Greater Joliet Area YMCA

GREATER JOLIET AREA YMCA

C.W. Avery, Central City, Galowich, Morris

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Member Profile: Mark McGaffic

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED

IMG951430Determined to lose weight, Mark McGaffic tried it all. Exercise. Trendy diets. Weight loss programs. You name it. Mark simply wasn’t seeing any results. That is, until he signed up for Nutrition for All and the Get Fit Challenge at the C.W. Avery Family YMCA. Because of these weekly classes, Mark has undergone a complete transformation. In 2014, not only has Mark lost 60 pounds, he’s also completed a triathlon—a feat he could’ve never possibly imagined.

“It’s been phenomenal. I’ve loved the journey,” he said, while sitting in the lobby of the Avery Y. With a slight grin on his face, Mark paused and added, “Shirts I bought that I was disgusted buying, I’ve now given to Goodwill.”

Mark’s transformation began in January when he started Nutrition for All, a 12-week class that helps members eat right and stay healthy. He took on a paleo diet, kept food journals and completed weekly weigh-ins. With the support of instructor Julie Miller and his peers, he cut 30 pounds.

By springtime, Mark’s momentum hadn’t let up. He began the Get Fit Challenge, continued the paleo diet and started prepping for his first triathlon. By this point, Mark had shed upwards of 50 pounds. In August, Mark’s hard work paid off when he completed the Naperville Sprint Triathlon.

“I’d have to say, I’ve never experienced anything like it,” he said. “The triathlon itself. The training. Working with Julie Miller and the group. It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done.”

[Read more…]

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Morris Community YMCA “Outdoor Open House”

Come Together

The Morris Community YMCA will host an “outdoor open house” during the 2014 Grundy County Corn Festival on Saturday, September 27 from noon to 3 p.m. This is a great opportunity for you to get a first-hand look at the Y’s first physical presence in the community and familiarize yourself with the building, located at the former City Hall building at 320 Wauponsee Street.

Although the inside of the building is still being renovated, the Y has a number of outdoor activities planned, along with refreshments and giveaways. You’re invited to come by, have some fun, and even snap a selfie with our friendly YMCA scarecrows.

Make sure you stay in the loop by ‘liking’ the Morris YMCA on Facebook where up-to-date information is posted on a weekly basis. And don’t forget to check-in at the Y during Corn Fest, using #HometownYMCA.

More information can be found via the Morris Daily Herald.

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Volunteer Spotlight: Nick Macris

From right to left: Nick Macris, Sue Lee and Chris Parker

Nick Macris, a proud Illini alum, veteran of the U.S. Army and 22-year employee of ComEd, is one the Y’s most enthusiast supporters and volunteers. Not only is he a YMCA Metro Board Member, Nick is also a co-chair of the Y’s Annual Campaign and a member of the Giving Gala Planning Committee. We recently had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Nick about a number of different topics. Check out the highlights below:

On his hometown of Joliet
I was born and raised in Joliet. I’ve lived here all my life, except during my time in the army and my time away at school. Joliet is near and dear to my heart. It’s a very welcoming, warm community. Despite its size it’s very much, in some senses, like a small town.

His background
I am a loyal Illini. I bleed orange and blue. I left there with a master’s degree in architecture and half of an MBA. I wasn’t able to stay the seventh year, if you will. I had the army calling. I spent four years on active duty in the army and 16 years in the reserves. Between that and my 22 years at ComEd, that’s afforded me a lot of life lessons, learning experiences and opportunities to employ leadership skills. It’s been a great life.

His relationship with the Y
A lot of people on the board and on the staff have Y stories they like to share. I actually came to the board with no Y story, other than bringing my daughter, Maria, who is now 31, over here for little kiddie swimming classes. That was my brief and minimal exposure to the Y.

Of all my volunteer activities, and there are many, and they’re wonderful, I get a great deal of joy out of my association with the Y. I am really happy that I’ve had the opportunity to develop some Y stories as a result of being on the Metro Board and some of the other things I’ve done for the Y.
[Read more…]

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2014 Touch-A-Truck

Around 150 community members made a pitstop at the Galowich Family YMCA on Saturday, September 13 for the Y’s 2014 edition of Touch-A-Truck. The sun was shining on a late summer day as parents and children walked through the Y’s backyard to check out vehicles from organizations such as the Joliet Fire Department, the Marine Corps, Bill Jacobs and more.

Many thanks to the YMCA staff, participants and vendors that were able to attend! To see photos from the event, click here.

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Why You Should Join the Joliet Y JETS Swim Team

WenLi, a fourth-grader/member of the Joliet Y JETS Swim Team, wrote a persuasive paper about why her peers should join the JETS. Check it out!

Hey! I would like you to join the Joliet JETS swim team. People on my team have more fun in life. If you joined my team, you could get out and get active, have more fun and be healthy.

The first thing you can do on my swim team is get out and get active. It is fun, you should try it. Why should you join a swim team? Well, the coaches try to encourage you and help you. They are nice to you too! Swimming is better than school, and sitting at home doing nothing. Join my swim team!

The next reason to join the swim team is to have fun, and have a good time. You should have fun in life, don’t be stuck in boring school! Have fun on the JETS and be yourself. We won’t care, you are who you are and we respect that. Don’t be stuck at home doing nothing when you can have so much fun on the JETS. We have fun in swim because people encourage us but in school you just do work and more work. We have free time to play in the pool and out of the pool. It’s fun! Don’t you want to do all of that fun stuff?

Last but not least, if you join the swim team, you will be healthy. You will be strong and have fun doing it! No more treadmill to be healthy, you just have to swim and have fun. Work your body, move your body, get strong, and get healthy. You will feel better, and your body will feel better too! Just join the Joliet JETS. It’s good for you!

Obviously, joining the swim team is an excellent choice. It’s fun and exciting. When you join the swim team, remember you can get out and get active, have fun, and stay healthy. As the JETS say, “Change is the dawn of improvement.”

The JETS 2014 Fall Swim Clinic will be held September 8-13. The clinic is an opportunity for swimmers to meet some of the coaches and try out the team to see if they would like to join. The coaches work on basic technique drills and provide instruction throughout the week as they evaluate where each swimmer will be placed if they decide to join. For more information, click here.

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The Unmatched Resilience of Angie Manheim

featured-angie-manheimAt age 36, Angie Manheim, a mother of five from New Lenox, was diagnosed with arthritis. Year by year, her condition worsened, and by age 50, her mobility had decreased significantly. Her kids, Angie recalled, had to take care of her.

“I couldn’t do anything for myself,” she said. “It’s been a long, hard ride, believe me.”

While on a family vacation in the Lake of the Ozarks, Angie made a life-changing discovery: Swimming relieved the pain. Suddenly, her joints were no longer stiff.

Luckily, back home, a brand new YMCA had just been built—the Smith Family YMCA on Briggs Street—complete with a swimming pool. When she returned, signing up was a no-brainer. Angie began using the pool regularly and her health steadily improved.

“After about eight months, the staff saw how it helped me and asked me if I’d run a class,” Angie said.

Despite having any prior experience teaching, she agreed.

“My first group had 12 people,” she said. “I would just go through the motions I had gone through, and before you know it I had over 60 people.”

That was 37 years ago. Today, the class, now known as Rusty Hinges, remains an incredibly popular program among seniors who have arthritis and other ailments. Angie, at 87-years-old, still leads class three days a week. [Read more…]

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