Hello, I'm Katie Nagel, the Fit Kids Coordinator!
I grew up in the Mankato area and graduated from Minnesota State University, Mankato with a degree in Community Health. I have always had a nack for working with children and a passion for helping people live a healtheir lifestyle making my job here at the Rec. a wonderful opportunity! I
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at: katie.nagel@live.com
Hi everyone! My name is Debbie Behnke. I currently work as a water aerobics instructor, lifeguarding, corporate memberships, coordinating worksite wellness and bringing the news of fitness throughout our community. Working at the Rec Center has been a plus; just knowing that you are helping to make a difference in peoples lives and they make a difference in yours is a very rewarding experience. I graduated from the Mankato Vocational School in 1978. I am married to Rick, and together we are blessed with 2 children, Elisha and Joseph. Our daughter lives in California and our son and his wife, Katie live in Worthington, Minnesota. We are very proud of our family and enjoy spending time with them. We also have two crazy cats, Bear and Yogi and they often make us laugh. Rick and I enjoy traveling, spending time with our family and friends, doing 1-day trips and taking in all the great surroundings. We like to garden and canning, most sporting events, bicycling, going for walks, church and just being together is important to both of us.
I always want to hear from you. Email me today about corporate memberships, advertising and more! My email is lcarccorp@live.com!
In January 1996, Helen and Eldon Jones met with a few local citizens to tell them about their dream of a combination swimming pool
and fitness center to be built in Lake Crystal. Such a facility would be paid for with private funds, including a $1 million gift
from the Jones family-if the community could match that amount over a period of five years.
It did not take the community long
to decide to accept the challenge, and even enlarge the scope of the project to include a multipurpose gymnasium. Crystal Co-op employee
Tony Jacobs suggested the slogan "Take the Plunge" and people dove right in to help. Dean Meixell generously donated 4.8 acres of
land on the southwest edge of Lake Crystal for the building site. The Lake Crystal Area Recreation Center Board purchased an additional
1.2 acres from Dean to make a total of six acres, which would allow for adequate parking and for possible future expansions.
The
architectural firm DLR Group, from Bloomington, MN, was hired to design the facility. A logo designed by Vernon Center artist Robert
Williams was adopted, and a marketing firm was retained to assist the fundraising committee by creating literature, training volunteers
in the difficult task of asking for money and setting goals for the five-year timetable set by the Joneses.
The Lake Crystal
Area Recreation Center project was a major financial challenge. In 1998 the fundraising committee determined that matching the Jones
challenge gift would get the project halfway to completion, but additional funding would also be necessary. A plan was devised to
approach the Minnesota State Legislature for a grant, using the theme of "Recreation for Rural Kids." Letters were written to legislators,
and groups of local supporters attended legislative hearings. At one of the hearings Laura Deal, age 9, spoke about metro area kids
having recreation centers vs. rural kids not having them.
These efforts paid off when the LCARC received a $1.5 million Minnesota
state grant. The grant, however, required the City of Lake Crystal to own the Recreation Center.
Thus began another chapter
in the life of the LCARC. Legal documents were prepared and recorded that deeded the LCARC land and building project to the city to
clear the way to receive the state grant. Another governmental unit, Blue Earth County, pledged $14,000 to the LCARC to be put into
an endowment fund. The earnings from this fund may be allocated as needed for future operations. This fund will grow as additional
donors make contributions through estates, wills and other instruments.
A groundbreaking ceremony in June 1999 commenced construction,
culminating in a beautiful facility, completed in September 2000. Building Committee Co-chairman
Ron Held deserves many thanks
for untold hours dedicated to monitoring the construction to make sure the LCARC's best interests were maintained.