Smith Mountain Lake, Va. (June 15, 2018) –The Westlake golf course and grille has partnered with the Smith Mountain Lake YMCA to offer water aerobics classes to the lake community. Classes are being offered at The Westlake’s outdoor pool through the summer on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 9:30 a.m.

“The Y as a community-based organization thrives when local businesses, such as The Willard Companies, are willing to combine resources to not only offer programs to community members but to add value for our current members,” says Lauren Acker, Smith Mountain Lake YMCA Branch Director.

Water aerobics instructors Becky Rowe teaching Wednesday and Emilee Hall teaching Monday and Friday bring a plethora of experience and enthusiasm to these weekly classes. “The class includes cardio conditioning, muscle toning and flexibility.  Emilee and I are both certified yoga teachers so every class promises to incorporate some of the principles of yoga. More importantly it is a fitness program that is FUN! Good music is a must and meeting new friends is guaranteed,” says Becky Rowe, YMCA Fitness Instructor.

Water exercise offers a deluge of benefits. Exercising in water builds cardiovascular stamina, strength, and flexibility, helps burn body fat, increases circulation, and can help rehabilitate healing muscles and joints. Members of The Westlake and YMCA can attend classes for free. Guests can attend for an $8 fee per class. As popularity has increased, discussions about adding evening classes have been started.

"The Willard Companies and the Y have been partnering for years with Oktoberfest, a festival and 5k run held at Westlake Towne Center, and we were excited at the opportunity to expand on that partnership. We're working together to explore other ways we can enrich the community with new programs, specifically for youth, and there is a wealth of potential," says Gretchen Tipps, Marketing Director for The Willard Companies.

For more information about the water aerobics classes or membership call the Smith Mountain Lake YMCA at (540)721-9622 or The Westlake at (540)721-3845.

Rocky Mount, Va. (June 12, 2018) – The Franklin County Family YMCA’s summer camp put the rubber to the road with its racing themed week. The camp which has around 200 hundred registered participants each week has unique themes for every week of camp.

“It’s a way to give the campers a really special and unique experience every week,” says Jamie Stump the Camp’s Director.

For last week the theme was “Start Your Engines,” a race themed week which saw huge community support. The week included race themed activities like building and decorating their own cardboard racers, visiting the Zone’s go cart track, and taking the checkered flag with a visit to Callaway speedway and seeing real race cars.

Whitey Taylor and Randy Pettitt of the speedway, invited the camp out to learn all about the history of racing in Franklin County. Scott Foley of Foley's Automotive and Brad Foy from Duncan Automotive came out and showed the children their race cars and taught them the in's and out of the car and talked about what it is like to be a driver.

“We sure are grateful to everyone who helped make a special memory for all our campers,” says Stump.

Charlottesville, Virginia (5/7/2018) – QuickStart Tennis of Central Virginia, Inc. (QCV) is pleased to report that SML Tennis has started its outreach program to elementary schools around Smith Mountain Lake in Bedford and Franklin counties. Chesley Wilkerson, founder of SML Tennis, recently spent all day at Moneta Elementary School teaching tennis during PE classes to kids in kindergarten through fifth grade. Chesley says, “I taught gym class all day April 30th to grades k-5. Each class ranged from 17 to 24 students! Kids learned footwork, ball control and hand-eye coordination through different drills and games, using red foam balls. By the end of each 40-minute class, most kids were able to rally back and forth with each other. Tons of fun! We hope to attract these kids to the Smith Mountain Lake YMCA for some out-of-school programming. SML Tennis is offering red, orange and green ball clinics there four days a week.”

Lynda Harrill, QuickStart Tennis Coordinator, adds, “We love finding people like Chesley in the counties we serve. She has the passion and drive to help us grow tennis. It is so awesome to have a tennis instructor work with PE teachers to get tennis going in a community. Many thanks to Caitlyn Moore, PE teacher at Moneta Elementary, for welcoming Chesley to her classes. Building a tennis pathway for kids starts in PE. Building a tennis tradition in a community takes partnerships like that.” 

QuickStart Tennis of Central Virginia is an all-volunteer, grassroots Community Tennis Association established in 2009 as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization to promote, develop and grow QuickStart Tennis in the heart of Virginia for all beginners, especially underserved youth, using the kid-sized QuickStart Tennis format. QCV’s service area includes Albemarle, Amelia, Appomattox, Brunswick, Buckingham, Charlotte, Culpeper, Cumberland, Dinwiddie, Fluvanna, Franklin, Greene, Greensville, Halifax, Henry, Louisa, Lunenburg, Madison, Mecklenburg, Nelson, Nottoway, Orange, Patrick, Pittsylvania, Prince Edward, Powhatan and Rappahannock counties and the

cities of Charlottesville, Danville and Martinsville. We currently serve 207 schools with more than 95,000 kids, 15 parks & recreation departments, three Boys & Girls Clubs and three YMCAs in our service area of 27 counties and three independent cities. We have also gotten tennis into PE classes in 36 additional schools with 15,000 students in communities outside our service area.

Visit QCV at: www.quickstartcentral.org and on Facebook.
For additional information, contact quickstartcentral@comcast.net

Charlottesville, Virginia (4/4/2018) – QuickStart Tennis of Central Virginia, Inc. (QCV) is pleased to report QCV has made an equipment grant to the Smith Mountain Lake YMCA in Franklin County. Funding for this grant was made possible by the Richard & Caroline Gwathmey Memorial Trust. The equipment will be used for classes at the YMCA and for the Y’s community outreach to nearby schools in both Franklin and Bedford counties. Chesley Wilkerson is the tennis instructor for the YMCA, which is located in Moneta, VA and has two indoor tennis courts.

YMCA Branch Director Lauren Acker says, “Making the QuickStart Tennis program available to youth in our area is incredibly exciting. With support from QuickStart Tennis of Central Virginia and enthusiasm from Chesley Wilkerson, USPTA certified coach, I know this program will thrive in the community.”

QCV QuickStart Coordinator Lynda Harrill adds, “It is a pleasure to work with individuals who understand how beneficial learning to play tennis is for kids. It also helps when stars align as they did in this case. We were looking to get afterschool and out-of-school tennis programming going in Franklin County and the Y had just started a new youth tennis program and wanted to add community outreach. Through community partnerships with people like Lauren and Chesley, we can get a racquet in every hand and put a smile on every face. That is what QuickStart Tennis is all about.”

Rocky Mount, Va. (March 5, 2018) – The Franklin County Family YMCA Riptide swim team competed in the Piedmont YMCA Swimming Association Championship swim meet this past weekend held at the Bedford YMCA. There were 11 YMCA swim teams there and over 300 swimmers in attendance. The Riptide swim team placed 5^th overall in combined team scores. Riptide swimmers earned 3 out of 12 possible high point awards. High point awards are given to the swimmer who scores the most points in their respective age groups. Riptide swimmers that were awarded high point were Benjamin Furrow for 6 and under boys, Grayson Altice for 7-8 year boys and Allison Teer for 13-14 girls. The Riptide swim team made major time improvements in individual swims over the course of the championship swim meet and several meet records broken.

“The Franklin County Family YMCA Riptide swimmers have been working hard all season and it really showed this weekend. I am honored to be part of such a great program. The Riptide swim team is more than just a sport team we are a family. I was so proud of the swimmers who not only swam great but showed great character and team spirit this weekend. I look forward to the coming years as the Riptide swim team grows and gets better year after year.” Said head coach JT Boyd.

“Congrats to all the swimmers this weekend! Everyone did an awesome job. Also a huge thank you to all of you parents and families for all you do. This was a great way to close out the season!,” said Aquatic Director Kameron Kitts.