50+ Lifestyles

Marching into March by Walking Laps at CASI

By Laura L. Kopp, MS
CASI President/CEO

Every week, I am blessed by the smile and good cheer of one of our members. Some are here for exercise. Others are here for support. But nevertheless, they are all here for something they feel will make them happier or healthier. One member, in particular, can be seen walking the halls of our main street almost daily. He comes to CASI to walk, and he leaves every day with another friend. His step counter never fails to amaze me as he invests time walking 100 laps 2-3 times each week.

I asked once what brings him back time and time again to walk our main street, given the many options in the QC community. He told me it’s the people he has the chance to visit with along his many miles of CASI’s interior pathway and the welcoming feeling he gets talking to the members and staff. It is the friendly faces that smile and welcome him to stop to chat. It is learning about all kinds of activities that are happening at CASI while he walks. It is the staff who make him feel part of the fabric of this community. It is for his health, but he shares that he can walk anywhere and CASI is his choice.

Once each week, almost without fail, he gives me a donation for CASI asking only that I accept it in the spirit in which it is given, without fanfare or formal recognition. He shares that he gets more out of his time at CASI than he could ever begin to give back.

Every day, hundreds of members join us at CASI for health, wellness and just plain fun. Their reasons are just as varied as the stories they have to share during our chats.