From the Board Chair

BY WALTER LYNN

Last Saturday, my CrossFit coach, Mike, made a statement that made me think. He said, “In 10 years, it is going to be lonely for you, because all your friends will be dead!” That got me thinking about how it’s important to not only make a commitment to working out, but also connecting with community, particularly the younger generation who will be around for the next couple of decades I’ll probably be around.

I do CrossFit five to six days per week. In my journey, over the last eight years I have lost 80 pounds. Our class is called Longevity and the average age of our class is 71. We have a retired orthodontist who is 79 years old. I have not arrived at that the average age, but I am currently 69 years old. I cannot say enough for what coach Mike has helped me to accomplish.

I did not think it was possible to do some of the things we do and change some of the medical markers used to monitor our own personal health. My diet has changed over the eight-year period. The social aspect of our class is huge! If someone is gone for a few days, someone from my class will be reaching out to check on you. We share our outside interests with each other. We share our recipes or the books we have read. The power of the group and the changes each of us has made is astounding to say the least. What has the physical part of our class and social interaction done for our own well-being?

I try to extend that commitment to social connection with my other passion of regenerative agriculture. For example, when I’m driving at 6:40 a.m. to my CrossFit class, I may be connecting via Bluetooth