Senior Vice President of the Rancho Sahuarita Companies, Fred Lewis, spends much of his free time enriching the lives of children through the sport of handball and other related activities. For the better part of 17 years, this former national champion has been recruiting and coaching kids who have become involved in one of the toughest non-contact sports on the planet.
Last year Lewis decided to expand his mode of operation by forming the Fred Lewis Foundation for Youth Handball. Recently the foundation was granted 501 c3 status as a public charity by the Internal Revenue Service. The foundation employs several coaches that recruit, train, and accompany kids on out of town trips to handball tournaments. This summer the foundation will transport those who qualify by attaining passing grades and being good citizens to such places as Flagstaff, AZ, Boulder, CO, and Santa Fe, NM. Boulder is the site of this year’s National Junior 3-Wall Handball Championships. Upwards of 20 children from the foundation are expected to qualify.
In order to raise funds to support the foundation’s activities, Fred recently hired a very talented individual to be the Director of Special Events. Her name is Alcira Tamaura and she is a native of Obregon, Sonora, Mexico. Alcira convinced Fred that the foundation needed to go outside of its comfort zone and as a result Zumbathon 2014 was born. Through her contacts and friendships throughout Tucson’s Hispanic Community, she received commitments from some of the top Zumba instructors to participate in the event. The University of Arizona Recreation Center’s south gymnasium was selected as the site. The date is August 3, with registration beginning at noon. Tickets are currently on sale at $15 in advance and $20 at the door.
When the activities staff at Rancho Sahuarita first learned of the event, they immediately jumped on the bandwagon. Rancho Sahuarita’s Zumba Diva, Leilani Washington agreed to become one of the lead instructors. Rancho Sahuarita’s Director of Activities, Lora Nastase, and Director of Resident Relations, Christina Moreno, will co-manage Team Rancho Sahuarita. They expect to lead a team of at least 50 Zumba dancers on the day of the event. Please call 207-7734 and ask for either Lora or Kristina at Club Rancho Sahuarita to learn more about Team Rancho Sahuarita.