Using common sense, courtesy at the new fitness center

Published May 16, 2012
By Scott King
92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- The new fitness center has been open for about two months now and, for the most part, patrons are using common sense and courtesy when it comes to cleanliness and upkeep of the facility, but the staff wants to ensure that it remains that way.

"A concern some of our users have is people not wiping down machines after working out on them," said John Gahagan, 92nd Force Support Squadron Fitness Center director. "Obviously people are going to sweat after working out on our machines; we just want people to use common courtesy by wiping down the machines after use."

To facilitate this effort, the fitness center has four gym wipe dispensers throughout the facility each holding 800 wipes. They have ordered five more and are expecting them soon. They also provide sweat towels for people to minimize the amount of sweat left after workouts.

"Most people do wipe down the machines after they work out," Gahagan said. "It's not a rampant problem, but we want people to realize that it's their facility, not ours and it's in their best interest to keep it as hygiene-friendly as possible."

The 13-member fitness center staff is ultimately responsible to ensure the 'overall' cleanliness of the facility.

"Our staff works 18 hours per-day and does its best to keep on top of things," Gahagan said. "But we cannot 'police' everything and everyone all the time - we need a team effort."

Patrons do pay attention to others when it comes to this issue.

"I feel people should wipe down machines when they are finished using them to help minimize germs and lessen the risk of spreading illnesses," said fitness center patron, Linda Willand, 92nd Maintenance Group commander's secretary. "The fitness center appears to be clean whenever I use it. Although the staff appears to keep the facility clean, it belongs to all of us, and if we all pitch in and clean up after ourselves, then we can all take pride in enjoying this new state-of-the art facility."

Aside from being courteous on the machines, the fitness center wants people to people to refrain from damaging the facility itself.

There are numerous scuff marks high up on some of the walls, Gahagan said. He asks users to refrain from throwing medicine balls against the walls and believes other marks are from users putting their shoes on the walls while doing inverted pushups. The walls are not meant for hands, shoes and other objects. He also said people need to use common sense and not do this as it makes the brand new facility look [not so new]. Gahagan prefers that users don't wear street shoes on the wood floors, and that shoes are free of dirt, mud and rocks before entering the facility.

"Overall, people are doing the right things and using common sense and courtesy," Gahagan said. "We want our users to enjoy this facility for many years to come - it is theirs, and it's going to take a Team Fairchild effort to keep it safe and in good shape."