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Seniors from Bethany Village Hit the Slopes

TUESDAY, 9 FEBRUARY 2010


Armed with parkas and matching blue and white stripped hats, the snow warriors will gather today at 12:30 p.m. for a serious day of tubing at Ski Roundtop. What makes this group any different from other tubers? This group is from Bethany Village retirement community and they range in age from 70 to 92 years young, and they can’t wait to hit the slopes for some action.

“I’ve loved it since the first time I tried it back in 2006”

“I’ve loved it since the first time I tried it back in 2006,” says Louise Weldy (83). “I’ve always been active in sports, and although I no longer snow ski, tubing is a fun way to be outside in the winter and enjoy the outdoors. My kids and grandchildren think it’s great that I’m doing this.”

This former art teacher is typical of many of the residents at Bethany Village who have embraced the community’s wellness program. Ms. Weldy starts most of her days with an 8:00 a.m. water aerobics class, and in the afternoon, catches a yoga session. She also takes stretching classes, line dancing, and plays water volleyball. She finds the many choices very appealing.

Dick Kostukovich (75) and his wife Corrine (72) have both been tubing with Bethany Village since 2007. “I love when I go down the slope and the tube starts spinning and doing whirlies,” explains Ms. Kostukovich. “That makes it more exciting. My husband still thinks he’s young enough to do belly flops with the tube. I tell him not to, but he loves it. I just don’t want him to hurt himself.”

The Kostukovichs attribute their love of Bethany Village’s annual tubing day to being active. When the Kostukovichs are not traveling (they have visited 41 countries), Ms. Kostukovich works out three times a week with swimming and aerobics to keep her moving. “There are a lot of great programs here at Bethany Village that I get involved in,” says Ms. Kostukovich. “The problem is that people wait too long to move here. Then they are too downhill to move anymore. I’m so glad that we moved here when I was 56 because I wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on all the activities—it’s been a wonderful experience.”

Sandy Reid, BV wellness director, initiated the annual tubing event back in 2006. “This year we have 25 residents signed up for the trip—our largest group to date,” explains Ms. Reid. “Often, our residents will sign up to go on the trip and just watch, but by the next year they are no longer content to be bystanders and join in the tubing on the slopes.”

As a sign of their enthusiasm, Ms. Reid recalls a trip back in 2008 when a warm spell left the snow on the slopes a little slushy. “Our residents were saying the slopes were too slow and wanted us to figure out a way to make them go faster. These are not old people like some may think,” she smiled.

Bethany Village is a CARF-CCAC-accredited continuing care retirement community that is part of Asbury Communities, Inc., which provides management and support services for a system of continuing care retirement communities for older adults. It is ranked by the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) and Ziegler Capital Markets Group’s AZ 100 as the 14th largest not-for-profit multi-site senior living organization in the country.

Source: http://www.businesswire.com

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