At last night’s meeting (03-22-16), the Sitka Assembly recognized the service of Cindy Edwards and Brant Brantman for revitalizing the Hames Athletic and Wellness Center. Deputy Mayor Matthew Hunter presented the proclamation. (Emily Kwong/KCAW photo)
At last night’s meeting (03-23-16), the Sitka Assembly recognized the service of Cindy Edwards and Brant Brantman for revitalizing the Hames Athletic and Wellness Center through a volunteer-run model.
The Hames Center offers 90 classes a week and has over 1500 registered members and day users. The Assembly’s proclamation declared March 22nd as “Cindy Edwards and Brant Brantman Day.”
Brantman, the facilities manager and Edwards’ spouse, thanked the Assembly and said, “I feel a little silly that our names are on the top. I know you couldn’t fit all the names or all the people that have really made this happen, but I just want to say how proud I am of all those people. Maybe we’re a catalyst for it or maybe we were just lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to get it started, but it’s really due to this incredible community that just rallied from day one around the clock for those first weeks so we could open the doors.”
The facility – located on the Sheldon Jackson Campus – was forced to shut down operations in 2010. But five years ago it opened as a non-profit under the direction of Edwards and Brantman. Community members put in 6,000 hours of volunteer work to revitalize the building in four months.
Edwards, who stepped down as director this month, talked about ongoing developments with their gymnastics program, which offers 36 classes a week, partnerships with the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC), and the Hames Wellness Fund.
Describing the fund, Edwards said, “It’s a wellness fund that partners with our non-profit agencies to allow people with limited income to use the Hames Center. And to date, we’ve had 1,875 people that have received services.”
Caitlin Blaisdell, new director of the Hames Center. (Photo courtesy of the Hames Center)
Edwards added that the price of a monthly membership – $63 – is the same as it was when the city was running the show in 2008. With Edwards departure, the new director of the Hames Center is former Assistant Director Caitlin Blaisdell.
At the direction of City Administrator Mark Gorman, the Assembly also agreed to hold special assembly meetings for upcoming budget discussions, rather than work sessions.
In committee news, the Assembly appointed Lorraine Lil and Barbara Morse to three-year terms on the Parks and Recreation Committee.
