Renovated fitness center opens at St. Francis

The St. Francis High School community recently celebrated the ribbon cutting and blessing of its newly renovated Spartan Fitness Center.

Fourteen individuals and families raised more than $76,000 for the project.

Spearheaded by parent Dr. Pat Calcagno, along with input from Dave Haberman, physical education department chairman, and Bob McMillen, operations associate and varsity football coach, the goal was to maximize the fitness space to benefit all students and athletes while maintaining the safety of users.

"The decision to improve the fitness center was driven most importantly by student need," Haberman said. "All students, athletes or not, utilize the space and therefore benefit from the major improvements in safety, quality and capacity."

"This space is one of the few rooms in the entire school that every student will use before they graduate," Calcagno said. "Some students might not be athletes, but through their physical education classes, all students will have the opportunity to use the Spartan Fitness Center."

"This new state-of-the-art fitness center represents what St. Francis stands for - the standard of excellence and the holistic development of our students - spiritually, academically, physically and socially," said Betsy Ackerson, St. Francis president.

"We are fortunate to have school leaders, parents and alumni who care deeply about students and want to meet their needs. They have a keen sense of where there are opportunities for improvement and the passion and resources to bring them to life," Haberman said.

While the ideas for the fitness center have been percolating for a few years, Calcagno and others approached Ackerson in June to undertake the project.

The space itself came together in about four to six weeks over the summer, from the time equipment was ordered, to the tear down of the old space and the installation of the new space.

The Spartan Fitness Center was completed in time for the first day of school.

"I'm very excited for our athletes," McMillen said. "They now have a space where they can help themselves develop, now and for the future."

"This project was completed on a very ambitious timeline," Ackerson said, "and we are very grateful to all those who made this dream a reality through giving of their time, treasure and talent."