JMBCC Receives Donation from Legends Strength & Fitness Warehouse

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Posted: 10/26/2016

Legends Strength & Fitness Warehouse generously donated $4,476 to The Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center, equaling 100 percent of the proceeds from their October 1 fitness event, Barbells and Boobs 2016.

“We are one small gym from Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, but together we make ONE BIG DIFFERENCE!” said event organizer Ashley Archangelo Gray.

Participant Deanna Mennett commented, “The energy in that gym was amazing! But at the end of the day it wasn't about who came in what place or what time you had, it was about being there and giving it all you had for those who are fighting and have fought the battle of breast cancer. They are the strong ones...we are just people at a gym trying to raise money to help fight this battle. Legends isn't just a gym...we are family.”

Special thanks to Ashley Archangelo Gray and Logan Gray for the hard work and dedication they give to the members of the gym and the community and for making this fundraiser a success for the Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center.

Founded in 1906, Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber (CSSMCW) is an independent, non-profit acute care hospital in northern Somerset County, bordering Cambria County. The 54-bed hospital shares a campus and collaborates with Chan Soon-Shiong Institute of Molecular Medicine at Windber (CSSIMMW), a private, non-profit biomedical research center. With more than 450 employees, CSSMCW is the fourth largest employer in Somerset County. CSSMCW’s mission is to provide excellence in personalized, quality health care services through innovation, research and education in response to community needs. For more information visit www.windbercare.org.

In the Spotlight | Ebensburg couple say gym members are ‘family’

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Photo by John Rucosky

Photo by John Rucosky

EBENSBURG – Although each of them has a full-time career, Ashley Archangelo-Gray and Logan Gray wanted to find a way to share their love for health and fitness with others. 

More than a year later, the Ebensburg couple said they’ve formed a family of members at their gym, Legends Strength & Fitness Warehouse. 

Opened in June 2015, the 4,500-square-foot facility at 324 Tanner St. provides open weightlifting space in addition to training programs and 10 coaches who teach classes like kettlebell, boot camp, yoga, pilates, interval training, cross training, kickboxing and partner workouts.

“We really do have something for everybody,” Archangelo-Gray said. 

Archangelo-Gray, a teacher at Richland Elementary, taught fitness classes at Ebensburg’s Young Peoples Community Center for 10 years and coached a competition cheerleading team there for five years.

She wanted to find a way to get children interested in fitness, which lead to “Lil Legends,” an annual camp that gets kids moving. 

This summer, 45 students age 4 through 13 divided into three classes based on age and participated in workouts, games and skill practice to build strength, conditioning and coordination. 

“Really it’s just about building their confidence,” Archangelo-Gray said, by focusing on each participants’ individual needs, which may improve their performance in team sports. 

The Grays, both CrossFit Level 1 certified trainers and USAW Sports Performance coaches, have also placed a focus being involved in the community where they grew up. 

“It’s all about giving back,” said Gray, a structural engineer by day who’s also a coach for the gym’s barbell club. 

Last fall, the couple organized a benefit event for breast cancer awareness, where local sponsorships, T-shirt sales and a daylong workout competition collected money for Barbells for Boobs, a nonprofit organization that provides mammograms for men and women who can’t afford them. 

This year’s Oct. 1 event will benefit the Joyce P. Murtha Breast Care Center, where some Legends members have actually gone through treatment during their breast cancer battles. 

Legends also began providing a scholarship to a graduating senior at Central Cambria High School, the Grays’ alma mater.

Qualifying students must plan to enlist in a branch of the armed forces and exhibit a passion for health and fitness. 

Through a Memorial Day event called “the Murph challenge,” participants competed in a 1-mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 pushups, 300 squats and another 1-mile run to raise $850 for this year’s scholarship, which was awarded to Tommy Opdenhoff. 

In 2017, Legends plans to sponsor Pony League baseball and has planned a summer picnic, Valentine’s Day couples workouts and a Christmas party for members. 

“We’re a family gym,” Archangelo-Gray said, thanking members who support and volunteer to organize community events. “We all just kind of come together."

“We’re thrilled the community has supported us,” Gray added. “Our members are excited to be here.” 

At 22 weeks pregnant, Archangelo-Gray said she intends to continue working out and teaching classes for as long as she can to instill the importance of a healthy, fit lifestyle in others and help those striving to reach personal fitness milestones.

“Our goal is for you to get a membership and be here as much as possible,” she said.

“We’re a supportive community who keeps each other accountable.” 

By Jocelyn Brumbaugh, Aug 13, 2016