Lifestyle and Recreation
Legendary Fitness Expert Kathy Smith Walks with SAMLARC Residents
On Monday, September 26th SAMLARC along with the City of Rancho Santa Margarita held a free fitness event for all ages with health expert and celebrity Kathy Smith. Kathy Smith brings over 35 years of fitness experience and has provided education, programming and products to help individuals achieve better health. Currently, she serves on the board of the University of Southern California’s Davis School of Gerontology and recently joined the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA) team as a spokesperson for its Changing the Way We Age Campaign. ICAA is a professional association that leads, connects and defines the active- aging industry.
The event was held to kick off the International Council on Active Aging’s Week and featured a 2.1 mile walk around Central Park and surrounding areas, a 30-minute stretch and tone class and presentation on the benefits of healthy living for active adults over the age of 55.
“I’ll be 60 this year,” says Kathy Smith. “Whether you’re 50, 60, or over 80, now is the perfect time to get active. As far as I’m concerned, age is a state of mind.” Keep your eyes open for future active adult programming as we continue to expand our recreational horizons.
Holiday Banner Contest Winners
At the beginning of the year, SAMLARC hosted an art contest for the design of new banners to be displayed throughout the community during the holiday season. The theme for this year’s banners is “Celebrate the Season” and all SAMLARC youth were invited to participate in the contest which lasted through August. At the September 27th Board Meeting, the Board approved the six winning 2011 banner designs which will be displayed after Thanksgiving. The children were invited to the October 25th Board Meeting where they were presented with a certificate, a $50 cash prize and a replica of their banner.
Siena Giddens, age 8, is the artist behind our beautiful Reindeer banner. Siena shares, “I came up with reindeers and ornaments because you always see reindeers during that time of the year. Reindeers help Santa through the winter snow to deliver presents to all the children.”
Taylor Cole, age 8, designed our Joy banner because “Christmas is a ‘Joyful’ time of the year!” she explains. “My favorite part of the holidays is spending time with my family and friends.”
Nikki Evans, age 10, created the caroler for the O’ Little Town of RSM banner. She is the Vice President of Trabuco Mesa Elementary and is very involved in singing, acting and dancing. Her love of the arts inspired her to incorporate one of her favorite activities, caroling, into her design.
Mira Palmer, age 10, created two of our banners—the SAMLARC Snowman and the Puppy. She says, “Most of our Christmases are sunny and warm. I thought it would be cute to have a snowman with a beach theme. I drew the puppy in the holiday box picture because I always thought it would be cool to receive a puppy for Christmas.”
Ava Robertson, age 7, submitted her design during our one of our Movies in the Park. Ava is an art enthusiast who loves to travel and visit museums. When designing her banner, she “Just thought of Christmas and the smells of gingerbread. I love to eat gingerbread.”
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