“I joined the Y in January of 2017. I was employed as a clinical social worker in a psychiatric inpatient unit, and was fortunate to be able to take early retirement. I was a sporadic exerciser while working, always tired and stressed and found it difficult to make the time to exercise. Retirement gave me the ‘push’ to get healthy and fit. When open, I am at the Y every day of the week. Monday to Thursday and Sunday I am there by 7:30am to do an hour on the elliptical. Three days a week, I do a weight training circuit, which I learned from Mark in our personal training sessions – he is great, by the way. Fridays, I was taking POUND® with Anna in the morning; Saturdays, I would do the elliptical and a Yoga/Pilates class with Chrissy – all also great. The staff at the Y are helpful, friendly and knowledgeable. I include in staff the trainers, as well as the front desk people. I miss the camaraderie with the other members – we had a group of 7 or 8 who worked out in the mornings and would encourage each other and talk while working out. Really nice people belong to the Y. It gave me a structure in retirement, a place to be with people who support you, and I lost 27 pounds along the way! Since the Y closed, I have been doing the ABC circuit from Jennifer that she puts on Facebook daily, tried a couple of Sheri’s classes, and my trainer gave me a weight workout to do at home. I’ve spoken to some of the ‘crew’ I worked out with daily. It’s not the same, though. I know the Y does great things for the community and those who can’t afford its membership, and I wanted to try to keep my membership going as long as possible. Paying it forward and hoping to see everyone back at the Y again soon!”