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Uniontown’s fitness center opens with fanfare
While others took a day off for the Labor Day holiday, on Sept. 3, $100,000 worth of equipment was installed in a room the district had prepared for the fitness center.
On Thursday morning, following a ribbon cutting ceremony, the door was flung open to the district’s new Don’t Quit! Fitness Center.
A gift from the National Foundation for Governors’ Fitness Councils, the Don’t Quit! Fitness Center will be open to students, staff and district patrons.
“This is not a grant,” USD 235 Superintendent Bret Howard said, adding the only expense to the district was the installation of rubber mats, a security system and a door.
On Monday, Oct. 8, the school board voted to approve rules and regulations as well as a usage policy for the fitness center. Howard said the district is currently in the process of communicating how patrons can receive their entry card. Howard said he hopes the public can begin receiving their cards by Monday, Oct. 15. He said there is a one-time $10 fee and patrons are required to sign a document stating they understand the policy.
Uniontown is one of three schools in Kansas to receive a fitness center through the program. The recipients, which include Lincoln Elementary School in Fredonia and Jardine Middle School in Topeka, were announced in May.
The goal of the NFGFC is to help fight childhood obesity by providing Don’t Quit! Fitness Centers in all 50 states. On Thursday, Jake Steinfeld, chairman of the NFGFC said Kansas is the 28th state in which the NFGFC has awarded fitness centers. This year, the organization has also awarded fitness centers in South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah.
According to the May press release from Governor Jeff Colyer’s office, “Each fitness center is financed through public/private partnerships with companies like The Coca-Cola Company, Amerigroup Foundation, Wheels Up and Nike, and does not rely on taxpayer dollars or state funding. TuffStuff Fitness International provides all of the fitness equipment, which is manufactured right here in the United States. The Foundation’s goal is to build a nation of the fittest, healthiest kids in the world.”
Steinfeld, dignitaries and students cut the ribbon on Uniontown’s fitness center Thursday.
Prior to the ribbon cutting ceremony, students filed into the West Bourbon Elementary gym where the cheerleaders waited to lead them in cheers. Don Payne, equipment director with TuffStuff Fitness Int., also helped get the students and visitors in the spirit.
Payne also led student ambassadors, who represented each grade, in a few warm up exercises, then the students, who stood on risers in the middle of the gym floor, held a Don’t Quit! banner throughout the program.
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