For the City Times

Pacelli High School is now the home of a new fitness center — the Berard/Klasinski Clinic Fitness Center.

The center, a memorial to the late Coach Bob Raczek, was made possible by the school’s athletic booster club — the Big Red Club — and in partnership with Dr. Corey Huck from the UWSP Health Dept.

“I was invited to join strategic planning discussions with the Big Red Club on how to improve athletics, fitness, healthy behaviors, and the overall health and well-being of all students, not just the athletes,” said Huck.

Huck also worked with Nisha Fernando of the UWSP Interior Architecture program, and with the help of
students in both departments, the two drafted the design, and flow of the space.

Members of the Big Red Club, led by Tom Cashin and Dennis Elsenrath, then solicited donors for the project, locking in an initial grant from the Point Bock Run, and ultimately securing a bulk of the funding from two main donors—Bob and Mary Berard and Klasinski Clinic, thus shaping the naming for the center.

Most of the equipment was delivered to the school over spring break.

“All in all, the space looks amazing,” said Larry Theiss, Pacelli’s principal. “We are greatly blessed by the donors and members of the Big Red Club who have made our fitness center a wonderful reality.”

The school plans to continue working with UWSP by having undergraduate students working with high school students at the facility.