thedrifter
11-17-06, 10:44 AM
Filling the toy train
November 17,2006
ANNE CLARK
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Marines usually do their physical training to the sounds of barked orders or shouted cadences.
But on Wednesday, about 300 Marines PT’d to a group of pretty Semper Fit ladies wearing headsets — who turned out to be just as fierce as any drill instructor.
“They’re used to running and pull-ups, but they don’t concentrate on the core abs and back,” said Lisa Tijerina, Semper Fit mobile unit instructor.
“That’s how we break them down,” she added with a smile.
Amped up music kept the beat fast and furious as the Marines spun, kick-boxed, and double-stepped for about three hours in the main exchange parking lot.
“We mix in upper cuts with stuff the guys know to do, like jumping jacks,” said Andrea Lucie, Semper Fit mobile unit and group exercise coordinator. She led workouts with a dislocated hip.
It was all to benefit the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. It was all for people like the elderly lady who approached Staff Sgt. Monica Feil a few weeks ago.
“She was from a large family that was struggling, and she remembered when she was a little girl she got a bike from Toys for Tots,” said Feil, assistant coordinator for Toys for Tots.
“She’ll never forget it, and that really touched us.”
This year, the Deployment Processing Command/Reserve Support Unit attached to Camp Lejeune is heading up the toy collection.
The Semper Fit ladies came up with the idea of a fun fitness challenge. The price of admission would be a new, unwrapped toy.
“I play football, and this wore me out,” said Sgt. John Tremaine.
“Semper Fit came out and thrashed us; we’re calling it a marathon,” said First Sgt. Raymond Barrett, also the area Toys for Tots coordinator.
The air was unseasonably soupy, even under a great white tent, but the sweat-soaked Marines hung tough. Except for a few who sneaked outside the tent for a smoke.
Lucie called one of the smokers back and brought him onstage to hold the pushup position for several minutes above his last cigarette, while his buddies cheered.
“They love us as much as we love them,” said Lucie. “We’re hard on them, but we do it with caring.”
And meanwhile the toys kept piling up in the toy train. Barrett hopes to exceed last year’s staggering collection of 43,000 toys, which are distributed through local charities.
“It has such special meaning with the troops in Iraq,” said Lucie. “If the guys aren’t here, at least the kids can have toys under the tree.”
Want to donate to Toys for Tots? Some dropoff areas aboard Camp Lejeune include Lejeune High School, the base golf course, and the Wounded Warriors barracks.
Out in town, dropoff areas include Jacksonville mall, the Jacksonville/Onslow County Chamber of Commerce, and the VFW on Piney Green.
In Onslow County, Christmas Cheer is the Toys for Tots distribution agency; contact them at 455-5733.
Ellie
November 17,2006
ANNE CLARK
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Marines usually do their physical training to the sounds of barked orders or shouted cadences.
But on Wednesday, about 300 Marines PT’d to a group of pretty Semper Fit ladies wearing headsets — who turned out to be just as fierce as any drill instructor.
“They’re used to running and pull-ups, but they don’t concentrate on the core abs and back,” said Lisa Tijerina, Semper Fit mobile unit instructor.
“That’s how we break them down,” she added with a smile.
Amped up music kept the beat fast and furious as the Marines spun, kick-boxed, and double-stepped for about three hours in the main exchange parking lot.
“We mix in upper cuts with stuff the guys know to do, like jumping jacks,” said Andrea Lucie, Semper Fit mobile unit and group exercise coordinator. She led workouts with a dislocated hip.
It was all to benefit the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. It was all for people like the elderly lady who approached Staff Sgt. Monica Feil a few weeks ago.
“She was from a large family that was struggling, and she remembered when she was a little girl she got a bike from Toys for Tots,” said Feil, assistant coordinator for Toys for Tots.
“She’ll never forget it, and that really touched us.”
This year, the Deployment Processing Command/Reserve Support Unit attached to Camp Lejeune is heading up the toy collection.
The Semper Fit ladies came up with the idea of a fun fitness challenge. The price of admission would be a new, unwrapped toy.
“I play football, and this wore me out,” said Sgt. John Tremaine.
“Semper Fit came out and thrashed us; we’re calling it a marathon,” said First Sgt. Raymond Barrett, also the area Toys for Tots coordinator.
The air was unseasonably soupy, even under a great white tent, but the sweat-soaked Marines hung tough. Except for a few who sneaked outside the tent for a smoke.
Lucie called one of the smokers back and brought him onstage to hold the pushup position for several minutes above his last cigarette, while his buddies cheered.
“They love us as much as we love them,” said Lucie. “We’re hard on them, but we do it with caring.”
And meanwhile the toys kept piling up in the toy train. Barrett hopes to exceed last year’s staggering collection of 43,000 toys, which are distributed through local charities.
“It has such special meaning with the troops in Iraq,” said Lucie. “If the guys aren’t here, at least the kids can have toys under the tree.”
Want to donate to Toys for Tots? Some dropoff areas aboard Camp Lejeune include Lejeune High School, the base golf course, and the Wounded Warriors barracks.
Out in town, dropoff areas include Jacksonville mall, the Jacksonville/Onslow County Chamber of Commerce, and the VFW on Piney Green.
In Onslow County, Christmas Cheer is the Toys for Tots distribution agency; contact them at 455-5733.
Ellie