Simley Letterpersons Club Organizes Fundraisers for New Cardio Room, Scoreboard

At the moment, the cardio room is little more than an empty classroom with a few weights and some scattered pieces of workout equipment.

But the Simley Letterpersons Club and Simley Athletic Director Will Short have a vision for the workout room, a vision that includes a full set of spin bikes, several high-quality treadmills and even a flatscreen television.

To get there, the Letterpersons Club has organized a series of fundraisers this fall, including "Drive Smart for Your School"—which will be held from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday at the dealership along South Robert Trail. As part of the fundraiser, the dealership will donate $20 to Simley's Letterpersons Club for each person over 18 with a valid driver's license and proof of insurance who test drives a Lincoln vehicle.

“We just found this good opportunity to have the fundraiser at the Inver Grove Heights Ford dealership,” said Nick Wanzek, a Simley student, football player and president of the Letterpersons Club. "We figured it could get a lot of money to help us build a cardio room and make the weight room better for all the athletes in Simley.”

A fully-outfitted cardio room will be a boon for all Simley students, according to  Short, who said the room, once completed, could be used by physical education classes and athletics teams as an endurance training room.

Short hopes the room will eventually contain a handful of treadmills and more than 20 spin exercise bikes. Because the equipment will be used continuously by students, Short said the high school is looking to purchase high-quality, health-club style equipment for the room—which rules out using most donated equipment.

"We have nothing in there right now; we don’t have a treadmill or anything, and all the machines are broken," said Simley student Jake Short, who is also a member of the Letterpersons Club.

The club's mission is to support and enhance Simley sports and activities, and is open to any Simley student interested in joining. At the moment, there are 27 members of the club, Will Short said.

In addition to the fundraiser at the Ford Lincoln dealership on Thursday, the club will also host a blacklight dance later this November—an annual event that usually raises around $5,000 for the club.

Two years ago, the club used money it collected through fundraisers to purchase new weight room equipment. Last year, it contributed to the purchasing of a new marquee sign at the high school.

Equipping the cardio room isn't the club's only goal this year. If it can raise enough money, Will Short hopes the club can purchase a new scoreboard for the football field.

"It’s functional, but that sign is from 1970; it’s almost 40 years old and it’s been hit by lightning twice," Short said.

Fundraising for both projects may take several years, Short noted. A new scoreboard can cost between $12,000 and $18,000 to purchase. No cost estimate for the weight room was available.

"We’re going to keep doing little things every year," Short said.