A room at T.A. Dugger Jr. High once used as a catch all is now an amazing fitness room for faculty and students.

The idea for the renovation started with a vision from Travis Williams. He saw the room outdated and full of equipment with a lot of clutter. He thought the great space needed to be a useful space for faculty and students.

The General Community Health Fund helped provide the money to purchase paint and equipment for the room. The walls and columns in the room have fresh orange and black paint with Cyclones painted at the top.

Many different types of weights, bars, and training equipment are neatly placed on shelves. Due to the increase in students enrolled in T.A. Dugger this year, some lockers were taken out of the current fitness room and moved to the hall for students.

Further expansion plans to purchase more types of equipment for the fitness room include a treadmill and rowing machine.

The goal is having a variety of equipment to meet the needs of all students that are interested in participating.

Travis Williams stated, “Being a former football coach, I wanted to give students, faculty, and athletes a better experience at school. Lifting weights is something that is great to release stress and a skill students can carry on with them throughout life. Lifting weights does not mean you want to be a body builder; it means you want to keep your body healthy.”

Safety for the students is the number one priority, therefore students are only allowed in the room without the supervision of a teacher or coach. Many students and staff said having workout equipment readily available after school is so nice and convenient.

Dr. Corey Gardenhour stated, “The weight room is a great opportunity for students and staff to work out. I appreciate all the hard work Travis and staff have devoted to making this room available for everyone.”