{"id":13305,"date":"2020-03-11T00:10:47","date_gmt":"2020-03-11T06:10:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=13305"},"modified":"2020-03-11T00:10:47","modified_gmt":"2020-03-11T06:10:47","slug":"heather-stanton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2020\/03\/11\/heather-stanton\/","title":{"rendered":"Heather Stanton"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Heather Stanton. Photo credit: Courtesy photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T<\/span>he Blaine County Recreation District (BCRD) FitWorks center at the Community Campus in Hailey is a busy place. In addition to the fully equipped gym where people run, ride, and pump iron throughout the day, the facility also offers 15 different fitness classes ranging from from Barre to Zumba.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are up to eight classes a day starting as early as 7:30 a.m. and running until 5:30 p.m. and fitness manager Heather Stanton oversees the class schedule, works with all the instructors, and helps put the community at the center of the schedule. If you visit Fitworks, Heather might be at the front desk to welcome you and answer any questions or she may be teaching a spin or body-sculpt class to a devoted following. No matter where you interact with her, her warm smile, energy, and organization is something members appreciate.<\/span><\/p>\n

Heather joined the BCRD in February after working for many years as a fitness instructor in the Valley at both FitWorks and High Altitude Fitness. \u201cI\u2019ve been teaching for 15 years and know most of the instructors, which is great because I get to work with my friends,\u201d Heather said. \u201cIn addition to that, my favorite part of this job is working with the public. I like the everyday interacting. I also love to work out and I\u2019m paid to work out, which is pretty great!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

The creative aspect of teaching classes also makes this job a great fit for Heather. She said, \u201cYou always get to try something fresh. With the endless supply of ideas for fitness on the Internet, I can incorporate new trends and ideas for motivating people into my classes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Music is a big part of this, too. \u201cMy favorite genre for my spin classes is fast EDM music, but I always mix it up,\u201d Heather explained. \u201cIf the music sucks, the class sucks, so I spend a lot of prep time creating playlists. I\u2019ve been doing this for a while now so I have some great lists that I can rotate. If I make a new one, I do the workout on my own first to see what is working, what is dragging, what I thought I\u2019d love but I hate, and fine-tune everything. I\u2019m really into Spotify right now because I can rip and tear it to get just what I want.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Heather said that she also likes the fact that she gets to teach two such different classes. \u201cIt\u2019s really important to get your heart rate up and sweat. which is what spin does, but weights make a big difference in your daily life. Building and maintaining muscle mass is good for metabolism, strong bones, and so many other things. Strength training is such an important part of fitness that some people don\u2019t want to do. The class makes it fun.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While she is still new to the job and learning quite a bit about FitWorks, Heather said she already has seen how the membership community is at the center of everything the facility does. \u201cOur class flow, class offerings, and gymnasium time are all based around what the community wants,\u201d she said. \u201cWhether it\u2019s pickleball, indoor soccer, aqua aerobics, or yoga, we listen to what our members need and do our best to provide that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Part of Heather\u2019s job also allows her to try new classes and to experience what members experience, which can also lead to serving the community even better. \u201cRecently, I got to try a Pilates class, something that was new to me,\u201d she explained. \u201cIt was great, and at the end of the class I was chatting with the teacher who told me she didn\u2019t really have a sub for the class. I then met a woman who came in who told me she used to teach Pilates and was interested in getting back to teaching. I connected her with the teacher who needed the sub. That\u2019s the kind of thing I wouldn\u2019t have known unless I took the class.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Heather moved to the Wood River Valley from Park City, Utah, in 2000, planning, like so many, to stay a summer. Though she came from a great mountain town, she also fell in love with this one and, after working that first summer for family friends at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, she got her next job at the former Sun Valley Athletic Club. \u201cThat was my social circuit, for sure,\u201d she said. It is also where she met her husband, Frank, to whom she has been married for nearly 15 years. He was rehabbing a blown-out knee, she was teaching a spin class, and the rest is history. <\/span><\/p>\n

Though she continued to teach when the Sun Valley Athletic Club folded, Heather went back to her experience in retail, working at Sturtevants, Sturtos, and Silver Creek Outfitters before transitioning into her new role. \u201cWhat I liked best about retail was interacting with customers and I love that I still get to talk with people all day at the BCRD.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Five questions for Heather:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

WRW: What is the favorite trip you\u2019ve taken in the past year?<\/span><\/p>\n

HS:\u00a0 <\/span>Well, I am planning to go to New Zealand within the next year. Frank used to live there and we can\u2019t wait to go and just explore. Frank is from England, so we also go there quite a bit to see his family and my twin nieces. <\/span><\/p>\n

WRW: Where do you go for a special date night?<\/span><\/p>\n

HS: We go to Despo\u2019s every Friday. That\u2019s our thing. I alternate between the Richard Burrito or the KMT and always have an ice cold beer. <\/span><\/p>\n

WRW: How do you like to spend your time when you\u2019re not at work?<\/span><\/p>\n

HS: I ski in the winter, but not as much as I used to. In the summer, I love to hike and mountain bike, but hiking is my favorite. There are so many places to go, you can have music, you can go with friends, think and just be alone, be social \u2026 every hike is different. <\/span><\/p>\n

WRW: What\u2019s your favorite trail?<\/span><\/p>\n

HS: I usually do River Run because it\u2019s right outside my door. I can blaze up the mountain, so it\u2019s really convenient. But I really do like to do Proctor and that area when I have time. <\/span><\/p>\n

WRW:<\/b> What are you looking forward to most this summer?<\/p>\n

HS:<\/b> Everything! I am excited to have some time to play outside and just to enjoy the sun and the long days. There are fewer people in the gym during the summer because everyone is out enjoying this beautiful place so, unlike a lot of jobs that really amp up in the summer, I think I will have flexibility and I\u2019m excited for that. <\/span><\/p>\n

Next time you\u2019re heading for a workout at FitWorks, be sure to say hi to Heather or stop in for one of her great classes. And if you have someone to recommend for this column, email production@woodriverweekly.com, subject line: someone to meet.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Blaine County Recreation District (BCRD) FitWorks center at the Community Campus in Hailey is a busy place. In addition to the fully equipped gym where people run, ride, and pump iron throughout the day, the facility also offers 15 different fitness classes ranging from from Barre to Zumba. There are up to eight classes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13305","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-commentary","7":"category-people-that-you-meet"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13305\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}