Hub has big Black Friday, hires swim-team coaches
MARION - Black Friday was a bright day for The Hub Recreation Center, General Manager Chris Georgantas reported on Monday night to the Marion City Council, which also took action to hire a roster of coaches for The Hub's planned new swimming team.
Georgantas said the city-run rec center's annual Black Friday membership drive generated 228 new members, with 125 adults signing up to give going to the gym a try. And 100 or more family memberships were inked during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
That brings The Hub's total membership to around 7,400, said Georgantas, who added that about 25 Hub staff members took part in getting the new arrivals registered. Several new sponsors took part in this year's promotion, among them Smoothie King and Stacked Supplements, as well as HQ Salon, which provided neck-and-shoulder massages during the event.
"Pretty good leap of faith the council took three or four years ago in approving The Hub," commented Commissioner Anthony L. Rinella.
Council action was required on several new hires and job classification changes at The Hub, including the coaches who will oversee the creation of a new swim team, The Hub Marion Manta Rays.
Mayor Robert L. Butler wondered aloud: "What is a manta ray?"
"It's a very fast fish," Georgantas said of the creature, which flies under the sea with large fins on each side, stabilized by a long, thin whip of a tail, similar to a kite.
According to Internet research performed by Commissioner Jim Webb during the meeting, manta rays can be huge, growing to as much as 21 feet across.
"It's a big fish in the sea," Webb explained to Butler.
But Butler wondered about the cost of the swim team, which Georgantas said would be $61,913, with $73,035 in revenue the first year or so, based on a "conservative" estimate of 50 swimmers.
Rinella made the motion to approve the hiring of the Manta Rays' coaches, with Commissioner John Goss seconding.
The new coaches include current Hub swim instructors and lifeguards Tyler Underwood, Kamen Rosado and Jessica Pemberton. The team staff will be rounded out with current swim instructor and group exercise instructor Melise Oakley and Martin Jennings, currently a swim instructor, group exercise instructor and personal trainer.
The Manta Rays will be officially launched in January, Georgantas said, marking the transition of The Hub's aquatics program from "learning to swim to swim team."
Responding to questioning from Rinella, Georgantas said The Hub is dovetailing with Marion Park District's own swim team, the Marlins, to ensure there are no conflicts and to give the park swimmers opportunities to compete beyond the summer.
Furthermore, the Manta Rays will give youngsters from Marion and the nearby communities a closer option over taking part in the SIU Carbondale Rec Center's Saluki Swim league, he said.</group>