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Member of the Month

March Member of the Month

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Congratulations to our Member of the Month for March, Jay Barnett! Jay has been a member of BAC since May 2019. You will often see Jay devoting a lot of time to playing racquetball and drilling to perfect his form.

Jay was born in Boston, MA, but moved to upstate New York (Albany and later, Glens Falls). He has a B.S. in Marketing with a minor in Music from SUNY Albany. Jay and his wife of 38 years, Debra, started a recruiting technology company called Decision Toolbox in 1991. That enabled them to retire and move to Bellingham last May. They decided to design and build a house on Squalicum Mountain, which is currently in progress.

In his spare time, Jay likes to cook, watch YouTube and Netflix, read, and is learning to play jazz guitar. He has two Holland Lop bunnies that are potty-trained and have free roam of the apartment.

Thank you, Jay, for always having a positive attitude towards our members and employees.

February Member of the Month

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Melissa Yuryevich joined BAC several years ago when she was new to the area and looking for a place to stay in shape.  We are grateful that she stuck with us for so long, and has brought such joy to both our employees and members—some who have become very close friends.

When she’s not working out, you can usually find Melissa in her kitchen whipping up some yummy recipes and baking goodies that she shares very liberally with all of us.  Believe us, she can COOK!

She is also an avid reader and a wonderful entertainer—willing to share her hospitality, food, and wonderful smile with anyone and everyone.

When she started at BAC she was a regular participant in the Monday and Wednesday night Boot camp classes.  But since then she has tried all of the Group classes—utilizing the variety of times they are offered, and most recently, began taking the Saturday Power Pump class!  Adding this class has challenged her and made her feel stronger every week.

Melissa, thank you for the positive attitude and smiles you share so willingly.  No matter what the day brings, we know you will bring your sunniest self to brighten our days.

January Member of the Month

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Congratulations to Charlie, our first Member of the Month for 2020! Charlie has been an active member for a very long time. Charlie has worked out most of his life—he started running when he was 13 and it’s now become a part of his daily routine. He is usually at BAC during the lunch hour taking a class. His favorite classes are step, spin, and power pump. He loves the instructors and how the classes challenge him.

Charlie was born and raised in Bellingham but has lived in other places such as Seattle, Alaska, and Oregon. He has an incredible wife, Jackie, and 3 grown kids. His family lives on Lake Samish and spends a lot of time on the water when they can: they love to swim, sail, ski and enjoy the lake atmosphere. Charlie loves to cook, hike, hunt with his dog, Kit, scuba dive, and prawn, sport and commercial fish in the San Juan’s. He currently sells Real Estate at Windermere but still helps with family commercial fishing when needed.

Thank you, Charlie, for your positive attitude and loyalty to BAC!

December Member of the Month

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Kaitlin Schanken has been a member of BAC since June of 2018. Kaitlin enjoys taking group classes, small personal training groups, and is an avid runner.

Kaitlin was born in Alaska, raised in Montana, and moved to Bellingham in 2006 from NYC where she completed a program of study at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. She has a BS from Western in Environmental Science and minors in GIS and History. Kaitlin has completed a term of service with Americorps and worked for Fish and Wildlife in Skagit County doing salmon/trout surveys and data entry. She took time off when Rosemary was born and loved being a stay-at-home parent so much that she decided to do it full time. She is also the coordinator for the Cordata Community Garden and tries to stay active within the greater Bellingham community.

Kaitlin has two amazing kids (Arabella (10), Rosemary (2)), an awesome partner in crime, two kitties, and a whack-a-do puppy named Saoirse. For fun, Kaitlin likes to run races, coach, read, play with her kiddos and her pooch, hike, garden, cook, and bake.

Thank you for your dedication to BAC, we love having you and the girls around the club!

November Member of the Month

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Andy Andrewson has been a member of BAC since 2008. You can find him on the racquetball courts three or four days a week playing league, as well as challenge court times for singles and doubles.  He’s also working actively as our racquetball league organizer for this season but that’s just one of his pursuits at BAC. You can also find him in our workout areas five days a week lifting weights and doing some interval training to keep himself in great shape.

Andy was raised in Leavenworth, WA where he spent a lot of time hiking and fly fishing. He came to Bellingham in 2005 to attend Western Washington University.  He graduated with a degree in computer science and a minor in chemistry and is currently employed as a software developer for a local tech company.

Andy’s life is very full!  When he’s not at the gym or at work, he finds time to play classical guitar and watch a little Netflix—his favorite show is Stranger Things. He’s also a Gonzaga basketball fan and watches all their games and the NCAA Playoffs. He’s been married since 2014 and they have a mini dachshund at home named Mulder who loves to burrow in blankets.

His future wish list includes a trip to fly fish in New Zealand.

Thanks for being a great addition to BAC, Andy!

October Member of the Month

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We are so honored to celebrate Jim and Karen Hollingsworth as our October Members of the Month! They are both very dedicated to physical fitness and to BAC: Jim has been a member for 25 years and Karen for 33 years! Their careers and vacations have always been extremely active and demanding so working out at BAC has relieved stress and kept them fit.

Jim enjoys water aerobics and yoga classes. He works out with his personal trainer, Cindy, whom he appreciates. Karen’s activities include yoga classes, Aqua Zumba® on occasion, and Weights for Women. Karen has also expanded her horizon to take tap dance classes and return to ice skating which has been easier to accomplish because of BAC classes teaching her balance and coordinating with strength.

Living in the historical Fountain District gives Jim and Karen the opportunity to walk the many miles every week to BAC, the library, run errands, go to the movies and the theatre. They have enjoyed many world travel trips—just the two of them or occasionally with a guide or driver for a safe journey. They also have white water rafted and kayaked many, many times in Western North America and included their grandchildren on these expeditions.

Jim and Karen would like to thank the personal warmth of the greeters at the front desk, the amazing and positive Jill Robertson, their yoga instructors, Michal and Elena, who have them bend and twist in ways they didn’t think was possible and a big thanks to Tiffany who cracks the whip over the class with Karen on Fridays.

Thank you, Jim and Karen! We appreciate your humor, kindness and all the goodies you bring to BAC!

September Member of the Month

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Charles Marcks has been a member at BAC for 10 years and his daily routine starts with a great morning workout at the Downtown club; he greets everyone with a smile and has a positive attitude that encourages others. He refers to the gym as his playground, setting up circuits and performing challenging exercises.

When Charles began utilizing the facility he would focus mainly on cardio and weights, after noticing some low back pain he hired a trainer and took his fitness to a new level. His consistency each day with a guided program has created joy in coming to the gym; he looks forward to his group training with friends and has had incredible muscle, flexibility and endurance gain. Charles would like to give a big shout out to his trainer Lynette Reilly; she has given him guidance, motivation, and inspiration. She has been a tremendous help to not only reach his goals but keep him excited to continue his journey!

Charles is originally from Palm Springs and lived there until he was in his 20’s; he moved to Bellingham from Portland, OR back in 2006 and hasn’t left since because of all the beauty the Pacific Northwest has to offer. Charles is the CFO at Whatcom Museum, loves to read, has been with his partner, Marc for over 30 years and has a tuxedo cat named Pixel. A fun fact about Charles is that he doesn’t own a cell phone!

Thank you, Charles, for your commitment to BAC and always putting a smile on everyone’s face!

August Member of the Month

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Congratulations Joanna for being BAC’s August Member of the Month!

Joanna has lived on both the East and West Coasts, but moved to Bellingham 12 years ago and married her husband Wesley in 2010. They have 2 children, Gwen (4) and Jacob (2) who absolutely LOVE coming to Kid’s Club and family swim times. Joanna stays at home with the kids, which is a full-time job for now.

She has played violin since she was 8 when her grandfather gave her her first violin and taught her how to play. In college, she studied General Music and currently enjoys playing with the local Bellingham Community Chamber Orchestra. She also teaches private violin lessons and occasionally plays with her church music team.

The reason she joined BAC because she is in the process of becoming a gestational surrogate for couples who cannot carry their own children, and was told she needs to lose a little weight before moving forward with it. So far she has lost 20 pounds with the help of the wonderful aqua aerobics classes! She is looking forward to reaching her goals and maintaining a healthy lifestyle with the support of the community at BAC.

July Member of the Month

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Congratulations to Joy Olney for receiving Member of the Month for July! Joy participates in our water aerobics classes—the members would say she’s Miss Congeniality! Joy is friendly and positive; she is especially kind, helpful and encouraging to our new members in class. Joy has been a member of BAC since 1992.

Joy is originally from the East Coast, she moved to Bellingham in 1986. She has two sons, Richard and Mike who are both in town for the summer. Her boys spent many days growing up at BAC attending summer camps and being involved in Youth Programs. Joy has two standard poodles named Talley and Polly.

Joy is a renowned local artist and has made a name for herself in artistic circles around the world. The apple painting won a prize in the Little Gem Show at Scott Milo’s gallery in Anacortes this month. When Joy is not working on a painting, she is working in her garden.

Thank you for being so loyal to BAC over the years and we love having your positive mindset. You truly are a joy to have at the club!

June Member of the Month

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Congratulations to our member of the month for June, Jeniffer Shull! Jeniffer joined BAC in July of  2018 and has been working out on a regular basis. She loves the energy and friendly environment at BAC. You will see her in various group exercise classes such as Insanity, TBC,  Strong, and Zumba to name a few. Jennifer loves the classes for all the peer motivation they provide. With a change in eating habits and exercise, Jeniffer has lost 40 pounds since starting at BAC!

Jeniffer is originally from Mexico City. She moved to Colorado Springs 10 years ago and also lived in Indianapolis for 3 years until moving to Bellingham last July. She holds a B.A. in Teaching English as a Foreign Language and is currently working on getting her Spanish translator and interpreter certifications.

Outside of the club, Jeniffer is a wine enthusiast and reads a lot about it; she loves grammar and enjoys learning new vocabulary words every day. She visits family in Mexico multiple times throughout the year. She also loves traveling and meeting new people from different cultures. She especially enjoys long walks with her Weimaraner, Maya.

Thank you, Jeniffer, for lighting up BAC with your smile and positive attitude!

“I enjoy living here now and giving the best of me while I work out, after all, that is what counts.”