Be like Becky, become an Active SWV Community Captain!
Congratulations to our October Community Captain of the month, Becky Mahlburg! We sat down with Becky to learn more about her and what motivates her to be active.
“I grew up on a farm in Illinois, where I spent hours wandering in the woods and along the river. I have lived in other Midwestern states, plus Colorado, Virginia, and now in West Virginia. I have liked every state, but am a convert to the beauty and friendliness found here in West Virginia. Lewisburg is a fantastic town, Greenbrier County is ideally located, and the surrounding state parks, forests, and our newest National Park compete with any place I have been.”
“I have always enjoyed being active, specially outdoors, and first joined an organized hiking group about 18 years ago in Missouri. In Virginia, I belonged to a large, active club that was responsible for several miles of the Appalachian Trail, and began to lead a few hikes myself. I semi-seriously say that I plan to live to the age of 100 (or 105 due to “modern medical miracles”), and I think physical activity will play a large role in enjoying life for a very long time. Being active with other people is fun and motivating! Other ways I motivate myself to be active are: check-off sheets, committing verbally to others so that I feel accountable, and frankly….I will hike for patches and run for medals and tee-shirts. So here is my public commitment to the Bridge Day 5k!”
“My long-term passions have been, in no particular order: reading, crafts, my children and grandchildren, teaching, University of Kansas basketball (Rock Chalk Jayhawk), hiking, and line dancing. When I moved to Lewisburg, there were no organized hiking or line dancing groups, so I found Active SWV through an internet search and joined a few hikes in neighboring counties. When I read that Active was expanding into Greenbrier County, I quickly decided to volunteer to lead a hiking group. We usually have two hikes every month, one easy and one moderate, based on length and elevation gain. It has been fun to explore trails such as the Falls of Hill Creek, the Scenic Highway, Blue Bend, Sherwood Lake, Greenbrier State Forest, the Greenbrier River Trail, Hanging Rock, and The Greenbrier. I post information ahead of time about how easy or difficult the hike will be, so everyone can decide what hikes they want to go on. We usually carpool to the hikes, and one of my hopes is that carpooling becomes more common within the Active community.”
“Now I also teach beginning line dancing through Active SWV, because there was not a local group. I am not a line dance teacher, but we are all getting better and review everything, so love to welcome brand new dancers. We use different genres of music and have a lot of fun.”
Why should someone join a free Active program? “Well, it’s free! People are friendly and encouraging and interesting and helpful and fun and….. did I mention free? Going back to the first paragraph of this, I have lived in Colorado which is one of the most physically active states in the country; West Virginia has equal outdoor opportunities, minus the traffic jams on Interstate 70 on the way to the Rocky Mountains. However, I don’t think we, as a state, can effectively “sell” our beauty and lifestyle to others until we, as residents, enjoy it ourselves. We also need to model an active lifestyle to our children. So that is why someone should join a free Active program.”
Find out what Becky is talking about and plan your own adventures by viewing our website calendar.
And, if like Becky, you see something missing from our free programming, consider volunteering yourself! Email [email protected] to get started or fill out our volunteer form.
