Fitness center to be dedicated in honor of Principal Tom Klepper
The late Vandenberg Middle School principal Tom Klepper, who was instrumental in getting a new fitness lab up and running at the school, will be honored Friday when the facility is named after him.
Klepper died of a heart attack shortly before school Oct. 19, 2005. He had helped furbish the new fitness center, which once was a weight room, by requesting help and donations from Vandenberg Air Force Base, said VMS head counselor Peggy Faulk, chair of the Tom Klepper Memorial Committee.
“We have a fitness lab that Tom Klepper was instrumental in bringing together, and last year he was able to secure all of the equipment in the fitness lab,” Faulk said. “We're dedicating the lab to be called the Thomas Klepper Fitness Center.”
The memorial ceremony will involve district board member Kris Andrews reading a resolution honoring Klepper. Klepper's wife Mary and their three children are expected to attend and will receive gifts from the faculty related to the University of Southern California, which Klepper attended. A USC alum, Klepper had a love for Trojans football and decorated his office with Trojans memorabilia.
A plaque in Klepper's honor will also be unveiled at the fitness center. Faculty also prepared a journal containing their personal memories of Klepper, which they will present to the surviving Klepper family.
The center can accommodate about 40 students and houses stationary bicycles and even a rock-climbing wall. The refurbished fitness center began operating this school year, as part of a district initiative to get kids to keep fit.
“There has been a big push in our district for children to be physically fit and our physical education department has been outstanding in trying to find all sorts of physical activities for our students,” Faulk said. “The fitness lab is a way for students to learn about life long fitness activity.”
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Faulk said Klepper's legacy at VMS “is going to be his concern for fitness for everyone.”
“He was such an awesome man,” she said. “He cared about relationships with people whether it was the staff, students or parents.”
Klepper died of a heart attack shortly before school Oct. 19, 2005. He had helped furbish the new fitness center, which once was a weight room, by requesting help and donations from Vandenberg Air Force Base, said VMS head counselor Peggy Faulk, chair of the Tom Klepper Memorial Committee.
“We have a fitness lab that Tom Klepper was instrumental in bringing together, and last year he was able to secure all of the equipment in the fitness lab,” Faulk said. “We're dedicating the lab to be called the Thomas Klepper Fitness Center.”
The memorial ceremony will involve district board member Kris Andrews reading a resolution honoring Klepper. Klepper's wife Mary and their three children are expected to attend and will receive gifts from the faculty related to the University of Southern California, which Klepper attended. A USC alum, Klepper had a love for Trojans football and decorated his office with Trojans memorabilia.
A plaque in Klepper's honor will also be unveiled at the fitness center. Faculty also prepared a journal containing their personal memories of Klepper, which they will present to the surviving Klepper family.
The center can accommodate about 40 students and houses stationary bicycles and even a rock-climbing wall. The refurbished fitness center began operating this school year, as part of a district initiative to get kids to keep fit.
“There has been a big push in our district for children to be physically fit and our physical education department has been outstanding in trying to find all sorts of physical activities for our students,” Faulk said. “The fitness lab is a way for students to learn about life long fitness activity.”
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Faulk said Klepper's legacy at VMS “is going to be his concern for fitness for everyone.”
“He was such an awesome man,” she said. “He cared about relationships with people whether it was the staff, students or parents.”
posted by Michelle @ 2:52 PM
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