by Kaetlin Zink
In April 2012, Assistant Fitness Director, Rachael Ling extended a job offer for our Guided Circuit to Jason Alpaugh, whom you may now know as the tall, friendly guy at the front desk. As he worked the Circuit, he soon became friends with former HAC Personal Trainer, Willy Wilson, and Willy sent Rachael a glowing recommendation for Jason’s work ethic. After just one year at the Guided Circuit, he was offered a job at the front desk, which he gladly accepted.
What initially drew Jason to the club was his love of sports and working out. He had always been sports-oriented, as he played on the basketball and football team at Charter School of Wilmington. He first attended the University of Delaware for college but ultimately found the campus too big for his ideal learning environment and later transferred to Delaware Technical Community College, where he entered the Physical Therapist Assistant program.
But the transition between schools included a year-long break, with which Jason chose to do something bigger than himself: he enrolled in the Air Force.
Jason’s New Journey
In September, we’ll start seeing less of Jason. He is expected to get deployed next year, and the base has offered him a full-time job so that he can gain more experience before going overseas.
It was the approachable, understanding staff and appreciative members who got Jason hooked on HAC right off the bat — so much so that he’s made the decision to stay at the club part-time (two days a week) while working for the military on a temporary full-time basis. “This level of comfortability with fellow staff members definitely makes me want to stay longer,” he says.
On September 20th, he will begin training at a base in Alabama for a six-week span. He will then begin work at the Delaware Airguard base in New Castle on a full-time basis, visiting us a couple days a week.
Jason is famous for making members feel welcome as soon as they enter the building, always greeting them with a personable smile and, “how are you today?” Many members show appreciation for his desire to get to know you on a closer level and his ability to remember names quickly, signing members in automatically without having to view their membership card.
What Jason is going to miss the most about being full-time at the front desk is working with fellow staff members who are also employed full-time: “The staff makes work so enjoyable,” he says. “It makes my 5:00 am to 1:00 pm shift fly by. When I get off at 1:00, I sometimes stay a little later just to catch up with people I know at the club. It really feels like a community here, and I’m definitely going to miss that.”
Jason explained that he’s especially going to miss working side-by-side with mentor and friend, Jordan Biscoe, who initially trained him for the job. “He’s a great teacher who made the job easy to learn. I never have to worry about him reprimanding me if I make a mistake; he’s really good about keeping his composure and explaining what to do from there. Even though he’s my boss now, we are still close friends and hang out outside of work.”
While we as staff wish we could prolong Jason’s time here at the club, we know he will be successful in all his future endeavors, and wish him the best of luck moving forward. From all of us at HAC, you will be missed!
