Joe the Turk Meet POSTPONED!
by Thom Van Vleck
The Joe the Turk meet set for the Macomb Salvation Army Gym for this weekend has been postponed due to a terrible flood in the gym. They are still cleaning up and the decision was made to postpone the meet. Updates will be given regarding a “make up date” at a later time.
Here is a story on the devastation and how you can help our brothers and sisters out!
Last fall I went over to help judge a meet in Macomb, Illinios. It was the “Macomb Fall Record Breakers” meet and was being put on my Tim Piper. Tim needed some help and I was glad to help out. He was also donating some weights to the weightlifting club I am the staff adviser for at the University I work at (the Osteoblasters Weightlifting Club). I had never been to the Salvation Army Gym in Macomb and was quite pleased when I got there! It was “Old School” with tons of old equipment, platforms to do “REAL” lifting off of, and tons of trophies and pictures from some 40 years of operation. It was a gym that any USAWA member would have loved to train in and every “Planet Fitness” members nightmare! The “Salvation Army Gym” is also a USAWA official club and are currently in good standing. That’s why it was such sad news to hear that the recent heavy rains had flooded the gym which is located in the basement of the local Salvation Army.
At least 2 feet of water filled the gym!
There were plenty of pictures on facebook but sometimes when you have been somewhere you can appreciate just how bad something is. This particular club had a huge number of photos that went from floor to ceiling in some areas and a lot of equipment that ended up under water. Here are some photos to give you a “before” and “after” perspective.
Here is a "before photo" with Tim Piper spotting Whitney.
The same corner of the gym underwater!
The clean up has begun and the water has been pumped out. I understand they are taking photos that were water damaged and trying to scan them to make new ones. There will no doubt be a lot of work left to do and I’m unsure if there was any insurance. Most insurance won’t pay for flooding anyway unless you have a special flood policy and most don’t as it’s expensive and I’m sure a Salvation Army couldn’t afford it.
The water has been pumped out, leaving a huge mess!
Keep these guys in your thoughts and prayers. This isn’t some fancy, high dollar gym….it’s a Salvation Army! If you can help them out by either providing labor or sending a donation I’m sure it would be appreciated! This gym needs to go on as it provides a workout area for many who couldn’t afford it otherwise. It’s the type of place I got started in when I couldn’t afford the fancy gym membership! I’m sure many of you can relate. Plus, Tim and Dawn are such great people who work so hard to bring meets and weight training to others. Let’s help’em out! You can send a donation to Tim Piper at: Tim Piper, 15401 E. 1750th Street, Macomb, IL 61455 or you can call him at 309 221 0276.