Sarah Edwards is our February Community Captain of the month!
Sarah grew up in Beckley, WV. At an early age, her parents instilled in her the importance of living an active lifestyle. Sarah was on the swim team at the YMCA and often tagged along to 5k and 10k races with her parents. Sarah and her husband Jeff met in the 2nd grade but did not get together until college. They raised their son Seth in Morgantown, and during that time, Sarah worked at WVU Medicine in the Diabetes Education Center as a registered dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator. The majority of her job was to motivate, educate and encourage active lifestyles and healthy eating. As a member and part time employee at HealthWorks in Morgantown, she was introduced to High Fitness and was hooked!
When their son Seth graduated High School, Jeff and Sarah decided to make a change and move back to Southern WV. Sara soon realized that she missed the network of group fitness programs that she had in Morgantown. Soon after the transition to Fayetteville, she discovered Active SWV. Sarah became a certified High Fitness instructor and then in 2019 became a Community Captain. The program was slow to start especially with the distancing restrictions due to the pandemic. However, the core High Fitness participant group grew and stuck together, often having class outside to abide by CDC guidelines.
Now at the beginning of 2023, Sarah’s free Active SWV High Fitness classes have expanded and participation is stronger than ever. The “high” the group gets from working out and pushing themselves makes them feel good all day. Not only are the participants meeting some of their fitness goals, they are also making those human connections that feed the soul.
“The participants give me so much energy, joy and motivation,” says Sarah. She looks forward to class and seeing new and familiar faces alike. “The programs that Active SWV support have flourished and I have watched people come together with the shared goal of improving health, body, and mind. Southern WV is very fortunate to have Active SWV,” she says.
High Fitness meets twice per week – Tuesdays at 9am in the Oak Hill SALS building, and Thursdays 9am in the Fayetteville Memorial Building. The class is for all ages and fitness levels. No equipment is needed – only gym shoes and a bottle of water. Sarah leads the class through warm up, toner, cardio, cardio push, barre, arms, and ab tracks. All tracks are set to music and instruction and modification options are shown. The main goal of every class is to move and have fun!
To join Sarah at High Fitness, check our website calendar for more details.
To find out how your can join our team of outstanding volunteers, email [email protected].
