SwimWest 2018 – a Year in Review

2018 was an eventful year for SwimWest students, staff and even our dolphin mascot, Finn. With end of the year fast approaching, it’s a good time to look back at some notable events that defined us in 2018.

Among the many highlights, it was a year of:

Giving

We were a very charitable group this year. Our giving community embraced a local collection of events and organizations including: Toys-for-Tots, Reach Dane County, Badger Prairie Needs Network, Domestic Abuse Intervention Services, Neighbors Helping Neighbors and Gio’s Garden just to name a few.

The Dolphin

Our 2-dimensional dolphin logo came to life in 2018 as a full fledge dolphin mascot! Finn, the dolphin, made his way around our community spreading fun and water safety tips all year long, and rumor has it, he plans on traveling even farther in 2019.

Facility improvements/upgrades

A new water fountain with a water bottle filler, updated changing room area, a much-needed bike rack, new safety equipment, and the addition of more evening and daytime classes were just some of the updates at both Deming Way and Fitchburg locations this year.

Staff growth, hires, promotions and appreciations

We had several promotions and hired many new key players to our family. Our staff appreciation week brought in a huge array of complimentary notes, coloring pages and “way to go’s” for our hard-working crew from their grateful students and parents. Regular in-services for the whole team, teacher training days and industry conferences kept us focused on core values and swim safety for everyone this year.

Community

2018 found us very active in our community. Between the Mount Horeb parade to the Police Crime Prevention Picnic in Fitchburg and the Good Neighbor Festival in Middleton along with many, many places in between, we were out and about in our area promoting community causes and healthier living through swimming.

Swim Safety

The most important thing we do at SwimWest is promoting water safety. We set out to accomplish this every day, every year. Some of the ways we achieved that goal in 2018 outside of our everyday swim lessons included: ongoing lifeguard training; weekly focus tips for our swimmers, Water Watcher promotions, Swim Safety Week/Day, CPR and First Aid demonstrations and of course emphasizing to everyone to swim safer, swim smarter, SwimWest!

See you next year!