An ending and a beginning. The gym is closing. The gym is opening. Island Body and Fitness at the old Lopez Village market building is closing and a new group, Lopez Fit, is opening a gym at a new location; the old Paper Scissors building.

Aaron Dye, owner of Island Body, told the new group that he wants to see a gym succeed on the island. And because it’s so important that we have one, he will do whatever it takes to make that happen. So he is donating many of the exercise machines, hand weights, scale, mirrors and the flooring to the new group.

Dye said, “I’m not going to be able to make it go, so I hope somebody else will.”

A Lopez Fit board member said, “We could not have done this without him. He also helped arrange to facilitate moving the equipment to the new location.”

Lopez Community Wellness Center (dba Lopez Fit) is a Washington nonprofit corporation. Lopez Family Resource Center will assist with channeling donations to be used for discounts based on needs. It is hoped that a scaled down version of the old gym, working from a nonprofit business model, will allow Lopez to sustain an exercise facility.  Many of the best of the exercise machines and equipment are being moved to the new gym. An application for the Silver Sneakers program is being processed and looks likely to happen.

Building on the inventory of equipment donated by Dye and continuing some of the classes that were held at the old gym, Lopez Fit offers a leaner look. With about 100 full-time members Lopez Fit should succeed. Information about memberships and donations is available at the website www.LopezFit.org or by calling 468-3199.

Lopez Fit will open to the public on Jan. 3 with an open house at 131 Weeks Road.  Come and join