Active Southern West Virginia provides free physical activity opportunities to southern West Virginians, led by Community Captain volunteers. We often cite our Community Captains as the champions of our communities as they are generous with their time, knowledge and skills. We also recognize that our participants play a vital role in maintaining our community of health and support. This month is no exception, with our Participant of the Month, Peggy Farrish. Peggy is a shining example of someone who is overcoming her own barriers to physical activity and also inspiring others along her way.
Peggy has the honor of being one of our most senior participants, at 85 years young! Peggy attends Active SWV Gentle Chair Yoga and Water Aerobics consistently and claims, “As long as I walk the earth I’ll be doing something active.” Peggy was born in Minden WV, and raised in Oak Hill, WV where she still resides. Peggy went to Concord College and did graduate work at Marshall University with studies in education and accounting. She taught for 12 years and then moved onto her own business of 40 years in taxes in accounting, still located on Main Street in Oak Hill.
Peggy met her sweetheart Walt at 13 and married him right after college. They had 4 children, including a set of twins, and family has been a priority in her life since the beginning. You can find Peggy at her favorite Active SWV programs with her daughter Joy, both smiling and laughing. Both Peggy and Joy acknowledge that being active as a family helps them stay motivated. The social aspect of the Active SWV programs has been important to her as well, saying after her water aerobics class, “I have a whole pool full of friends!” Peggy is an asset to us as a participant because she is so welcoming to our other programmers. She said, “In these programs it doesn’t matter what you look like or who you are, we want you here. You could be purple and we’d welcome you. Everyone is a friend.”
If it weren’t for the oxygen roller that Peggy totes with her at classes, you might not know that she faces some barriers to physical activity. Peggy has COPD, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. In 2013 she also found out that she had small cell lung cancer, now resolved. She traveled to Duke University Cancer Center and also did 4-week pulmonary exercise programs at Duke’s pulmonary center. She said, “All the doctors thought it was fantastic what I was doing with Active SWV” and her doctor at New River Health said, “Keep doing what you are doing.”
Peggy’s first Active SWV program was the Gentle Chair Yoga. “I’ve been doing yoga with New River Health [now partnered with Active SWV] for 13 years. I love yoga because you don’t have pain. If it starts to hurt you just slow down. It’s relaxing and you feel so good when you are done. You are at peace with the earth.”
Active SWV also offers Water Aerobics and Peggy is attending the new class at the Holiday Lodge Hotel indoor pool. This is her new favorite program and told us, “I just love to move in the water, it feels so good. And it’s just fine with the oxygen tank and the pool. I just keep it up on the side.”
Peggy really embodies the Active SWV mission of being welcoming to all people. Everyone is invited to attend our free programs in a safe, friendly and non-judgmental environment. Group exercise offers many benefits including accountability, socialization and support. Peggy truly helps bring these values to the programs she attends. She said, “What makes me the happiest is if I see someone unhappy or lonely I say hello or something nice. If I can make them smile then I’ve accomplished something.”
