Pines Village employee profile: Lorrie Ward

Pines Village senior fitness instructor Lorrie Ward arrives at the Campbell Street Café each morning at half past six to find a crowd waiting for her.

The early arrivals, residents of Meridian Woods neighborhood, are eager to get to work in the café’s fitness center and Lorrie is eager to get them moving.

“I love to see people be active,” says Lorrie, who leads fitness initiatives at Pines Village, Meridian Woods and for the city’s senior community at Village Park Enrichment Center.

At Pines Village, the major 2009 renovation created a fitness center boasting four recumbent cardiovascular machines, two treadmills, two bicycle-like cardio machines and an elliptical machine.  Lorrie is certified to provide therapy massages and residents have access to the center’s whirlpool spa after workouts as well.

The large, airy center also features an expansive picture window affording views of green space, water and a variety of wildlife from ducks to hummingbirds.  Some residents find the wall of windows so large, Lorrie says with a laugh, they bring sunglasses to their workouts.

On the opposite wall, Lorrie maintains a large board logging each resident’s total of steps taken, calories burned or miles accumulated from their work on the machines.

Lorrie familiarizes residents with the equipment, helps them set goals and monitors both their workouts and their overall progress.

She recalls one resident who started exercising at age 100. The gentleman noticed his legs getting weaker, she says, so she developed an individualized program for him on one of the machines.

“I love to see anybody that improves and gets better,” Lorrie says.  “Their walking is stronger, they’re more powerful, they feel good about themselves.”

Besides her enthusiasm for what she does, Lorrie’s secret weapon is the simple power of getting active.

“I don’t know how many residents say, ‘I hated coming down here, but after I finish, I feel energized.’”

Lorrie started with Pines Village as a home health aide in 1997. A pilot exercise program begun in 2000 revealed a good deal of interest among residents and a fitness center was opened in a vacant apartment.  The recent renovation expanded both the center and residents’ time on the equipment.  Meanwhile, Lorrie had earned her certification as a senior fitness instructor and transitioned to that role.

In time, she started up the Campbell Street Café fitness center at Meridian Woods and began equipment training sessions at Village Park.

She comes by her love of fitness from her days as a basketball player and member of the track team at Hobart High School. Now a 60-year-old grandmother of seven who once dreamed of being a physical education teacher, Lorrie continues to practice the physical activity she preaches.

“I just enjoy seeing them come in and getting good exercise,” she says of the seniors in her charge.  “When I see them improve, that just makes me feel good.”

And as much as she gives to residents, Lorrie also knows she gets as much or more back from being with them.

“Each and every resident can teach all of us something,” she says. “They’ve lived interesting lives, they’ve done things that are remarkable.  I’ve learned so much from them.”

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