Rotary
donates exercise machines
By BOB VOSSELLER
Staff Writer
LACEY — A large contingent of the
Forked River Rotary Club's membership turned
out on June 24 for its regular meeting and
to dedicate eight exercise machines at Gille
Park.
The occasion also served as a passing of
the gavel from outgoing president Kenneth
Flatt to Jay Pierson who was elected as this
year's president two weeks ago.
During the tenure of Bruce Haliday's term
as president, a program was started to raise
funds for special exercise machines for
Gille Park. That project continued into
Flatt's term.
"We've put a lot into this park
including this pavilion and now the exercise
equipment. You can't walk around the park
without seeing a Rotary Club sign and we're
proud of that," Flatt said.
Flatt added that it has been a busy
several weeks for the Rotary Club.
"We've had three outings recently.
We had a barbeque where we played volleyball
with the Interact Club members and we had a
presentation at scholarship night and a
party outside the Captain's Inn. That brings
us to today."
The eight exercise equipment machines
were designed and built by TriActive America
and were installed at the park in March.
Each machine focuses on another part of the
body.
"People of all ages are supposed to
jog around the course in the park and stop
and use one of the machines before they go
on for another lap around the course,"
Flatt said.
Following the club's meeting, which
included the discussion of several upcoming
projects and programs, the nearly 30-member
group moved from the pavilion to the
exercise machine area. The equipment area
included a sign which noted that through the
efforts of the Rotary Club and Wal Mart that
the machines were donated to the township.
Rose Harp of Lanoka Harbor joined members
of her family on June 24 for some recreation
and was busy using several of the machines.
"The parks in Lacey are wonderful.
There is so much to do here," Harp
said. "These machines are terrific. It
gets so expensive to go to a regular
exercise center."
Her 5-year-old grandson Jason Rotontella
and his 7-year-old sister Erin were using
the same machine as their grandmother. Jason
moved over to the station his mother Elaine
Rotontella was using, which allowed him to
climb upside down on the parallel bars.
Rotarian and Township Committeeman Gary
Quinn gave official thanks to the Rotary
Club and Wal-Mart.
"I'd like to thank you on behalf of
the governing body," Quinn said.
Quinn said that when Flatt took over as
president of the club, "he set goals
and this is the reality of it. The Rotary
Club has done a number of things for the
park for a number of years. You make us (the
governing body) look good. The Rotary Club
is a crucial park of the puzzle of
developing Gille Park."
Quinn said that the machines cost $15,000
and the Rotary raised $10,000 toward the
cost. Wal-Mart provided the remaining
$5,000.
Rotarian and Township Clerk Veronica
Laureigh said that members of the public
works department installed the machines in
March, which was another cost reduction.
Public Works Supervisor Jim Baran was on
hand to observe the dedication of the
machines during the afternoon.
Club members will be posting American
flags around Lacey Road for the upcoming
Fourth of July holiday.
