January 19, 2018

SIU’s Student Recreation Center celebrating 40 years of service

by Christi Mathis

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Student Recreation Center is having a party to celebrate more than 40 years of service to students and the community.

The celebration will take place on the lower level of the center at 4 p.m. on Jan. 27. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Party plans

The anniversary celebration will feature the unveiling of a new history wall, featuring panels highlighting the history and impact of the facility and its programs. Two commemorative videos, complete with footage of the center and its people and programs through the years, will also premier.

Past and present employees and visitors of the Rec Center, as it’s commonly known, will speak. Guests can enjoy light refreshments and there will be free keepsake T-shirts for the first 100 people to arrive at the ceremony.

“We wanted a way to give back to all of the users, all of the staff members and to the students for the last 40 years,” Troy Vaughn, director of Recreational Sports and Services, said.

Vaughn anticipates a large turnout of alumni, current students and community participants so the event could well become a big Saluki reunion. The ceremony also will be broadcast on Facebook Live from the SIU Student Recreation Center Facebook page.

The past and present

The Student Recreation Center was officially dedicated on Nov. 5, 1977, and since that time, thousands upon thousands of students and community members have utilized its facilities and services.

The center offers a wide variety of indoor and outdoor programs for youth and adults. All SIU students receive complimentary memberships and anyone can purchase a membership.

In addition to unlimited use of the facilities, members can participate in numerous free classes, including six new group fitness classes this semester: Netflix and cycle, barre, focus kick, pace 50, aqua boot camp and insane cardio. Members also receive discount pricing for other paid classes offered there.

For more information about the Student Recreation Center’s anniversary celebration, visit rec.siu.edu or contact Vaughn a 618/453-1349 or troyv@siu.edu.