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On Nov. 13, the Hardy County Health and Wellness celebrated its 10-year anniversary.

Plans for constructing the center actually began 15 years ago with the purchase of one treadmill for the Moorefield Senior Center. With the assistance of a $25,000 grant from the Governor's Community Participation Grant Program, "We are working to continue for another 10 years," said wellness center manager Morgan Hill.

Located on Spring Avenue in Moorefield, the wellness center grew from the first treadmill to the building and state-of-the-art exercise equipment now available today.

Phyllis Helmick's idea for a wellness center reached reality 10 years ago with a lot of help from Delegate Harold Michael and funding from the West Virginia Department of Health, the then Governor's Contingency Fund, and West Virginia Lottery money. Helmick is the director of the Hardy County Commission on Aging and her "planned building" also houses the wellness center's indoor pool and the Hardy County Health Department.

The center opened Nov. 15, 1999, and shortly after that time Grant Memorial Hospital assumed management with exercise physiologist Chris Petsko coming on board as the first manager. He developed a logo, marketing strategy, fee structure, partnerships with business and industry that included payroll deductions. Petsko came from Lakeview Resort in Morgantown with West Virginia University degrees in exercise physiology and business administration.

GMH spokewoman Fran Welton said it was then that the tone of personalized wellness and fitness programs for individuals was set.

Petsko's assistant, Missy Ross, assumed management of the center when Petsko left for a similar position in Northern Virginia. Ross, a Virginia Tech grad with an exercise physiology degree, worked with Pilgrim's Pride to bring more diverse health screenings and displays to the work site. She also developed a menu of health-related topics that were presented at the work place as "Lunch-n-Learn" programs.

"It was about that time that Abner Kessel and Miriam Leatherman joined the staff," Welton said. "Abner with his massage therapy services and Miriam with her (American) Red Cross swimming and stroke classes. When Ross joined the Cardiac Rehab program at the hospital, Becky Hawse, RN, became manager of the center and the center went through an expansion, again with the assistance of Delegate Harold Michaels."

The expansion included separate cardio and resistance training areas and updated equipment.

Morgan Hill joined the staff in 2006 as a Fairmont State University intern and was hired as manager in October 2007 after Hawse married and moved to the Harrisonburg, Va., area. Hill has a master's degree in exercise physiology, a bachelor's degree in exercise science and a teaching degree in health and physical education.

A NuStep bike and Arc Trainer were added to the center's line of fitness equipment in 2006.

With economic changes in 2008, GMH had to look at cutting costs. Hill took to the challenge by soliciting funds from the Hardy County Commission and other sources.

"We cut some expenses, like free towels, and we wrote some grants," Hill said.

This year Hill added a Kids Club, which meets Mondays and Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., a Kids Swim on Fridays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and a Family Fitness Night on Fridays from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

"The school bus drops the kids off at the center for the Kids Club and on Fridays the whole family can work out and enjoy the pool for just $10," Hill said. "The center has been making health and wellness convenient.

"We have an 8,556-square-foot gym loaded with equipment, classes, instructors and massage therapy services that make health user-friendly and fun," she said. "Of course none of this matters if you don't have a friendly and knowledgeable staff to back it all up.

"HCH&WC provides our members with everything they need to pursue a healthy lifestyle in an unintimidating atmosphere. We are not a muscle head gym," she said. "If one of the gym members looks confused or in need of help, someone will come to the rescue. That is why HCH&WC is celebrating10 years and will hopefully be here for many to come."

Sen. Walt Helmick, D-15th District, and Michael were instrumental in the HCH&WC receiving the Governor's Community Participation Grant.

"We are very pleased about receiving this funding," Hill said. "We will be using it to purchase more equipment that will allow us to add some exciting and newer exercise programs."

The HCH&WC is open Mondays through Fridays from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m.