Austin is from Onalaska, WA and moved to Bellingham for college. He graduated with a degree in Biology and Chemistry and is pursuing a job in health care. He swam competitively for Western Washington University for four years. He loves reading books or going to the movies on his days off. He is a welcome addition to our Aquatics team!
Staff
Meet Erin Vopalensky!
Erin is from Spokane, WA. She’s a junior at WWU studying Speech-Language Pathology and Spanish. She swam for the club for 15 years and for a year in college at Mt. St. Mary’s University. She has taught lessons for 2 years. She loves to hang out with her friends and watch Disney+ in her downtime.
Erin is a great addition to our Aquatics team!
December Employee of the Month
Matt Massot has been at BAC for about six months now. He really enjoys working at the front desk Downtown and interacting with all of the friendly members that come into the club. During his time at BAC, Matt has developed a love and passion for fitness.
Matt was born in Texas but grew up near Seattle and moved to Bellingham in 2015 to attend Whatcom Community College. During his time at Whatcom, Matt’s love for movies became a passion and now he is pursuing a career in the film industry.
In his spare time, he likes to hang out with his dog Harry, work out, cook, and make and watch movies.
Congratulations, Matt! We are very lucky to have you on our team and serving our members with your kindness and smile!
November Employee of the Month
Carly took over the Membership and Front Desk Departments in April 2019 and has done a fantastic job assembling a wonderful staff and taking charge of membership and sales. Carly is dynamic, energetic, cheerful, dependable and willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done! We are proud to recognize her outstanding effort by awarding her Employee of the Month for November.
Carly originates from Vancouver, WA and at the early age of 18, she moved to Bellingham. In August of 2013, she was hired as a part of the Kids Club staff. Over the course of 3 years, she worked in different departments and became an integral part of Bellingham Athletic Club.
Outside of the club, Carly stays active by running, hiking, and boxing. Carly likes to explore what the Pacific Northwest has to offer, and is always up to learn something new. A good book or TV show, cheering on her favorite sports teams—the Seahawks, Oregon Ducks and Portland Trail Blazers, and spending time with friends round out her personal time.
Thanks, Carly for all you do for BAC!
Meet Andrea Wagner
Meet Andrea Wagner, our newest Group Ex Instructor and Personal Trainer. Andrea comes to us from the Tacoma/Gig Harbor area with over 28 years in the Health and Fitness Industry. She has held positions as a manager, personal trainer, fitness instructor, and mentor. Her love of health began in college where she studied Exercise Science (Eastern Washington University) and earned her first, of many, certifications.
Andrea has extensive experience teaching Barre, Spin, Pilates, TRX, Senior Fitness, Posture, and Strength formatted classes. She believes in a safe, well-balanced class that is progressive, challenging, and fun. Sometimes hurt so good but still fun.
Andrea enjoys daily hikes in the woods with her Lab. Being in nature is essential for her, and a recommendation for clients. Anytime with her growing children is quality time. She says she reads, a lot. Some topics include but not limited to cellular biology, quantum physics, intermittent fasting, energy, conscious parenting, longevity, and disease prevention. She believes in living a joyful life taking care of our inside being as well as our outside vessel. Andrea loves deep conversations and figuring out challenges so please hit her up with questions!
October Employee of the Month
We are very happy to announce Sophia DiPinto as our October Employee of the Month! Sophia has worked at BAC for over a year. She does a little bit of everything: she works in Kids Club, you will see her at the Front Desk at both locations, and you may see her in the pool helping out with instructors and lifeguarding.
Sophia comes from a military family and has lived all over the West Coast and Hawaii. She often makes trips down to Oak Harbor since that is where her family currently resides. Sophia studies psychology at Western and hopes to go to medical school one day. Her main goal is to work in the field of trauma or neuro or maybe become a traveling surgeon.
Away from the club, Sophia loves to hike, read and she can sail almost proficiently after taking a course at WWU that she enjoyed. She always spends her time with her one-year-old cat, Milo.
Thank you, Sophia, for your dedication, patience, reliability, and thoughtfulness! We appreciate everything you do here at BAC!
BAC Welcomes New Aquatics Director!
My name is Lindsay Williams and I am the new Aquatics Director at BAC! I am a native of Whatcom County, growing up in Ferndale. I graduated from Western Washington University with a degree in Communication. Some of you may be familiar with my mom, Jill Robertson, who has taught water aerobics at the club most of my life. I hear she is a staple around here, especially with her costumes.
I started working as a lifeguard in the summers at the Bellingham Golf and Country Club in 1997 when I was in high school. Eventually, I began teaching swim lessons and have grown to love helping children get over their fear of water and become competent swimmers. While working other jobs when I was newly married, I found ways to continue to teach lessons. In 2009, I became the Assistant Aquatics Director at the Country Club. Since then, every summer I trained their staff, organized over 2,000 swimmers into classes, and help run a hugely successful and popular swim lesson program.
My husband, Brett, and I are getting ready to celebrate 16 years of marriage this fall. We have 3 children: Jack is 10, Maelle is almost 7, and Carys is 3 1/2. We often wonder what we did for entertainment before we had kids as they are constantly making us laugh. We love playing games together, watching movies, going for walks (especially to Starbucks!), and just spending time together. We also enjoy rooting on our beloved Seahawks and were just able to attend our first UW football game as a family.
All three of our kids have been in and around the water their entire lives. Because of this, they are all-natural swimmers and very confident in the water. Our youngest actually passed the swim test this summer—swimming across the shallow end and back without touching the bottom. Our oldest has one of the most beautiful breaststrokes I have ever seen. And my sweet middle girl has made friends with every swimmer, instructor, and lifeguard at the pool. I really love being a mom and taking pride and joy in my children. Although, they do occasionally drive me crazy.
My biggest encouragement for families with young children is to expose them to water at an early age. Not only playing and splashing in the bath but also finding ways to get in a pool with them. It’s so much easier when they’re young and haven’t quite formed their own opinions. But, if you or your child haven’t spent much time around water, it is never too late to learn. I’ve had the opportunity to teach all ages of beginners, even adults, and it’s admirable and encouraging. I enjoy building trust with my students and pushing them to their full potential while being gentle and firm. There’s a lot of fun to be had in and around the water! I’m looking forward to building on my experiences here at BAC!
Meet Carly!
Carly Miller originates from Vancouver, WA and at the early age of 18 she moved to Bellingham. In August of 2013, she was hired as a part of the Kids Club staff. Over the course of 3 years, she worked in different departments and became an integral part of the BAC. After a 3-year hiatus from the club, she is now back serving as our Member Services Director and Front Desk Supervisor.
Outside of the club, Carly stays active by running, hiking and boxing. Carly likes to explore what the Pacific Northwest has to offer, new restaurants and is always up to learn something new. A good book or TV show and spending time with friends round out her personal time.
September Employee of the Month
Personal Trainer Alexa (Thompson) Locke, has had a very busy 2019! This past May Alexa married Sean Locke, was accepted to Graduate School in the Kinesiology department at WWU and passed the firefighter exam for the Ferndale Fire Department. Whew!
On top of that, you will typically see Alexa at both BAC locations training clients in the late afternoons and early evenings as well as conducting her group personal training classes. When not at BAC you can find Alexa teaching activity classes in the Kinesiology department at WWU or making coffee as a barista at Woods Coffee in Ferndale. Needless to say, she keeps herself very busy!!
In her downtime, Alexa and her husband Sean love to take advantage of all the beauty that Whatcom County has to offer. On their days off they like to hike and camp in the mountains with their German Shepherd, Koda, or bike and run the country back roads. They also enjoy hunting through thrift and antique stores for treasures, visiting the array of craft breweries we have locally, and just relaxing at Sean’s parent’s farm.
Congratulations and Happy Birthday to September BAC employee of the Month Alexa Locke. Thank you for your dedication, energy, enthusiasm, and care you give to not only your clients but to all the BAC membership!
August Employee of the Month
We are proud and honored to announce our Employee of the month for August – Celine Mauger!!! Celine began her Zumba teaching career at BAC in 2014 – and never looked back. Fortunately for the staff, and the members here, we have all benefitted from the love and energy she pours into every, single class she teaches.
Celine has used her gifts to spread joy and laughter in a fun environment where everyone feels welcome, and no one feels intimidated. When you come into one of her classes you will feel like you are walking into a party. Along with the great music and the epic energy, she takes the time to turn the studio into a dance club—complete with the colorful and flashing lights—every single time. When you leave one of Celine’s Zumba classes, you will be sweaty, laughing and definitely wanting to come back for more.
Celine moved here with her husband Michael from France in 2006, and to Bellingham in 2011. Together, they have 3 children aged 10 and 8 years old and 18 months. They stay very active as a family, which is her full-time “hobby”.
We at BAC feel very fortunate to have such a gifted and generous Instructor. If you haven’t tried her Zumba or Zumba Gold class before, you won’t regret it.
Thank you, Celine, for sharing your joy with all of us!