Surrounded by books, papers and various sports equipment, our new intramurals director, Cindy Smith, has high hopes for our new program starting this semester. Smith’s responsibilities include the supervision of the climbing wall and directing intramural athletics. Working at a much larger school before for three and a half years, Radford University in Radford, Virginia, her main interest is the smaller community and getting everyone involved. “I took the job mainly because it was a smaller school and for the chance to work in the new center,” said Smith. “I’m ready for new challenges that will help me grow.”

Hired in December, Smith already has many plans and goals looked to be accomplished by the end of the semester. With this new facility and smaller environment, the development of better intramural leagues and more participation by everyone, including those not involved in the school’s athletic teams is a huge priority. “I want to start an outdoor program that involves day trips such as wall climbs, backpacking and other recreational activities.” Smith also is playing a role in the upcoming Turkey Bowl event. She will be helping to staff it and volunteering in the events. The bowl consists of a flag football game open to anyone, in which the winning team receives a catered meal at the following home basketball game. A big goal that is being looked at right now for Smith is the development of sports clubs such as mens volleyball. “Right now we’re just looking into the administrative process of being able to compete as a club against other school clubs,” said Smith.

“Rugby has been a huge request from many students.” Smith is very excited to be able to become close to the students now that she is in a smaller environment and that so many are willing to participate in these activities planned. “I love dealing with the climbing wall and teaching others by giving them the opportunity to participate in the classes.” Only being part of our community for two months now and with all of the excitement and huge plans for the new student center, Smith says that “she plans on staying for quite a while.” Found in the intramurals office in the student center, Smith says she is always open to new suggestions and participation for anyone interested in something not yet planned.

If you don’t know who was making sure the new Batten Center was on track and on budget, you obviously don’t know Bruce Vaughan. Vaughan, Director of Business Operations for VWC, may have one job title but handles a lot of responsibility. Starting at VWC 8 years ago, overseeing the physical plant, Vaughan now refers himself as “clerk of the works” overseeing auxiliary services including the physical plant, purchasing, mailroom, print shop, telecommunications, switchboard, computer services, bookstore and a portion of food services. The Batten Center was an additional responsibility for an already busy man.

Residing in Pungo, Vaughan drives in on his Harley Davidson Motorcycle, ready for a productive day. “I’ve been riding motorcycles since I was 15. I’ve ridden in all the states east of the Mississippi River except Maine and New Hampshire. I love the sport and sharing the sport.” His wife Jennifer also likes to ride. “My wife loves to ride with me. She actually prefers the back seat.” When he arrives at work, Vaughan is anywhere but the back seat. Entering his office, cell phone on the left of his belt and tape measure on the other, telephone calls and email alerts are pouring in. Vaughan has been consistently busy overseeing recent construction projects such as the Batten Center. He was approached regarding the Batten Center very soon after Godwin Hall was complete. Vaughan is no stranger to construction. It’s been in his family since he was born. “I grew up in a family of contractors. For awhile there were pictures of me with a skill saw in my hands.” Vaughan’s own family includes a 22-year-old son, three grandkids, and two cats. Just outside his office, which is adorned with motorcycle memorabilia, sits the Batten Center now reaching full completion. “This is a big project,” he said peering out the window past his décor of Harley Davidson collectables. “We had just finished Godwin and Frank Batten had given the donation.” When asked to take on the next project, he replied, “sure!”

“As the concept developed, it was obvious it would be big,” he said. “I am a contracted employee to VWC through Aramark Space Servicemaster. It was a logical move for me to move into this spot and pick up things.” By doing so, Vaughan says the college saved a great deal of money by not hiring and outside person. Vaughan obtained his masters degree in business administration from Central Michigan University. “I knew I didn’t want to be behind a desk,” he said. Working with Aramark and VWC has allowed him to stay in construction and out from behind the desk. The Batten Center has kept Vaughan away from his desk often. He has been there every step of the process and literally everyday too. “I worked everyday but Christmas and a part of New Years Day.” Contractor delays slowed the project down slightly. Most everything went smoothly he said, and “the big issues are resolved.” “I need dry weather to finish this parking lot,” he says, “but I’d like to see rain to test if the roof leaks.” There have been small leaks but Vaughan assures they have been fixed. “Everyone from the president to the contractor worked to put together a design they thought would function well.” Emphasizing how “state of the art” and “top notch” the facility is, he points out that design was key in winning students approval. “You never think of everything and you try to weigh out the most bang for the buck to make it most efficient.”

From the exercise equipment to the swimming pool, design was key in winning students approval. “We made some very critical decisions up front about how that would be used. Unless you are in the pool, you don’t get a chlorine smell.” In the weight room, Lifestyle equipment is “user friendly and has qualities for top athletes.” “Any student who comes in can feel comfortable,” says Vaughan. And he does mean ANY student. The other day he stopped to watch Intramurals Director Cindy Smith help a paraplegic climb the rock wall. That struck him deeply. “I am not trained and wouldn’t have thought about it,” but said, “that gave him an opportunity to climb the climbing wall and to get that experience. We never had that ability to do that before and now it opens up doors.” For Vaughan, comfort comes in knowing the job was well done and students are enjoying their new center. The stacks of blueprints still remain on a drafting table in the corner of his office and serve as a reminder of the many months of planning and preparation that have led to the opening weekend. “It’s a sad time when you turn over a building,” says Vaughan. Yet, for him there is an overwhelming satisfaction that comes along with it. “When you walk through the building and you see students that you haven’t seen before, mingling in magnitudes, those are the interactions that we just didn’t have venue for.” Now, that venue is complete. “The real part is now in Lina Cottinghams hands. She has to make it run.”

Vaughan praises his staff for all their hard work. “There are stars in each area and if not for them, I wouldn’t have survived the building. They are just wonderful people who aren’t in the spotlight very much. They picked up the bulk of the responsibility which has freed me up most of the time.” Next, Vaughan is planning a vacation to Daytona Beach, Florida for the annual Bike Week in March. “It’s been gratifying to step back and say I played a role in this,” said Vaughan. It’s been some long hours but it’s doing what we hoped it would be doing. And we are just scratching the surface.”

You’ve probably seen him. The first week the Batten Center was open, he spent about 80 hours in the new facility. And while he is allowed to go home a little more often now, Willie Harrell is obviously an integral part of the staff at the Jane P. Batten Student Center. Harrell is a native to the Hampton Roads area. He grew up in Suffolk, and began his collegiate studies at Virginia Wesleyan in 1993. After graduating in 1997 with a major in Recreation and Leisure Studies, Harrell joined the staff of Virginia Wesleyan, working with Student Activities, Greek Life, and Commuter Services for 2 years. He left VWC in 1999 to become the Aquatics Director at the Suffolk YMCA. Still during this time, he kept in touch with the faculty and staff at Virginia Wesleyan. And when the search for an Aquatics and Fitness Director began last year, Harrell decided to apply for the position. “I’m glad to be back,” says Harrell. And like so many other members of the Virginia Wesleyan College community, Harrell can’t believe that such an amazing facility is now on our campus. As an avid swimmer, he is partial to the pool and he has plenty of ideas to make sure that our community uses the facility to its full potential. While he feels that the pool will mostly be fitness oriented, he hopes to have many different ongoing activities in the Natatorium.

“There are going to be a lot of clubs; different lap swimming clubs, mock meets,basketball, and volleyball.” There is even the potential for swimming classes and lifeguard certification classes in the future. Despite the fact that the pool is used daily by outside groups, Harrell is fairly certain that there will always be a lane or two reserved for the Wesleyan community. The only notable exceptions will be when outside swim teams have their meets there, which should mostly be on Saturday mornings. In addition to the pool, Harrell is responsible for the Fitness Center, including the Weight Room and the Cardiovascular Training Center. Between the Natatorium and the Fitness Center, he is responsible for overseeing over 30 student employees, who work as part of the Fitness Room desk staff or as lifeguards. He admits that scheduling is a bit of a challenge, as so many of his student employees are athletes, or otherwise involved around campus. “But you just have to work around it, fill in and set the rules and try to keep everyone happy.”