Netawaka Fitness Center under new management, sets open house

Two years after its opening as a family fitness facility in northern Jackson County, the Netawaka Fit­ness Center is reaffirming its com­mitment to Netawaka and the sur­rounding area with a fall open house this Saturday, Oct. 3.

Between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., the facility, located at 233 White Way in Netawaka, will be open to the public and offer a wide variety of activities for people of all ages, in­cluding interactive games, physical fitness activities and a spaghetti dinner. All activities will be held inside the 30,000-square-foot facil­ity, which covers half a city block, it was reported.

Fitness center officials said the goal of the fall open house is to give people the opportunity to tour the non-profit facility — formerly known as the Hornet’s Nest Sports Club and now under new manage­ment — and see all that it offers. It’s also their hope that the facility will contribute to the health and wellness of people in the Jackson County area, as well as invigorating community growth.

“This is such a grand facility,” said Dave Williams, president of the fitness center’s board of direc­tors. “I think it could prove to be the rebirth of our town.”

Netawaka residents have eagerly embraced the $5 million fitness center, which opened to the public in September of 2013. Its construc­tion was funded for the most part by a donation from Netawaka na­tive Roberta “Bobbi” Zwonitzer Reiman and her husband, Roy, founder of Wisconsin-based Re­iman Publica­tions, along with con­tributions from area residents.

The facility was formally named the Zwonitzer Health and Fitness Facility in honor of Reiman and her parents, Jack and Bertha Zwonitzer, who owned and operated the Snappy Inn Café in Netawaka for several years and raised their fam­ily across the street from the site of the new facility. Its indoor swim­ming pool, or natato­rium, was for­mally named the Bobbi Zwonitzer Natatorium, it was reported.

The recreational portion of the facility includes health education and therapy rooms, a nursery, a fit­ness equipment area with weight training equipment, aerobics and dance room, gymnasium and track, shower and locker rooms, a com­mons area, an indoor turf area and child care facilities. The commons area is decorated with remem­brances of Netawaka’s history and includes a snack bar named for the Snappy Inn Café.

The “Bobbi Zwonitzer Natato­rium” is an 8,073-square-foot fa­cility designed mainly for exer­cise, swim meets and therapy. It can also be transformed into a “fun pool” for family swimming events. Four competition lanes and one warm-up/cool-down lane are provided, along with a shallow ther­apy/aerobics area with a hand rail for zero-impact walking, a bench with massage jets for ther­apy, a ramp for wheelchair access and a lift chair.

Saturday’s open house will in­clude a spaghetti dinner served at the facility’s Snappy Inn Café, costing $5 per plate for adults and $3 for children 12 and under. For the kids, there’s also pumpkin painting, a gymnastics circuit, tri­cycle races and a child-friendly ob­stacle course.

Opportunities will be available for those impressed by the facility to join its more than 300 members. Monthly membership rates are $30 for single adults, $40 for couples, $50 for families and $25 for seniors (age 65 and up).

For more information, call the fitness center at (785) 933-2616.