With a laptop and power cord in hand, I was directed to the office behind the large window of the competition pool.  What a cool place to work I thought – it’s always great to have a window in your office – something I had rarely experienced in the corporate world.  Returning to work after taking a hiatus in my career, I felt like I had landed in a great spot!  

My view!

Upper Valley Aquatic Center (UVAC) was not an unfamiliar place to me.  I had been there many times. I remember the first time I went to UVAC.  It was a snowy day when I drove my mini-van over.  It was like entering a new world – its warm water pool and lazy river pool were so welcoming!   My family was hooked and has been ever since.  From swim lessons, to friends’ birthday parties, UVAC has been a tropical refuge on a bitter winter day, a place where my kids took their first lessons and learned their first strokes, to now a place where I am learning lots.

Fun at the World’s Largest Swim Lesson

Catherine, who is in charge of the swimming lessons program, was instrumental is having the UVAC participate in the WLSL.  I created a press release – I think it was my first one in a decade.  It was great to write about such a good cause – the WLSL is a world-wide campaign to raise awareness that drowning is the 2nd leading cause of preventable death for kids ages 1-14.  At the same time it is a competition to break the Guinness World Record for the World’s Largest Swim Lesson.  Last year’s WLSL had 24,873 participants from 15 countries across 5 continents.