If you’re attending an Active SWV Race, REFIT Beckley, one of our running groups, or even youth climbing, there’s a good chance you will know the White Family.
The White family are repeat participants in all things Active SWV. Joe grew up as an Air Force brat who spent his summers in WV, and Shelly is from Oak Hill, WV. Their three daughters were all born and raised in Beckley, WV, where they make fitness a family affair.
Shelly and Joe realized as their girls grew up that they were going to need a lot of energy to stay engaged in the lives of their three girls who were at times in three sports. Additionally, Shelly and Joe’s kids have served as an inspiration to their own fitness journeys. Joe says that he began running for his own fitness to join their daughter, Leah, when she became a cross country participant in middle school. This created a snowball effect, and now each family member goes from sport to sport, participating and coaching all along the way.
Watching how this family participates together is a great example of Active SWV’s mission of offering free, beginner friendly programming that can span generations in action. As it turns out, this mission is what drew the Whites to Active SWV programs in the first place. “The overall health of Southern WV has the big task of overcoming generations and mismanagement and this next generation may be the most important,” says Joe. Joe and Shelly plan to raise their family here in southern WV, and intend to stay active to ensure success and instill values of self-care in their children.
The White family stays active through Active SWV free programs that they attend regularly. “The friends we’ve met along the way and accountability to each other are big motivators,” says Joe.
When asked why someone should join an Active SWV free program, they had this to say, “Again, the programs that Active [SWV] sponsors are great models for what a healthy community should be doing tenfold. Whether you get the health benefit of the activity itself, or you’re just here to learn how to begin.”
Some favorite White family programs? Active SWV races, REFIT Beckley, the Beckley running group, and the Fayetteville running group!
Bring your family out to join an Active SWV program! Sign-up for your free family membership here, and check out the website calendar for a list of programs happening near you.
