08/09/2026
That's a wrap on the 2026 swimming season! It was a pretty low key summer, looking back is always fun and doing a recap! Now there is just me left as we finish out August.
Summer five for me as manager and with that brought back my 5 year guards of Sheridan, Payge and Livvy. We been together since the start, from certification to today. These 3 girls are pretty special to me. Calleigh recertified and got WSI certified to teach lessons and she jumped in and taught water aerobics 4 days a week too. She was a great addition to the team! Paige Jonas was back for year 3 and also got WSI certification to teach lessons. I was grateful for her getting that certification and she was a big help for filling in on last second needs. Carter spent last sunmer being our office guy and I encouraged him to get certified as a lifeguard and he came back this summer as a guard. He is one of the funniest kids I know. I enjoyed his humor and the kids enjoyed having him back. Jaycee, Elliana, and Jane were new to the Team and got certified to be lifeguards in May. They were great additions to the Team also and worked well. Elliana was our only "Lifesaver" winner this year. Meaning she was the only one who had to make a rescue and got a package of Lifesavers for her great rescue!
I am grateful for this Team and all their hard work this summer. I already miss them and they know I get sappy about it.
I would be amiss if I didnt point out a few summer highlights. For 5 wonderful summers I have watched many kids start from baby to now age 5 or 6 swimming. From the Splash Park to the Big Pool I have seen them grow. Vance and Carson wouldnt even get in the big pool at the beginning of the summer, but the last month they found their footing and hit the 3 feet with big strides. And if you know Vance, well, he can be a bit fierce, depending on the day. He is one of my favorite kids. Sawyer T, she wouldnt put her head under water. But with a bit of bribery, she and I got that done this summer. I hope her dad got her the necklaces she wanted! The big kids in town had jobs, so we saw less of them but they still came to the pool and all grew a foot over the summer, we have some fun sports years ahead of us.
Dustin and Timmy G, they keep things running. And honestly we couldn't do that without them. I am grateful to them and I try to tell them that frequently.
The Splash Park will have some work done to it starting in September. Be watching for updates on that. The Big Pool, the work cant begin until the environmental process is completed. I am not a fan of the kids missing a summer at the pool, so my hope is the City can get through 1 more summer before we do the big repairs. It gives me time to write some more grants and we see how next Spring looks when they fill.
Over the next few weeks we will continue water aerobics from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM 2 or 3 days. The football boys will come in and do some conditioning and the fire department will do some water training. So you will still see some action at the big pool.
Thank you to everyone that donated toys, water, popsicles and food to the pool. It was appreciated!
Thank you for sharing your kids with me. It has brought me great Joy. From my lifeguards to the littles, you all have raised some really great humans.
LaJena
