General News
4 November, 2021
Terang Fitness celebrates a decade
TERANG Fitness will today celebrate 10 years since the doors first opened to the community, in a milestone which those behind the centre say would not have been reached without the support of the community.
TERANG Fitness will today celebrate 10 years since the doors first opened to the community, in a milestone which those behind the centre say would not have been reached without the support of the community.
The project to have a gym built in Terang began in 2006 and spanned more than five years, with dozens of committee members dedicating thousands of hours and members of the community raising $209,000 towards the almost $1 million development of the facility.
Terang Fitness manager Kelly Mullen said the celebration was an opportunity to reflect on the support of the community and dedicated committee members including Richard Wearmouth, Nigel Bruckner, Lachie Lee, Ian Blackburn, Shirley Fahey, Kerrin McKenzie and Gerard O’Keeffe.
“I want to pay respect to the people that made this happen,” she said.
“The work that went in from 2006 to 2011 to actually make it a reality is what I want to celebrate when looking back because if those community members had not raised the money, this wouldn’t have been a reality.
“That’s what Terang is about – community. Everyone putting in and making things like this happen.
“I think that is rare for a small community to be able to pull together and achieve something like this.”
The milestone is a special one for Ms Mullen, who got her start selling coffee when Terang Fitness opened – a role she will reprise with free coffee for members today.
She said watching Terang Fitness grow over the years had been amazing.
“We’ve got 330 members now. It’s such a community hub, and I often wonder what everyone would be doing if it wasn’t here,” Ms Mullen said.
“There is so much diversity here, and we have members from age 14 to a few in their 80s, so it really does bring the community together. It is a great community space which needs to be celebrated.”
Terang Fitness Centre and Stadium Committee president Kerrin McKenzie said it was terrific to see the milestone reached.
“It was originally created by the community who raised over $200,000 towards its construction,” he said.
“It was well supported by Corangamite Shire, the state government and the federal government but for the community to dig deep is why it got up and running.
“We’ve also been very lucky to have had Richard Wearmouth and Kelly Mullen as managers, who have done a fantastic job.
“It’s great because the community centre is now paying the community back with so many people involved, programs for everyone and we’re still looking at further growth. It’s a classic win-win situation.”
Former Corangamite Shire councillor Chris O’Connor, who represented council at the official opening of the gym and was a strong supporter of the proposal, said he was pleased to be involved in a community-driven project which benefits the shire to this day.
“It was very much a grassroots-up project driven by members of the community who otherwise would have to travel to enjoy keeping fit,” he said.
“It gave us the opportunity to meet huge demand to have an up-to-date, first class fitness centre which came before council as an excellent, well thought-out proposal.
“It’s been quite a solid business in the town, created employment, and is a good asset. If you’re trying to attract and retain citizens, it is important to have great facilities and Terang has that.
“The fitness centre has complemented strong sport and exercise infrastructure, along with walking tracks, which has helped to make it a vibrant, attractive town.”
Mr O’Connor said he was proud to be involved in a proposal which was standing the test of time.
“A lot of projects you take to council or the state government and, while intentions are wonderful, a lot don’t stack up or create trouble down the road,” he said.
“To be involved in a project which has created a strong, vibrant business in town, just like was predicted, is a credit to everyone who was involved in the grassroots movement.
“Everyone who was involved has picked a winner, for sure.”
