SPA-rking its Rockville Centre members

Standing for senior people in action, SPA — a summertime club run by the Sandel Senior Center — hosted its final event on Oct. 15, in the center’s sunny common room. The event recognized the accomplishments of its 98 club members and stressed the importance of maintaining a healthy mind and body for those up in years.

The kickoff of the noontime event began with lunch, followed by presentations, awards and a speech presented by a well known guest speaker. SPA, which just completed its 9th year of existence, began with approximately 50 members and has since almost doubled its membership. This year, Rockville Centre establishments such as the Park Avenue Deli, Embroidme and SportSet provided community support and sponsorship for SPA-related activities.

Sandel Senior Center Director Dr. Cyd Charrow spoke about the growing success of the organization over the years when she told attendees, “I am thrilled by what it has turned into. It was a dream for me to start this idea out on paper, and now it has become a success. Today is a day for everyone involved in SPA to enjoy their success.”

The SPA organization keeps its seniors very busy during the summer months. On weekdays, members participate in daily activities and each day they focus on a different exercise. On some days the seniors take part in core exercises or balancing activities. On other days, line exercises are offered.

Every week during the summer dancing classes, yoga classes, pilates and mind aerobics sessions are offered as well. The Sandel Senior Center also provides SPA-sponsored walks and hikes, along with Nintendo Wii tournaments for games like bowling.

“We have so much fun and it keeps us young,” said Selma Roher, a member of SPA for about seven years now. “”We’re very lucky to have a program like this one in place.”

Roher, like other SPA members, was honored with a completion certificate for her participation in the club. For each activity in which a senior member participated, a point was earned as credit. Deputy Director Chris O’Leary handed out two separate certificates to the members: one for those who accumulated between 50 and 99 points through activities, and another for those who earned over 100 activity points.

“No other center on Long Island offers the activities that are here at Sandel,” said club member Doris Marshall. “SPA has given me a reason to get up in the morning, and it has definitely kept me young.”

To cap off the SPA-tacular event, guest speaker Jim Ryan was on hand. Ryan, an author and motivational speaker, brought his guitar and covered The Eagles’ “Peaceful Easy Feeling.” He also spoke about his book “Simple Happiness, 52 Easy Ways to Lighten Up”, in an effort to encourage senior members to feel satisfied as they look toward the future.

Ryan spoke right to the core of SPA’s mission, telling the audience, “I applaud everything you do. The goal is to find the road to everlasting happiness. The goal is to have fun and to lead full lives, and we can do a lot of different things to feel good and stay healthy."