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IROC ends year with surplus |
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Monday, 08 February 2010 |
By LAURA CARPENTER
Express Staff Writer
DERBY — IROC ended 2009 in the black for a second year in a row, and was able to pay off $800,000 in debt over the last 15 months, Phil White, chairman of the board of directors said in a written statement. But the facility remains $2-million in debt with an interest and lease payment in the amount of $125,000 per year. White made the announcement at IROC’s annual meeting on Thursday.
Donations have been very generous, and membership is on the rise, White
said. Any extra money gained would be used to help pay down debt. IROC
put its Capital Campaign on hold, as it lost many pledges for donations
when the economy began its downward spiral, but White said the campaign
will begin again with a goal of raising $1 million over the next three
years. He said that the donors who have remained, and new donors have
been very generous.
IROC’s Youth Initiative, now run by Nicole Schneeberger, offers free
youth membership to every child in Orleans and northern Essex counties.
With the currently struggling economy, more families are staying closer
to home, and White says IROC has seen a large increase in families
spending time at IROC.
The youth memberships were paid for one year, but White has seen
generous support and he is optimistic support will come in a again to
keep the program going beyond the one-year period. Derby’s youth
program was paid for through a one-time donation from the Derby
taxpayers Association. He is not sure how Derby will be paid for again,
but will begin actively looking for support.
White said he knows that times are tough, and there are many needy and
worthy cause to donate money to, but he said miracles happen almost
every day with donations at the facility. He says that more of the
community is beginning to see the benefit of IROC in the community.
At the 2008 annual meeting, the need for repairs to the building
surfaced, and concern was expressed how the repairs would be paid for.
Fran and Melanie Azur gave $37,000 for repairs. The repairs have begun,
and continue.
Teresa Nelson now leads IROC’s Healthy Changes Initiative for people
suffering from diabetes, obesity, or heart disease. In 2009 the program
was expanded to include any and all seniors 65 years old or older. The
program now has more than 250 members. The program is popular and about
25 percent of regular visitors are in the program. In all IROC has
about 6,000 members and people who use the facility on a regular basis.
As a guest speaker Thursday at the annual meeting, Chad Stearns,
executive director of the Littleton Chamber of Commerce attended the
event. He gave an inspirational talk about his transition from obesity
to weight loss success and the difference it has made in his life,
White explained. According to White he spoke about his battle with
being “large” throughout his childhood and teenage years, and about how
significantly it effect several aspects of his life from friendship, to
sports, and his own self-image. White gave him a Kingdom Swim hat and
long sleeves T-shirt and some special event posters so that he could
promote these NEK events in the Littleton area where he lives and works.
The summer recreational events are growing “by leaps and bounds,” White
said. Some events are drawing participants from 26 states, three
Canadian provinces, Great Britain, and India.
During the evening Julie Gunn, the director of programming, thanked the
IROC volunteer instructors. Each was given an exercise shirt with the
IROC Program. Thirty participants in the Healthy Changes Initiative
were recognized for heading into their third year in the program, which
requires that you exercise 12 times a month in order to maintain
eligibility for monthly discounts. White noted that their commitment to
the program was an inspiration.
Deb Vacca was honored for volunteerism above and beyond the call of
duty. Vacca and the many other volunteers at IROC cumulatively logged
more than 3,000 hours of service in 2009, not including instructional
hours or volunteer service by IROC’s board members.
In other business Peter Stuart was elected to another three-year term on the board.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 15 February 2010 )
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