The New Year has arrived, and whether or not you’ve made an official New Year’s Resolution, many people are looking for a way to obtain a healthier lifestyle in 2008. You need look no further than the Health and Athletic Center in Parker Square, as they have been helping residents of Denton County get fit since 1983. They are celebrating their 25th anniversary in business, and one way they are doing that is by offering a health fair on Wednesday, January 16.
      
The health fair will be from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. that day, and there will be a variety of information offered for different beauty and fitness services and products. Tina Greenwell, programs director at the Health and Athletic Center, said anyone can come in that day and receive a free body fat composition test. Another benefit of attending the health fair will be a 50% discount on the joining fee for anyone who signs up for a membership that day. Greenwell also said Carter Blood Center will conduct a blood drive  at the health fair from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and again from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
    
Health and Athletic Center owner Pat Branaugh initially started his business at the corner of Garden Ridge and Main Street in 1983. He worked at that location for a company called Raquetball Resorts International, and when they went out of business, he began the Health and Athletic Center in the same site. With steady growth, he moved the facility to Parker Square in Flower Mound in 2002. The facility is now 32,000 square feet, not including an additional 21,000 square feet inside devoted to gymnastics.  From day one, Branaugh says, his goal has been to cater to families, and he has enjoyed both customer and employee loyalty.
     
Greenwell has been with them since 1996 and Branaugh says many of the instructors at the health club have taught there for 15-20 years. Manager, Renee Hoffman, who has worked for Branaugh since 1988, said their facility has grown with the Flower Mound community and was indeed one of the first health clubs to cater to the entire family. Some of the ways they do that today include offering about 100 group exercise classes a week. Members can also take martial arts, dance and yoga lessons and enjoy an indoor pool, massage therapy, tanning beds and personal trainers. There are also basketball and volleyball leagues for members. 
    
For children, Excite! has a gymnastics school at the Health and Athletic Center. “Parents can take their children to a gymnastics lesson and then use that time to work out themselves,” said Greenwell. Another offering for youngsters is the Youth in Motion classes for those ages 8-13, and there is also a Kid’s Club where children ages 3 months to 11 years can stay while their parents work out. Branaugh says some of the things his facility offers that other fitness centers don’t are treadmill classes, senior fitness classes, and individual televisions on the cardio equipment.
    
Fitness Director Joyce Oldenburg, a 20 year employee, has a masters degree in nutrition and offers free nutrition consultations for members. Another focus on nutrition is the Smoothie King location inside the club.
Greenwell says if you would like to visit the Health and Athletic Center for the Health Fair on January 16, there is no need to make an appointment; just drop by. If you are interested in donating blood that day for the blood drive, please call them at 972-539-CLUB to make an appointment. Regardless of whether you participate in either of those events, the staff of the Health and Athletic Center wishes you a happy and healthy New Year!