How long have you lived in Bluffton? What brought you here? Where did you grow up?
We have lived here for a little over 14 years. We lived in Findlay before moving here. My husband Doug worked at UPS and worked in the Lima center. We moved to Bluffton so he could be closer to work. I grew up in McComb and moved to Findlay when I was 15.
When/where did you graduate from high school/college?
I graduated from Liberty Benton High School in 1987. I went to Findlay College for a year then met my husband and got married in April '89.
What was your first job? What did you learn from that?
My first job was at Sears. I learned to about customer service and retail.
What inspired you to spend your summers as a manager at the Bluffton pool? Were you a guard as a teenager? A swimmer?
I was an assistant manager for 3 years. This is my first year as head manager. My son Seth was going to be a life guard and my other children went to the pool everyday so I thought I might as well be there too. No I wasn't a life guard as a teenager. As a child I always loved the water and spent my summers at the pool.
The pool looks great this year! Tell me about some of the changes and/or additions.
The village filled in the baby pool area to give the patrons more deck space. We have more shade this season with being able to use the awning from the baby pool area. They moved around and added some tables. They were able to purchase umbrellas for the table which will be a great benefit.
Was Memorial Day pretty stressful? What was the attendance over the three-day period? In general, were people courteous? Any major problems or accidents?
I wouldn't say stressful but challenging . We had well over1,500 patrons over the 3 days. People were very nice and understanding. The first weekend is always the toughest with having to do all the memberships. Overall we had a safe and great weekend.
What's it like managing all those teenagers? Does it help that you have teens of your own?
I love what I do. The teenagers are a great age to work with. Most of them this is their first job.
They want to do a good job so they are very eager to learn. It's great to see them accomplish a goal and be excited about it. I think being a mother of teenagers does help. I can relate to them or any problems they may have.
During the school year, you work at the Bluffton Community Preschool, correct? What a switch in ages! How long have you worked there? What do you enjoy most about the little ones? How is teaching preschoolers like/unlike managing the pool? Do the little ones get pretty excited to see you at the pool?
Yes, I do work at the preschool. I have worked there for 5 years. Actually it's not that different going from 3-4 year olds to teenagers. Working with little ones is a lot of fun. When you see them accomplish something that they have been working so hard on, that is the best feeling knowing you helped them. It's a lot alike in some ways. You still have to have a plan. Children of any age like a schedule or routine. You have to be flexible ,be able to change your plans at any given time. It's different in the way that you have a lot more issues, people and responsibilities to take care of. Yes, the children from my class get very excited to see me. They think I live at school.
I understand you've lost a lot of weight over the last year and have become a runner. How did you get started?
I began running in the Jaycee program when I was 6 years old. I continued to run through high school at Liberty Benton where I ran on two state championship Cross Country teams and competed in the State Finals .
Last year I had a health scare which really hit home. I lost my mother to heart disease 15 years ago, she had her first heart attack at the age of 42. I decided that I had to make changes to improve my quality of life and get back into shape.I started by watching what I ate and I keep a food and exercise journal. I record everything I eat and all exercise I do. I haven't done my marathon yet. I start training in a month. I've done some 5k's. My ultimate goal would to be able to qualify for the Boston Marathon.
Do you run with your husband or alone?
Right now I run alone. My husband broke his femur last October in the Columbus marathon and is returning from that injury. We ran a 5k almost 6 months to the day of his injury, he is doing very well and I am very proud of him. He wants to run another marathon so I told him I would do it with him so that's how I got into wanting to run in one.
Tell me about your family -- husband, kids, pets....Where did you and your husband meet?
Doug and I met at college, where we found out my parents bought a house 3 houses down from his parents. We did not know each other until meeting at college because he spent his summers on duty with the Army National Guard. Doug now works in Marysville at The Scott's Miracle Grow Company, where he is the Global Transportation Manager. I have four children: Ethan, Seth, Abby and Eli. Ethan is 22 years old and lives in Akron. Seth is 18 years old and just graduated from Bluffton; he is going to the University of Cincinnati in the fall. Abby is 14 and going into the 9th grade. Eli is 12 and going into the 6th grade. We have two dogs -- Bailey and Lilly.
Other than running and hanging out at the pool, what do you enjoy doing?
I love being with my family, my kids are a lot of fun! I also enjoy reading. I also coach junior high track with Lonny Kent and Ashley Blair. Running is my passion. Being able to pass that on to the younger generation is an amazing feeling.
What is your favorite food? Least favorite?
My favorite food right now is probably my granola that I make. I love to mix it with yogurt and fresh berries. I really don't have a least favorite. I pretty much like anything .
What would you like to be doing 10 years from now? If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
In 10 years I hopefully will still be running. I think it would be neat to run at least a 5k in every state. I like being close to my family, but if I had to choose I would like to live in South Carolina.
