SaddleBrooke Two Communities

Kathy Niyazimbetov, marketing manager for the master-planned community 25 miles north of Tucson, AZ. “A cornerstone of active lifestyle is social interaction—club and group activities, classes, and events large and small. Most of these activities came to a screeching halt as stay-at-home orders were announced in March of this year. Suddenly, residents had to find new creative ways of being socially connected and keeping physically active while staying safe and healthy.”

The staff at SaddleBrooke was dedicated to making this happen. They promoted virtual interactions as a socially distant, safe alternative to typical activities, sending residents emails with information on available digital platforms, ideas on group activities that can be held virtually, and how-to guides for using technology solutions to stay social. They also introduced virtual fitness workouts tailored specifically to their residents as well as virtual personal training sessions. Once it was safe to do so, they began offering outdoor personal training, outdoor group fitness classes, and aqua classes, limiting class sizes to assure social distancing. The fitness center is now open as well, with a reservation system and safety protocols in place.

Thanks to the warm Arizona weather, Saddlebrooke’s golf courses have been able to stay open, with, of course, the necessary precautions. “Many residents took to golf as the perfect socially distant activity they can still enjoy together. Walking became the activity of choice for others, with residents getting a great number of steps both on our community walking paths and on the golf courses during allowed hours,” says Niyazimbetov. The community reopened their tennis and pickleball courts, as well as pools, when safety allowed, implementing the necessary protocols to promote social distancing.

“Thankfully, weather in sunny SaddleBrooke never gets that cold,” says Niyazimbetov. “You can’t shovel sunshine, as we say. We are planning on continuing to offer pop-up events such as outdoor movie screenings and drive-in concerts as weather permits. Once we are on the other side of the very short winter season, we will be ready with a host of other socially distant outdoor activities and events to make the most of the gorgeous Arizona spring.”

This Lowcountry gem of a gated island just six miles from Beaufort, SC, is all about community, and during the pandemic, they’ve had to discover a new way of embracing the values they hold dear.

“Of all the vocabulary we have learned (or created) in 2020, the term that makes me cringe is ‘social distance,’” says Laura McCarthy, director of marketing and communications for Dataw. “Yes, we need physical distance, but we also need social interaction to thrive. This is what has driven our programming throughout the pandemic: creating opportunities for members to feel engaged, while encouraging both physical and mental health.”

Dataw is an extraordinarily active community, and leadership was determined to keep the momentum going. In addition to instituting reservations for fitness amenities, they shifted their