Hello Members,
I hope your new year has started off well. The Y has been so busy with people coming and going for different programs or just enjoying their membership. It is always great to see the new faces around and feel the energy in air. We know that the first few months of the year are always busy with new people wishing to become more fit. Our hope at the Y is that you take this new energy and create a complete lifestyle change. We want the Y, physical activity, social interaction, and learning something new to become a way of life, and not just a new years thing. We want to help you with all of those things, and you can do it by getting involved in a fitness class, coming to one of our socials, and attending one of our wellness seminars. Let us know how we can help you get the most out of your membership. Our wellness coaches are available to help you Monday through Thursday, generally, 8am to 8pm, however, it is best to call and make an appointment so that we can dedicate 30 minutes to helping you get a great start. We want to help, just give us a call.
As I mentioned in last months newsletter, we are running a membership promotion and we have a team of appointment setters and touring staff who have been making calls, setting appointments for tours, and selling memberships. Most likely you have received a call and possibly more than one on your home phone and cell phone. We appreciate you taking the call, and if you are a member, letting them know you are already a member. You can refer someone you know at that time if you like. You will be happy to know that we have over 100 new membership units in the first couple of weeks of this campaign. This means more members, more activity, more excitement, and a stronger Y. Your community Y is a membership organization and our overall strength comes in having a solid membership base. We understand that it may be an inconvenience to take a couple of calls, but we hope that you can overlook this for the strengthening of the membership as a whole. Our team basically calls every number in the phone book and uses a spreadsheet format to populate all cell phone combinations from the area prefixes. The calls are made from these lists. This way we don't miss people who don't have home phones any more or those who have changed numbers from our membership data base. We thank you for your patience as we strive to strengthen your Y. As always if you have any questions or concerns about this process, I would be happy to discuss it with you.
The YMCA Board is looking for a few good people who want to make a difference in the lives of kids and families. In March we will be kicking off our 2012 Partnership With Youth Campaign. We are in need of some more members who would like to be a part of this important "friend" raising campaign to ensure that every child has access to the YMCA and its programs regardless of their ability to pay. If you would like to help us ensure that all 2nd graders in the Atlantic School District learn about safety around the water, please give me a call. The board needs your help and this is an awesome way to support your community through Y programs. Please call me at 243-3934 this week and I can discuss this great opportunity with you.
Do you need a little motivation to stick with your wellness plan? I would encourage you to sign up for Live Healthy Iowa. It is a 100 day challenge that will help keep you on track and give you thoughts and tips that will help you maintain your wellness goals. Check it out at www.livehealthyiowa.org. The group ID for Cass County is LHICASS. If you have questions about signing up or the program in general you may contact the Cass County Wellness Coordinator, Bethany Rogers, at 243-3934 or at brogers@nishnavalleyymca.com.
"Eat a live frog every morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day."
-Mark Twain
This concept from Mark Twain might be just what you need to accomplish your new year's resolution. If you struggle with getting your workout in because everything else in your busy day eats up your time so that by the end of the day you find you don't have time left for it, you could apply this concept. Eat the frog early in the morning and the rest of your day will fall into place. Not that working out is the worst thing, but life happens and we put off taking care of ourselves. So resolve to take care of yourself first thing in the morning and the rest of the day will be a breeze. That may mean you have to get up 30 minutes earlier in the morning, but that's ok too. Zig Zigler says if you haven't changed the wake up time on your alarm clock in 6 months you are probably in a rut.Change your alarm clock time, eat the frog first, change your life!
Have a great month!
Dan
