Photo By Tech. Sgt. Parker Dubois | Members of the Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, Running Club pose for a photo,...... read more read more
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Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, kicked off the first ever Club Connect event two years ago, with hopes of bringing Airmen and Soldiers together to socialize, connect and network through either joining or creating new clubs.
After several Club Connect events, service members had the chance to join one of the 24 clubs available or create their own club.
That’s exactly what U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Kalen Norwood, 633d Communications Squadron cable and antenna systems technician, decided to do this year.
Norwood started the JBLE running club with the intentions of getting service members together to help improve on their own running time, however his club has gifted him with not only new running partners, but new friends too.
“I've met one or two Airmen within the squadron that I've never ran with before,” Norwood said. “As [the club] grows I'm hoping that maybe the new Airmen coming in have a chance to meet new Airmen who want to get together.”
According to Staff Sgt. Codi Walach, 438th Supply Chain Operations Squadron stock control supervisor and former Club Connect coordinator, the program was established to help Airmen and Soldiers on the installation, like Norwood, get out of their rooms to connect and network with one another.
As someone who is new to the area, as well as the Air Force, Norwood added that it’s hard to make new friends, so he took it upon himself to find a way to connect with people through a shared interest, which for him is running.
“I think Club Connect provides an avenue of approach for Airmen and Soldiers to meet new people and continue to explore their own interests,” Norwood said. “Go out to Club Connect and find a club that you can vibe with.”
With the variety of clubs available, from the drone club to the karaoke club, to the baking club or the anime club, JBLE personnel are bound to find a club they may enjoy, and if not, just like Norwood, they can create their own.
With the running club, Norwood saw the need for a club to help bring Airmen to train on the largest portion of their fitness assessment, the run.
To help prepare for that goal, as well as staying fit to fight, Norwood mixes up the club’s workouts between long distance runs, interval training and even encourages his members to join him in running events throughout Hampton Roads.
When asked for advice for those who are interested in improving their run time, Norwood said, “Stay committed. Rome wasn’t built in a day and you’re not going to see results immediately. Join the club and let us help you reach your goals.”
The JBLE running club meets every Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. at the F-15E Strike Eagle static display. Norwood posts scheduled workouts and updates on his JBLE Running Club Facebook page.
For more information about Club Connect, call 764-2983 or 225-3629.
| Date Taken: | 06.11.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 07.31.2019 14:33 |
| Story ID: | 333901 |
| Location: | HAMPTON, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 15 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Running to connections: Club Connect promotes networking, by TSgt Parker Dubois, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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