HUMBOLDT — Nancy Craft credits working out at the Humboldt Fitness Center for changing her life.
Since the center opened in March, she’s lost 47 pounds, dropping from a size 20 to a size 10. She quit smoking and drinking. She started eating more healthy. She has more energy and is more productive at work.
“I feel so good,” Craft said. “The more you use the machines, the better you get. Once you start seeing results, you get addicted. Plus, you make friends,” including co-workers at B&W Trailer Hitches.
Once such new acquaintance is co-worker Steve Cole, who has helped teach her how to use the fitness equipment as well as give her fitness tips. They’re among a group of B&W employees who use the fitness center after the end of their 2 a.m. shift.
“Even though Steve and I worked together, I never really knew him,” she said of Cole. “We have a little group here and anybody’s welcome to join us.”
Until the fitness center opened, Craft had never been to a gym. Its free membership as part of her job certainly helped spur her to attend.
Craft is one of several success stories at the Humboldt Fitness Center, director Kelli Frazell said. Her example is exactly what B&W executives envisioned when they decided to build the center.
A grand opening celebration and open house for the fitness center is planned from 3:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, with healthy snacks and prizes including a chance to win memberships for a year, six months, three months or one month. A ribbon cutting will kick off the celebration at 3:30 p.m., with a free Zumba class at 5 and a free yoga class at 5:30.
THE FITNESS center grew out a desire to help B&W employees improve their health and wellness. Joe and Janie Works, B&W owners, debated whether to keep the center on site, but eventually decided to build it just a bit away from the manufacturing buildings.
The goal was to make the facility feel completely different from where employees work. It would be clean and open, with a spa-like atmosphere and floor-to-ceiling windows. A Kansas City architectural firm, Hufft, designed the building, incorporating the stunning raised metal stair-step facade to tie the outside of the structure to its industrial roots.
The Workses initially offered the facility only to B&W employees, paying for their memberships as a benefit. Then, Monarch Cement offered the same benefit to its employees. The entire facility is now open to the public.
The center was organized with its own board of directors, keeping it separate from B&W. Soon, the fitness center will become a non-profit organization. That will allow it to obtain grants to expand programs, or offer a sliding fee scale or scholarships for families that can’t afford the membership fees.
Fees are $80 per month for a household or $45 per month for an individual, and $30 per month for those 65 and older. A day pass is $5; a week’s pass is $15. Classes like Zumba or yoga are included in membership or are $5 per class or five classes for $15.
Children under 16 must be accompanied by a parent, but the facility offers an enclosed room with toys, games and a television to entertain children while parents work out.
“People love coming here. They can find something they like here,” Frazell said of the early response to the fitness center. “They’re making friends, they’re getting that social connection as well as improving their fitness.”
