Weight equipment rejuvenated at St. Bernard

Shannon Mescher joined the staff of St. Bernard Prep School last year as a gym assistant to host students in the afternoons and to help with upkeep at the Fazi-Richard Athletic Center. Mescher and her family became acquainted with St. Bernard due to her husband’s job transfer in 2006 from Ohio to Cullman while he was employed with Topre, Inc.

However when his job ended two years ago, Mescher said they could not leave Cullman. “This was home. We chose St. Bernard because we are Catholic and wanted to offer a quality education to our girls, and Cullman had exactly what we wanted at Sacred Heart and Saint Bernard.”

Mescher has now taken charge of the girls volleyball team after seeing the interest expressed by the students athletes. One of her first requests was the restoration of the school’s weight equipment room so her girls could start a volleyball training program.

Martin Poe, owner of Poe’s Sporting Goods in Nashville, and an alumnus of St. Bernard, donated the original equipment to St. Bernard several years ago to assist with athlete training.

This summer the free weights were powder coated. The other weight equipment having cushioned seats were upholstered with new padding. With stainless steel polish, the Mescher family scrubbed the weight machines from top to bottom and gave new life to the heavy duty equipment.

“This equipment is state of the art,” said Mescher. “When Middle Tennessee State University held volleyball camp at St. Bernard this summer, the instructors were impressed with such a wonderful weight room and compared it to a college program,” Mescher said. “They loved it so much they would work-out while the rest of us were having lunch.”

“The volleyball team exercises on the restored equipment as do most of the student-athletes. In addition, the snack bar and social room is open daily for students to grab a bite to eat after school,” said Mescher. “The gym has become the after-hours hub of the campus.”