Alleghany Wellness Center holds its grand opening

The Alleghany Wellness Center held its grand opening and open house on April 24 at its new facility in Sparta.

The center, which first opened for business on March 8, now has grown to include almost 1,000 members. "That equates to about 700 memberships," said Director Joe Potts. "Those are great numbers, but we're still in need of continued increases in memberships and participation." Potts explained that a number of the center's memberships are for family units, which can pay one price for several immediate family members.

"In order to keep our center financially strong, we need to increase our memberships and keep a high level of participation," Potts said. He said he has set a goal of attaining at least 1,000 memberships by the end of the year.

The grand opening events featured a 5K walk, ribbon cutting, speeches and tours.

The walk started at 10 a.m. and ended around 11 a.m. at the front door of the Wellness Center. That event did not have an official winner.

The grand opening celebration started at 1 p.m. and ended at 3 p.m. Participation in the walk, which is expected to become an annual event, was somewhat lower than organizers expected. "About 20 people participated and everyone had a good time," said Potts. "The weather was sunny and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. We were prepared for more people."

The event was coordinated by Dr. Denise Absher and Kelly Murphy from Alleghany Memorial Hospital. Assisting with traffic and helping on scene were the Sparta Police Department, N.C. Highway Patrol and Alleghany EMS.

"We have already started planning next year's event and hope to see our Cutting the Ribbon — Attending the grand opening of the Alleghany Wellness Center are (from left) Dr. Denise Absher, Juanita Bryan, Wendell White, Ralph Castillo, Jack Martin, Pat Sexton, Ken Richardson, Jane McCarthy, Sandy Carter-Herndon, Agnes Joines, Dr. Jack Cahn, Doris Stoker, Kevin Harlan, Martha McKnight and Joe Potts.

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