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September 30, 2014For a decade, senior citizens in the Raceland area have been on the move.
Moving to stay fit.
Moving to stay active.
The group, Lafourche on the Move, celebrated its 10-year anniversary last Friday at the Raceland Recreation Center. The ceremony followed the group’s workout – one of its weekly Monday-Wednesday-Friday workouts.
The organization has been funded thanks to a grant by the Lafourche Parish Council. It is an affiliate of Louisiana on the Move and America on the Move, and Lafourche was the state’s first parish to become an affiliate.
The workouts – which are light and easy by nature – begin at 9 a.m.
Participants typically show up prior to the workout to walk about a mile around the indoor basketball court. Some show up as early as 6 a.m.
“We don’t stress that you gotta do this and you gotta do that. It’s just to get them moving,” said Lafourche on the Move co-founder and Recreation District secretary Lorraine Gaudet. “I’ve enjoyed the 10 years I’ve been with them. I’ve met so many good people, so we have a good group.”
Sure it’s a way to stay active. But for most of the participants, it’s a way to catch up with friends in a sociable atmosphere.
“One of the main things is to keep them social. A lot of these people would have stayed in their houses, would not have seen people, and that was another reason why we started that. Just for them to come out,” Gaudet said.
And with social experiences comes plenty of comfortably. That leads to lots of jokes and nicknames.
“They call me the Sergeant. I am mean. But you know why, because some of them are lazy,” Gaudet, who used to instruct the workout sessions and still does on rare occurrences, said with a laugh. “But we have a good time.”
And whatever they do, they sure don’t gossip. They’re just solving the world’s problems.
Most of the amusement centers around locally-renowned musician Pott Folse, who has attended Lafourche on the Move since its beginnings.
Uncle Pott, as he’s affectionately called, always seems to entertain with a joke and, of course, his accordion.
“We have a lot of fun besides exercising, which is very good for us,” Folse said.
The organization is always looking for new movers, and there is no charge to attending the workout sessions, however light dumbbells and leg weights are suggested.
So walk right in and feel welcome.
