White would not bother to make the long drive from her home in Benoit’s Cove all the way to Corner Brook to work out at a gym.
But now that the Humber Arm South Youth and Recreation Committee has opened up its brand new fitness centre in an extension of the community hall in Benoit’s Cove, she plans to be working out there regularly.
She’s not alone, as the new centre attracted 75 members within the first three days of opening its doors Monday morning.
“I was doing stuff at home, but this place offers a better variety,” said White as she worked up a sweat on the facility’s recumbent bike. “There’s a hell of a lot more equipment here than I have at home. I think this is wonderful, especially for people who are working, are single parents or don’t have a vehicle for transportation to drive to Corner Brook for a workout.”
The fitness centre is believed to be the only one of its kind in the Bay of Islands outside of Corner Brook.
“It’s fabulous and it’s long overdue,” said White.
Yvonne Sheppard actually lives in Corner Brook, but immediately became a gym member, since she works with the Family Resource Centre and Healthy Baby Club program on the south shore of the Bay of Islands and travels from the city to work between Humber Arm South and Lark Harbour everyday. By Thursday, she had been to the new gym for a workout three times and hopes to be there three to five times every week.
“It’s very convenient for me,” she said. “I can work it into my day either lunchtime or as soon as my day finishes before I go home, as opposed to trying to get out in the evenings.”
Sheppard is impressed with the up-to-date equipment and the affordable membership rates.
“It’s about half the cost of a membership in Corner Brook,” she said. “I can really see a lot of the people in the area that I deal with coming out and they really appreciate having the services here. I think the community is doing a great thing because they are promoting healthy lifestyles and that’s a great thing to be giving back to this community.”
The fitness centre was identified as a need several years ago, according to town clerk Marion Evoy, but it could not be made a priority when things like Frenchman’s Cove needing water and sewer infrastructure work was still not dealt with.
The Humber Arm South Youth and Recreation Committee began fundraising and the Town of Humber Arm South itself borrowed some money for the project which the committee will pay back through continued fundraising efforts.
The cost of the project is about $275,000, with $75,000 of that being accounted for by government grants that helped pay for some of the labour and materials. The federal gas tax rebate helped pay for some of the siding and windows.
The construction, which began last July, created 10 jobs and the centre currently employs one person for 40 hours a week. The facility is open for 80 hours per week and volunteers work there for the remaining 40 hours.
There is $30,000 worth of fitness equipment at the centre, including two treadmills, two elliptical machines, the recumbent bike, a vibration technology machine and various weights. The committee ordered another $13,000 worth of gear this week, including more benches and weight machines for the upper and lower body.
The committee is also planning to have a personal fitness trainer come in to help work with people who may need some guidance in their efforts to get in shape.
“It’s been needed here,” said Evoy. “We have a lot of active people in our community, but there wasn’t much to do other than walk, unless you had equipment like this at home.”
