Gainesville Health and Fitness Center

Joe,
For a long time I have wanted to sit down & write this e-mail to you, which I also hope you will feel free to share with your staff.

 

I have been a member since 1991, and want to share with you how invaluable GHFC has been to me. When I originally enrolled with Lorrie Hannon back in August 1991, my motivation was two-fold: I had had a child a few years earlier and felt I was carrying extra weight from that, plus I was curious about what regular exercise could do for me. (I was never athletic growing up - I was the one who failed all the fitness tests, couldn't do pull-ups or run around the track, etc.)

 

Seventeen years of working out has not turned me into an "amazon." I'm not overly-diligent or compulsive about my workouts, but I can say I usually enjoy them, which keeps me coming back. The workouts help me with the Important Stuff in life - lifting my 23-lb cat, mowing my lawn and keeping a calm head at times of crisis (GHFC is not only good for the body, but also for your head!). I've found many times that pounding away on the elliptical or treadmill machines is a great way to think my way through something that's bothering or challenging me. GHFC has seen me through my child's "terrible two's" and his teenage years, through divorce and re-marriage, as well as some long years of single parenthood that were full of stresses and challenges.  Even at times when I had trouble paying bills, I always knew my GHFC membership renewal was one I HAD to keep up with. It comes up for renewal every August right at my birthday; it is my promise to myself to take care of myself, and also my gift to me: a renewal that affirms and extends my well-being and health.

 

As I close in on the magic age of "the big 5-0," I have also realized that there are now significant differences between me and my family members who do not exercise regularly: differences which I attribute to the benefits I've obtained from GHFC.  My mother now suffers from thin and brittle bones (osteoparosis), and my sister, who is 18 months older, was diagnosed four years ago with high blood pressure. Needless to say, I do not have these health problems and sincerely hope I will not develop them later. Continuing at GHFC is one plan that I will continue to aggressively enact as a preventive measure.

 

So thank you. Thank you for everything you and your staff do, and for having the courage to pursue opening GHFC so many years ago, and for the fact that you continue caring for it so well.  I recognize and applaud the expansions, the continued reinvestments in your facilities, and the constant addition of equipment, personnel and programs. Your personal attention and pursuit of excellence shows every day.

 

Margie Allen

Gainesville, FL

To see other member testimonials that may inspire you,
check out our "In their own words" section.