GET FIT: New options for East Limestone seniors
Published 6:45 am Tuesday, April 2, 2019
- Elaine Marshall, left, and Jackie Lorick try out the new elliptical machines Monday at the East Limestone Senior Center. Marshall and Lorick said they are excited to have the new equipment, which was gifted through a donation by the Spence family. David and Joan Spence were regular visitors to the center.
The East Limestone Senior Center is taking another step to improve the lives of its visitors, thanks to a donation from the family of two of its regulars.
David and Joan Spence attended the center for several years together.
“They were regular, came in every day,” said ELSC manager Johnny Smith. “If they didn’t show up, you worried where they were and how they were.”
He said the pair had been married for ages, but David loved to introduce Joan to newcomers as “his first wife.” When David died last year, it was only a few months before Joan did the same.
Shortly before Christmas, Smith said the Spences’ son and daughter-in-law, Timothy and Kay Spence, contacted the center to make a $10,000 donation on behalf of David and Joan.
The donation has provided the center with the opportunity to provide a wellness area for its visitors. Smith said they were able to purchase eight exercise machines, including ellipticals, stationary bikes, treadmills and a rowing machine.
The center will host a grand opening and dedication ceremony for the wellness area 9 a.m. Friday, April 5. In addition to showing off the center to the community, Smith and ELSC want to thank those who helped make the area a reality.
“Their family was very generous in fulfilling their wishes to leave something for the friends they left behind,” according to a statement posted on ELSC’s Facebook page. “With their donations, we have made an investment in the future of our center and elderly community. With the equipment we bought, we can provide access to a healthy lifestyle.”
It will also give a chance for the center, which is open 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, to share everything else they do.
“We have more than just exercise equipment,” Smith said. “We have the inside storm shelter for 650. We have ping-pong, we do trips, things like that. We have a lot to offer.”
Smith said they have seniors that visit from all over the county because they grew up in East Limestone and like to visit the friends who still live nearby. The center prides itself on being an inclusive group.
For more information about East Limestone Senior Center, call 256-230-2829 or visit the center at 25820 Nick Davis Road, Athens.
