GVRNow!

The NEW Desert Hills Fitness Center

Continued on page 6

Spirits were high for the ribbon-cutting at the new Desert Hills fitness center. Fitness buffs and dabblers will enjoy nearly twice the square footage as the Canoa Ranch fitness center. The space is outfitted with amenities members will not find at other GVR centers: boxing, barbells and a Smith Machine, Stairmaster, multiple spin bikes, a large area for floor work, and an adjacent multi-use fitness studio.

CONTACT US 520.625.3440

Operational matters email: hotline@gvrec.org

Board policy matters email: board@gvrec.org

Canoa Hills Customer Service

East Center Customer Service

Las Campanas Customer Service

West Center Customer Service

GVR INFO

MAJOR CENTERS — Rec Staff

Open daily 5:30am–9pm

Canoa Hills

Canoa Ranch

Desert Hills

East Center

Las Campanas

Santa Rita Springs

West Center

520-625-6200 (Lunch 11:30am–12:30pm)

520-625-4641 (Lunch 12:30–1:30pm)

520-648-7669 (Lunch 11:30am–12:30pm)

520-625-0288 (Lunch Noon–1pm)

SATELLITE CENTERS

All Satellite Centers 520-549-9733

Open daily 5:30am–9pm

3660 S Camino del Sol

5750 S Turquoise Mtn Dr

2980 S Camino del Sol

7 S Abrego Dr

565 W Belltower Dr

921 W Via Rio Fuerte

1111 S GVR Dr

520-631-7151

520-631-0761

520-631-8060

520-631-8072

520-631-7068

520-631-8092

520-631-7909

520-343-2440

AUGUST BOARD & COMMITTEE MEETINGS

Audit Committee: No meeting scheduled

Board of Directors Work Session: August 9, 2–4pm – WC Auditorium/Zoom

Board of Directors Regular Meeting: August 23, 2–4pm – WC Auditorium/Zoom

Board Affairs Committee: Tuesday, August 8, 1:30–3pm – WC Room 2/Zoom

Fiscal Affairs Committee: Tuesday, August 15, 1:30–3pm – WC Room 2/Zoom

Investments Committee: No meeting scheduled

Nominations & Elections Committee: No meeting scheduled

Planning & Evaluation Committee:

Thursday, August 10, 1:30–3pm – WC Room 2/Zoom

Any change in meeting status will be announced on the GVR website calendar.

Abrego North

Abrego South

Casa Paloma I

Casa Paloma II

Continental Vistas

Madera Vista

Pickleball Center

1601 N Abrego Dr

1655 S Abrego Dr

400 W Circulo del Paladin

330 N Calle de las Banderolas

906 W Camino Guarina

440 S Camino del Portillo

2612 S Camino de la Canoa

GVR BOARD

GVR BOARD MEMBERS

President: Marge Garneau

Vice President: Carol Crothers

Secretary: Bart Hillyer

Treasurer: Jim Carden

Assistant Secretary: Barbara Blake

Assistant Treasurer: Laurel Dean

DIRECTORS

Nancy Austin

Kathi Bachelor

Ted Boyett

Beth Dingman

Steve Gilbert

Bev Lawless

GVR BOARD COMMITTEE CHAIRS

Audit Committee: Nancy Austin

Board Affairs Committee: Carol Crothers

Scan this QR code or visit gvrec.org/centers/facility-use for real-time pool, fitness, and pickleball usage. We

Financial Affairs Committee: Jim Carden

Investments Committee: Bev Lawless

Nominations & Elections Committee: Beth Dingman

Planning & Evaluation Committee: Kathi Bachelor

Email: board@gvrec.org

Center Operations Assistants (Yellow Shirts)

Did You Know?

GVR has new rules for the pools and spas that expand options for members:

Food and drink are now welcome on the pool decks as long as these materials are kept more than four feet from the water’s edge. This is consistent with the Pima County Health Department regulations for semi-public pools. BE SURE that your food or beverage is not a breakable container—glass and ceramic are not permitted anywhere on the pool deck. If there’s a spill, please notify the center staff ASAP or call the COA at 520-343-2440.

During the usual children’s swim hours (see below), kids age SIX and older are welcome to use the spas with close adult supervision. Watch those youngest kids closely and limit their time in the spa to avoid overheating. This change aligns with the recommendations of the American Pediatrics Association.

Music: for many years, GVR has not permitted audible music on pool decks or in any common areas. You like country, she likes rap, he likes classical—disputes arise. Even when you ask everyone if it’s OK, some people will be reluctant to say it’s not, and folks who arrive after the party has started are unlikely to ask you turn it off. Neighbors and other center users are also affected. That said, staff recognize poolside fun often goes with music. We are working on a compromise for satellite pools only. Please stand by.

Children’s Pool Hours

West Center Weekdays: Noon–9pm

Weekends & holidays: ALL day

Abrego South

Daily: 4–6pm

All other pools

Daily: 11am–1pm AND 4–6pm

No guest pass required for kids! Children 17 and younger must be accompanied by an adult at all times. Children six and younger must have an adult in the pool with them at all times.

Letter from the President

Thank you to all who answered the survey on cameras. Since this can be a sensitive subject, the Board asked for your input. Over 60% of the respondents want cameras (see below). We will revisit this issue at the August Board meeting. In the past, the Fiscal Affairs Committee recommended the old shuffleboard courts at Desert Hills be repurposed to a new large fitness room. It is DONE! Good job, Scott and GVR staff.

Del Sol (the new clubhouse) is housing Billiards and both the top floor and the bottom floor are in the process of being completed. It will be a great “hang out” for the members.

The new Glass Arts Studio is in progress at Santa Rita Springs. It should be completed this fall, hopefully well before Christmas. In addition to the social room and a storage shed at Abrego North, the club is currently using old storage space at West Center for their kilns. Currently, classes and projects are “created” at Abrego North then transported to West to have them fired.

The Board and staff are following the mission of GVR to provide excellent facilities that create opportunities for recreation, social activities and leisure education. A win for us all! What a great place to live!

—Marge Garneau, Board President

And the survey says…

How do GVR members feel about using cameras in centers to address security concerns? This is the question the Board of Directors sought to answer through a survey. From June 30 to July 18, approximately 1,250 members (GVR numbers are still being verified) weighed in. Preliminary results are as follows:

• 67.23% of respondents are in favor of installing cameras

• 33.25% are not

• 70.01% of those in favor prefer cameras in parking lots, and at entrances and walkways.

• 14.47% prefer cameras at entrances and walkways only

• 2.22% prefer cameras in parking lots only

Several hundred comments are still being reviewed for common themes. Look for a more thorough report at the August 23 regular meeting of the Board of Directors.

Thanks to all who took the time to assist the Board with this decision.

It’s a Good Time to Stay Inside

It’s August in Green Valley. A bit warmer and a lot wetter than it was in April! It’s a good time to stay inside and take a class, or two, or three.

Interested in a fitness class? Active Senior Workout, Body Sculpting, Cardio Boxing for Beginners, Exercise/ Fun/Fitness, Line Dancing for Dabblers, Shotokan Karate, and a Spin class are all available in August.

Maybe yoga is your thing? Yoga Plus a Chair, Yoga for Beginners, Yoga Release, Yoga Saguaro Level I/II, Yoga Saguaro for Back Care, and Yoga to Strengthen and Tone are all open for business.

Looking to sing and dance? Bathtub Singers I, Intermediate Tap, and Line Dance I await you.

GVR’s Recreation Catalog is available in centers and at GVRec.org. Scroll toward the bottom of the home page, click on the catalog, and you’ll be taken to a link for Recreation Updates. Here you can learn which classes have been added, or which schedules have changed, since the catalog was published.

Our Customer Service staff are available to answer questions about classes, to get you enrolled, or help with your online account for remote class registration. You can reach them by phone at 520-625-3440, or in the West Center, East Center or Las Campanas offices during business hours. They’d love nothing more than to hear from you and get you set up with a class, or two, or three.

FIND YOUR FUN!

Painting by Nan Lux

Photo by Frankie Lopez / Unsplash

Personal trainers were on hand to help people get oriented to the new equipment. From left, Dani Cawthorne, Marie Little, Suzanne Polzin, and Alan Carter.

CEO Scott Somers took a personal interest in the project, from meeting with regular Desert Hills users about what they’d like to see, to cutting the ribbon with GVR Board President Marge Garneau, Director Kathi Bachelor, Director Steve Gilbert, and Director Nancy Austin.

Finishing touches will continue in the coming months, including mirrors and bars, a TRX station, a few more pieces of equipment, mats for the stretching area, and more storage for jackets and small belongings.

The studio will host a variety of classes including spin, cardio boxing, Cardio Pump, Active Senior Workout, and more.

Senior Fitness: Program Design, $129

Program Design is aimed at members who want to learn to train on their own, but still have the guidance needed to move in the right direction safely and effectively.

Unfortunately, our bodies change with age, and this can have an impact on our function and mobility. Range of motion, balance, coordination and muscle strength can deteriorate over time.

For $129, you receive two, one-hour consultations that will set you up to be able to execute a six-week, individualized training plan on your own. The consultations include:

• complete assessment

• prime and prep warm-up

• corrective exercise strategies (as needed)

• strength training prescription

• cardio prescription

Participants will be walked through the details of the program and provided with appropriate form, reps, tempo, sets and rest periods. The workout schedule is in six-week cycles and based on individual preferences: two-day splits, three-day splits, four-day splits. The goal is to have members become confident and self-sufficient in their quest to reach personal goals.

For information, please contact Lee Smith lees@gvrec.org.

Club Spotlight

The GVR Woodworkers Club does repairs

The GVR Woodworkers Club provides a safe, well-maintained, organized wood shop where GVR members may explore woodworking crafts. The 5800 square-foot shop is well-equipped and includes project layout areas and outdoor spaces for sanding and finishing. The club offers its members classes from November through April, and existing members are often available to provide support during club hours. Woodworkers organize a wooden toybuilding project that makes and distrubutes about 650 toys that mostly go to the St Andew’s Children’s Clinic in Nogales, AZ. The wood shop also performs furniture repair by donation.

The shop is located in the West Center courtyard, and is open Monday, 8am–2pm and Tuesday to Saturday, 8am–4pm. Take a peek at the website for more details: wwgvr.org.

Mini workshops are just part of what the GVR Santa Rita Art League has to offer

The Santa Rita Art League (SRAL) offers the use of a fully equipped professional studio and a library of over 900 videos and art books for club member use. Monthly general meetings feature in-depth demonstrations and programs by proficient artists in a variety of mediums. Members can participate in open and juried exhibitions at various GVR social centers. The club organizes art mini-workshops where members can meet and work with other artists in the mediums of their choice. The workshops feature various special interest groups including: watercolor, portraiture, life drawing, plein air, abstract, pastel, oil, acrylic, mixed media and collage, printmaking, and assemblage.

Stop by Santa Rita Springs Center, lower level any time from 9am–6pm

Join the GVR Computer Club for outstanding membership benefits

The GVR Computer Club provides assistance, exchange of information, on-site as well as Zoom classes/meetings, and on-site equipment to members of GVR who share an interest in personal and Mac computers, tablets, smartphones, and software. Additionally, the club offers special interest group meetings such as the Investment Club and Quicken Finance throughout the week or month.

Come to our new location on the upper level of Santa Rita Springs in the Kino room. The club is open Monday through Friday, 8am–Noon.

Contact gvrcomputerclub@gmail.com or 520-625-4508, and see the website for a list of benefits: ccgvaz.org.

GVRLive! DANCE

NO SAND BEACH BAND

Tucson and Southern Arizona’s Beach Party Band

Friday, August 18 at 7pm · West Center Auditorium

Member/Guest $14 · General Public $18 · Everyone welcome!

Enjoy your favorite beach party tunes! No Sand Beach Band will bring you a beach party in the desert. You will love dancing to the music of the 60s, 70s and 80s. Grab your “Two Tickets to Paradise” and join the fun!

You will find the 2023/24 catalog in the September issue of Home, Health and Life delivered directly to your mailboxes.