At age 36, Angie Manheim, a mother of five from New Lenox, was diagnosed with arthritis. Year by year, her condition worsened, and by age 50, her mobility had decreased significantly. Her kids, Angie recalled, had to take care of her.
“I couldn’t do anything for myself,” she said. “It’s been a long, hard ride, believe me.”
While on a family vacation in the Lake of the Ozarks, Angie made a life-changing discovery: Swimming relieved the pain. Suddenly, her joints were no longer stiff.
Luckily, back home, a brand new YMCA had just been built—the Smith Family YMCA on Briggs Street—complete with a swimming pool. When she returned, signing up was a no-brainer. Angie began using the pool regularly and her health steadily improved.
“After about eight months, the staff saw how it helped me and asked me if I’d run a class,” Angie said.
Despite having any prior experience teaching, she agreed.
“My first group had 12 people,” she said. “I would just go through the motions I had gone through, and before you know it I had over 60 people.”
That was 37 years ago. Today, the class, now known as Rusty Hinges, remains an incredibly popular program among seniors who have arthritis and other ailments. Angie, at 87-years-old, still leads class three days a week. [Read more…]
On July 12, Pat Sullivan will bring his famous one-day basketball clinic to the Smith Family YMCA in his hometown of Joliet. Sullivan is a Hall of Famer and former University of St. Francis basketball coach who has more than 500 victories under his belt. We recently had a chance to catch up with Sully and ask him a few things about his camp: 
The Staff
As a teenager, Melissa Parker volunteered at the Y as a junior camp counselor and helped out with youth basketball games, keeping score and running the clocks. Nowadays, she (officially) works at the Smith Family YMCA, where she’s one of the first faces you see when you step through the door. Although Melissa mainly works at the membership desk, in the past she has worked as a camp counselor and offsite coordinator for the Central City YMCA. All in all, Melissa is a dedicated, enthusiastic Y staff member, who is truly a joy to be around. Check out our Q&A below!
It’s been about 13 years since Dominique Dunn was first introduced to the Y. His mother, Natalie—who comes from a family of athletes—signed him up for the Y’s Youth Basketball League to coincide with Dominique’s growing love for basketball. From then on, the Y was Dominique’s palace—where he would spend each Saturday at open gym, playing the game he loved, fostering relationships and receiving mentorship from staff.