Beth Besen

Taste & Talk: Where women open bottles and open the conversation!

November 25, 2025 by Beth Besen

(L-R): Jessica Reinmann (914 Cares Chairman), Lauren Gellert (Taste & Talk Founder) & Bobby Chipman (Dodd’s Wine & Spirits Sommelier)

What could be better than an evening of wine with local gal-pals? How about an evening of wine, friends and purpose-driven conversation!

Enter Taste and Talk, the brainchild of Chappaqua’s own renowned media executive and producer Lauren Gellert. As Gellert tells it, the idea for the group came to her very organically. She’d recently celebrated a milestone birthday with a trip to Italy and Greece and marveled at how relaxing it was to truly be free of demanding work emails and texts. So, after nearly three decades of five-days-a-week killer commuting and full-time in-office work, she decided it was finally time to step back and “just breathe”.

Just after the horrible Hamas attacks on October 7th, Gellert was feeling compelled to “do something.” A friend had invited her to a reinvent-yourself learning luncheon, and, despite feeling rather “coached out”, she decided to go for the camaraderie, food and wine – “I mean who says no to delicious Italian food and wine!?” She listened, but, more importantly, she observed: so many smart, engaged, interesting and interested women! It occurred to Gellert that she could create a women’s group similar in her own home – in fact, she had recently remodeled, turning what had once been her kids’ playroom into a stunning bar and gathering space, just perfect for salon get-togethers.

She pitched the idea to her husband and a few good friends over drinks one evening in that very same room, and everyone agreed it was a fabulous idea with great potential. And that was that. Gellert felt driven to raise money for the many Israeli families that had just lost everything – “I’m a producer, I’m a media person and I’m committing!” She refined her salon idea to include a charitable donation aspect. This too was an easy fit as the Gellert family has always been involved with charities and nonprofits and given back to their communities.

For partnership in the “taste” portion, she reached out to her local favorite liquor store, Dodd’s, in Millwood, and found immediate interest and support from in-house sommelier Bobby Chipman. Says Chipman, “Lauren and her husband are not only regular customers, but they’ve become friends. Of course, I was happy and excited to be asked to be part of her new venture. I usually bring four to six bottles of wine, and try to bring labels that are unique, different, not the usual top ten list or everybody’s go-to.” In other words, in keeping with the spirit of the gatherings, the tasting part of the evening is a learning experience too. Dodd’s offers twenty percent of the purchase price of any bottles tasted towards Gellert’s causes.

Lauren Gellert (middle) with Taste & Talk Panel, Renee Litt (left) and Dr. Brittny Howell (right)

Next came finding a speaker and topic. Given the October 7th prompt to action and Gellert’s intention to make the event a fundraiser, she chose to have all proceeds go to the Jerusalem Civilian Command Center, and priced attendance at $36 (known as double-chai*), an auspicious number in Jewish culture. She also discussed speakers with a friend who suggested reaching out to Rabbi Leora Londy of Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester in Chappaqua. Londy whole-heartedly supported the idea. Her topic suggestion for this event was How to Speak with Your Children About Israel and highlighted the importance of managing friendships and addressing the growing issue of hate speech in the community. It was a sensitive and challenging topic, but an incredibly important one. The evening was well-attended, and people expressed their gratitude for the forum mentioning they came away with a greater sense of community. In fact, Londy was such an engaging facilitator, Gellert had her back the following year, December 2024.

Londy called the gathering a “sacred space”, noting that women’s groups have the “opportunity to tap into a powerful dynamic that often gets lost in male-dominated conversations.” There were about two dozen participants, and the conversation and wine once again flowed effortlessly. Says Londy, “Lauren is a community builder, and I’ve appreciated being welcomed into her sphere and given the opportunity to share and discuss issues that seem to resonate with so many.”

Yes, turnout has been good, Gellert continued to hold Taste and Talk salons monthly and invited speakers on topics sparking great conversations; so, in true women’s networking fashion, word spread. Gellert definitely created something that seemed to fill a need. As she puts it, “you can get all of this online, whether you look at Ted Talks, YouTube videos or similar, but you can’t get the in-person authentic and organic experience that so many of us need and want, especially in a post-Covid world.”

All Taste & Talk salons feature female speakers and host participants from all over the tri-state area. Gellert has invited experts on topics as far ranging as women’s health, sex and relationships, spirituality, finance and entrepreneurship. The evenings present an opportunity to share experiences and thoughts, valuable and actionable knowledge, make new connections and, of course, taste a variety of wines (with a percentage of any bottle purchases going to charity).

In 2025, Gellert built an advisory board and named 914 Cares as the beneficiary of the year’s salons. Taste and Talk has become so successful that plans have evolved to expand and hold events in another three locales for a total of four salons in four locations in 2026. Gellerts home in Chappaqua will remain one of the salons, others will be located in Greenwich, CT, lower Westchester, and Los Angeles, California where her sister lives and will host as well. She hopes to continue to grow this purpose-driven salon to towns across the country, encouraging women to charity in exchange for an evening of thought-provoking speakers, wine tasting, and community connections.

Here is a “taste” of upcoming events

Savor, Shop, & Save Holiday Highlights – an event featuring local merchants including Shorty Love, Rocks, and Wonnaful, among others to learn about their businesses and shop for the holidays – December 3rd, 2025 at Gellert’s home in Chappaqua
The January Salon is set for January 8th in Chappaqua, January 14th in Greenwich, and February 5th in Los Angeles. It will be anchored by TEDx Speaker, Best-Selling Author, and Executive Coach Stef Ziev. The talk, It’s Your Turn-Radical Recalibration to Navigate Midlife, will focus participants on what the new year has to offer them as Stef dives deep into her TURN method and other ways to reinvent your midlife journey, personally or professionally.

For further information, please visit the website: tasteandtalk.org

*Chai is a Hebrew word meaning “Life” and is composed of two letters which, through the system of Hebrew numerology known as Gematria, add up to 18. It serves as a powerful symbol of existence, hope and resilience and is therefore considered a lucky number. Jews often give gifts or make charitable donations in multiples of Chai.

From Byram to Broadway: Catching up with Byram Hills Alum Tom Kitt

August 22, 2025 by Beth Besen

It’s the day after the 2025 Tony Awards, and I have the distinct pleasure to Zoom with Tony-, Emmy-, Grammy- and Pulitzer-winner, the uber-hyphenated (singer/songwriter/composer/lyricist/musical director-supervisor-arranger and orchestrator) artist, Tom Kitt. This is the first time in four years that Tom has not had a show in the evening’s lineup, and he laughingly shared that “muscle memory” almost kicked in to start him dressing for the event, only to realize he could watch, clap-for and be inspired by his friends and co-workers, all from the comfort of his couch. That said, he and his wife Rita Pietropinto-Kitt, did attend a number of afterparties, returning home late enough that it was almost morning, so I was doubly grateful for his time and graciousness in speaking with me.

Born Thomas Robert Kitt in 1974, Tom, along with his two older siblings, spent his early years in Port Washington on Long Island but moved with his parents to Westchester and the Armonk school district as a middle school student in 1987.

This is where and when the magic began, and Tom Kitt came into his own.

As most of us know from our own childhoods and those of our children today, middle school can be rough. And starting fresh as the new kid in town – downright scary. Tom was no exception to feeling first-day nerves, but luckily for him, athletics are a great entry to the teen boy-world, and Tom had been playing soccer since he was four years old. As Tom shared, it was more his gutsy behavior than his ball handling skills that first helped to put him on his peers’ radar; apparently, there was a large-for-his-age football player who pretty much ran the recess yard and games, and when he had the ball no one dared challenge him. Unaware of this unwritten playground rule, Tom surprised everyone by tackling the big guy, getting ahold of the ball and, unexpectedly, changing the course of that day’s game.

In fact, the unexpected seems to be part of the whole that defines Tom Kitt. In addition to playing soccer from a young age, Tom also played the piano. And not just for himself or for his family, but in school, often in performances as part of talent shows he helped to organize. This led to some teasing and bullying from his Port Washington classmates but garnered only positive attention at Byram Hills.

Tom had found his tribe and found great teachers along the way too. Performing “Captain Jack” in an 8th grade talent show, a tribute to one of his to-this-day idols Billy Joel, Tom confides that he “felt the love” and observed that “all artists need people who get them; in fact, all humankind needs people who get them.”

When Tom got to Byram Hills High School, he kept up with his schoolwork and played soccer but was especially focused on his singer/songwriter skills. He performed at coffee houses “and anywhere I could get on a piano and sing.” When he was a sophomore, he was asked to play in the orchestra pit for Kiss Me Kate – his first theatrical experience, and loved it. As a senior, he was convinced to be in the musical Into the Woods and, as he tells it, “As soon as I started, I was floored, my breath was taken away… when I talk about my road to the theater and what inspired me growing up, that Byram Hills experience was at the center.” Tom came back to Byram Hills in 2015 for the beloved drama teacher, Joy Varley’s retirement, which included an alumni performance of Next to Normal and reminisces “High school was such a layered and deeply emotional experience…seeing my name on the theater wall, with others such as Peter Gallagher and Laura Brannigan as part of the history of Byram Hills was incredibly meaningful.”

Tom loved all his Byram Hills educators, but English teacher Mr. Montgomery really stood out. “He recommended a list of books after I graduated, one of which was High Fidelity and that was my first Broadway musical. It was a great source of pride and emotion when I saw him at one of my Broadway previews and I got to give him a hug, thank him and say look what you made happen!”

Tom recognizes that he feels deeply and cares deeply, and that is a trait that can lift him up or cause deep pain. He enjoys seeing people respond positively to his work but admits that he also has learned and grown from places of disappointment. Getting fired from a first job, after only two months, was one such moment. The security of a regular paycheck and other perks like healthcare, were suddenly gone. But that extra downtime gave him the opportunity to re-visit his true creative passions and set him up to meet key people, network within the music and theater industries and ultimately live his dreams.

Dreams are the stuff we are frequently told to leave behind in childhood; they say we should pack them away along with our toys as “adulting” means being responsible, being serious, and, yes, often settling. Tom says that his parents were never those “theys”. He describes his parents as completely supportive of his musical interests and ambitions, and it was entirely his own choosing to major in economics, instead of music, while attending Columbia University. Looking back, Tom says he might have chosen more music classes but the discipline and attention to detail that his challenging major demanded, taught him how to learn better, stop procrastinating and focus more intently. It taught him the value of networking and teamwork, skills that are equally important – if not more so – to any book or fact-based learning.

Family is very important to Tom, and he gives a somewhat abashed smile when asked about the separation/inclusion conundrum when raising kids in the fast lane that is often associated with being a celebrity. He says that his “dad-hat” is always on, his kids are always a priority, and that he and Rita have worked hard to carefully include the children in their world but curate the way in which it is navigated. Tom’s closeness with his children, his ability to look at the world they live in and the challenges they face, is part and parcel of his creative genius.

For example, Jagged Little Pill, the musical for which Tom won a Grammy award for Best Musical Theater Album includes many adult themes. The show explores the complexities of family dynamics, raises questions of social inequality, and has a narrative plot line that includes sexual violence and drug addiction – not exactly a G-rated musical. And yet, much of it is centered on the lives of teenagers. Tom and Rita discussed whether they should take their kids to the show when it opened. They recognized that the themes and performances could be intense, but the question was, were they too intense? Ultimately, they decided their kids were likely already exposed to many of these issues, or soon would be, and that theater can be educational. So, they took the kids. Tom says, “the musical did what I hoped it would do”, and the production became a springboard to open the lines of communication and meaningful dialogue.

Tom enjoys seeing his kids explore his work when the timing is right. He notes that they were too young when Next to Normal had its run, but he enjoyed watching his children and their friends “discover” his Tony- and Pulitzer-award winning show as they got older and enjoyed even more that they want to talk about the show and its themes with him.

Asked what today’s aspiring young creatives can do to make headway in the arts industries, Tom reflects back once again to his childhood and upbringing. His advice to kids: identify your dream, use these years to figure out the tools you need to make that dream happen. Gain knowledge in any way you can to equip yourself – whether that’s private work, group work, in-school clubs and classes and after-school programs. Network and think about how you can position yourself. Be open to all possibilities. And advice to parents: support your kids’ dreams. Challenge them but support them. Your energy and your belief in them can and will make all the difference.

What’s next for Tom Kitt? With a wink, he says he’s plenty busy working on a number of projects and workshops now, but few are at the sharing stage. One he did speak about was a new musical, The Ghost Writer. Adapted from the Phillip Roth novel of the same name, Tom is composing the music and co-writing the lyrics with his collaborator, playwright Daniel Goldfarb. He is also part of the team working on the musical adaptation of Ten Things I Hate About You. This will feature music supervision, arrangements, and orchestrations by Tom, and is based on the popular 1999 film, which is a modern take on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.

I’m sure we all can’t wait to see what else Tom has up his creative sleeves – perhaps we’ll even see Mr. Kitt at next year’s Tony Awards.

Meet the Limitless & Lovely Ali Stroker

February 27, 2025 by Beth Besen

Mornings, I believe, are best when one can slowly ease away the cobwebs of sleep, slowly make the necessary ablutions and slowly brew a cup of steamy hot strong coffee to slowly sip while watching the daybreak slowly on the horizon. Sense a theme here? Slow and steady works! Or so I always thought. Until a recent early morning chat with Tony-award winning actress Ali Stroker, gave me pause to reconsider.

Ali, up early and enroute from her Briarcliff Manor home to a college workshop in southern Jersey, was a veritable force of nature from the moment we said our first hellos. Upbeat and energetic, engaged and thoughtful, warm and friendly…instead of slow and steady, this was ready, set, go on a cold December morning at the crack of dawn!

And what makes Ali go? The easier question might be what doesn’t. As she modestly puts it, “I love to work, and am happiest when my life is diversified, so I keep lots of pots on my stove”.

What’s stirring in Ali’s pots? Acting comes first and foremost to mind of course, as most of us know Ali from her 2019 Tony-award winning performance as “Ado Annie” in the Broadway revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!. The award created immediate buzz in the theatre community and beyond as Ali became the first actor in a wheelchair to win a Broadway Tony. That said and while the Tony may have been an industry first, it wasn’t Ali’s first time on Broadway – she had cleared that particular hurdle in 2015 performing in Deaf West Theatre’s revival of Spring Awakening. Additionally, many fans already knew her from TV’s 2011 reality series The Glee Project which, after Ali made it through all 12 episodes, led to a guest role on Fox’s Glee and then to additional hit shows like Ozark and Only Murders in the Building.

While acting is front-burner much of the time, when the theatre world quiets down – as Ali says is often the case in December – she’ll stir up her workshop pot and focus on spreading her motivational message and self-proclaimed motto: “Turning your limitations into your opportunities.” This could mean everything from speaking engagements to, like her workshop this morning, facilitating a theatre-student college workshop. Audiences and students are abled, disabled, universal in their desire to open themselves to hear and to learn. Ali shares her personal story and the positive ways we can all be successful regardless of, or in some cases even due to, the cards we’ve been handed.

Ali’s hand of cards was dealt early. Born across the river in Ridgewood, New Jersey, Ali says she and her two siblings along with their Physical Education teacher dad and hands-on stay-at-home mom, were the quintessential “sports family”. When a car accident left Ali paralyzed from the chest down at the age of two, the home team effort became next level; Ali’s mom became her fiercest advocate, and her dad instilled in her the “never give up” attitude. From both, she learned “that our challenges make us stronger.”

And strength is both physical and spiritual for Ali. She shares that she “was always a happy child” but being paralyzed “felt stuck on all fronts.” Then she discovered her voice and singing, and her whole world opened up. Musical theatre became her passion, and, being cast as “Annie” in a backyard family musical at seven years old was “the moment my life changed.”

Love of theatre took Ali to NYU where she met her husband, David Perlow. Students in the same musical theatre program, they developed a deep friendship and trust. They are each other’s biggest fans and, though raised with different religions, share a common spirituality, one that focuses on being kind to others. That core relationship value is foundational to their own family as they’ve embraced their role as parents to their now two-year-old son Jesse.

Ali, David and Jesse love living in Briarcliff Manor. For David, who grew up in town, it is a return to his roots. And Ali finds it reminds her of her own suburban childhood, with the added bonus of the easy commute to Manhattan. Ali has found personal trainers, chiropractors and doctors to help her stay physically strong but shares that “health and wellness is also about people, and finding community adds so much to that”. The couple work hard to make sure they find time in their busy professional schedule for community and for each other. Even at warp speed, work/life balance is important, so they make time to enjoy date nights at local restaurants, sharing morning coffee at local beaneries while Jesse is in pre-school, and exploring their limitless future together.

P.S. There are many full-circle moments in Ali’s life. From backyard musical Annie to Broadway Ado Annie. From paralysis to the unbound freedom of performance, and from a life changed at the age of two to watching her own two-year-old explore the world. Our interview ends when Ali arrives at her speaking gig and leaves me with this final thought: “Maybe I was born for this, for this challenge and for this purpose to help people.” And then, like the force of nature she is, she is off!

To Tell the Truth

April 24, 2023 by Beth Besen

“Honey, do these pants make me look fat?!”

We’ve all asked it, or some version thereof, of our spouse/partner/significant other. And, of course, we want to hear some version of “no, of course not – they look great on you, my dear!”

But, what if they actually don’t?

And so, the real question is–do we truly want an honest answer? Or do we want our spouse/partner/significant other to tell a little white lie and spare our feelings?

This is the question central to the movie You Hurt My Feelings*, a new film by writer-director Nicole Holofcener starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tobias Menzies as a perfectly happy couple who share a picture-perfect NYC life. Or are they, and do they? Julia plays Beth, a writer hard at work on a follow-up to her successful memoir. She asks her husband, Don, to read her many drafts and he has nothing but praise for them and for her. But, of course, a movie needs a plot twist, and this one begs the moral question about when and if to tell a loved one what you really think.

I loved this movie, not just because the writing, directing, editing, acting were superb (which they are), not just because, well, Julia is a writer named BETH… lol… and not just because it depicts a certain Manhattan demographic so pitch-perfectly, but because it asks a pretty profound question, examines it in with slice-of-life directness, but still leaves us wondering and causes us to ponder what we would do.

When I was asked for an essay offering “a few pearls of wisdom/anecdotes” of a long-term happy marriage, I had to pause for a moment. Am I really the right person? Do my husband and I belong up on some unlikely pedestal for all to admire? Ha, I laughed to myself, haha, that’s a good one! But, then again, I hedged, we have been together for over 30 years and there’s something to be said for that kind of staying power. Truly, anyone who takes this long and winding commitment road knows that it’s not without its bumps and potholes. That said, it’s in the way we navigate these roadblocks that we find our strengths, figure out how to work together and decide whether we are and can continue to be a happy couple.

Which leads me back to You Hurt My Feelings, a 2023 film which I had the good fortune to see during its premiere screening at the Sundance Film Festival (SFF) this past January. I’ve been an SFF volunteer for the last decade (I actually got my 10-year pin this year), and I just love, love, love it! The excitement and energy are palpable, I’ve met amazing life-long friends, enjoyed parties and swag, and, of course, seen incredible films often with talent on-hand for interesting post-screening Q-and-As. It’s a film-lover’s paradise! And I always go it alone.

Yes, while Stephen and I enjoy watching movies together, he would hate the Sundance traffic, crowds, and lines. My husband has many fine qualities, but patience is simply not one of them. And so, Sundance is my thing. And we’re both fine with that–today.

Fact is, however, at first, this wasn’t a given. Our kids had just grown and flown enough for me to contemplate Sundance. But could I really just take off? On my own? While my poor hubbie went to the office working his insane hours as always? Hmmmm. I definitely sensed a bit of tension, maybe even resentment. But when I asked if he was truly ok with it (i.e., do these pants make me look fat?), he said yes. And so, I made my plans. And the next year, made them again. And so on and so forth until, as the years went on, Stephen started to ask me if I’d made my annual SFF arrangements yet.

Did Stephen honestly mean he was ok with my very first solo SFF plans? Or did he, out of love and generosity, tell me what he knew I wanted to hear? I’ll likely never really know. But I do know I’m glad he said “yes” and that my annual Sundance volunteering stint has become part of the fabric of our lives. Togetherness is a wonderful thing, but so too are personal interests and individual hobbies.

Final thought: I imagine it can get pretty tiring hanging out on a pedestal. I’d rather put that energy into the hard work that is the real brick and mortar of a happy marriage. Cheers to all of us who love, respect, compromise, negotiate, give in, hold out, keep on keeping on 😊!

*You Hurt My Feelings was first screened at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and was snapped up by A24; I highly recommend!

Let’s Go Clubbing… Club Fit Experts Weigh in on Undertaking Personal Fitness Journeys

February 25, 2023 by Beth Besen

At Club Fit: Donna Berta, fitness director, and Steve Butler, personal trainer
PHOTO BY MIA BROWN

Remember the 1980’s? If you too are of a certain vintage, there are simply some things you’ll never forget. Fashion? Fluorescent! And we loved our big hair, our even bigger shoulder pads. Of course, like Melanie Griffith in Working Girl, that was just for work. When we wanted to work out, we rocked leotards and leg warmers and tried to channel Cher’s “If it came in a bottle, everyone would have a great body” and Jane Fonda’s “No pain, no gain” mantras.

Ahh, nostalgia. Though we may look fondly back at the “music still on MTV” eighties, and while it’s true that what goes around comes around (so we’re seeing some of those eighties looks back in style!), it’s also true that we’ve moved on in many ways. This includes our approach to fitness.

Club Fit fitness director Donna Berta couldn’t agree more, citing “people are more active in general, especially older people, and ‘old’ is not the same as it used to be.” That said, Berta points out that her own family was always an exception, as all of them were always active and sporty, including her mom who played basketball with Berta and her siblings. She views her mother’s active way of life as inspirational, and notes that current attitudes about fitness have caught up with what her mom seemed to instinctively know. Today’s healthy mantra is less about getting skinny and more about having skin in a daily fitness regime.

Donna, who has been with Club Fit for 28 years now, notes the clients who come with specific health improvement goals and others who come to maintain their fitness via the many options the club offers, but, overall, everyone recognizes the need to be functionally fit for all that life has to offer. One great example Donna mentioned is a club fit member and personal training client who is in his 80’s and came to Club Fit to work on staying fit to be able to play with his grandchildren and granddogs…have to say, this puts a whole other spin on the “eighties”!

Changing it Up

What’s in the fitness lineup these days? Unless you’ve been living on some alien planet far, far away (ok, COVID isolation felt a bit that way, but still), you know that there’s so much more to exercise than, say, running on a treadmill. Of course, treadmills are still a great way to get your cardio on, but changing up workout routines is why gyms like Club Fit have become a key part of so many people’s lives and routines. Yoga? You bet. Pilates? Yes, please. These days, and at any age, we can Spin, Dance, TRX, HOIST, Box, Kickbox, and swim our way into health and well-being. It’s like a well-laid buffet, only all-you-can-exercise instead of eat! And if classes aren’t your thing, there are plenty of the latest cardio machines to keep your heartrate pumping, and weight training circuits and free weights for strength training too.

Not sure how to get started? Need some help changing up your routine? Want an expert to make sure you’re doing things the right way? That’s where personal training comes into play. Personal trainers are often motivated to help others achieve health benefits because they’ve personally “been there, done that”.

Take Club Fit’s Steve Butler. He’d always been into sports and had been managing a retail sports shop, but quit his gym membership during Covid which led to a decrease in his regular fitness routine. He also shared that he moved in with his girlfriend, which led him to put on some “happy weight”. He soon realized he needed regular fitness back in his life.

A Journey to Call Your Own

To achieve his goal, Steve built his own home gym and got down to some serious self-training. It paid off so well that others started to ask him for tips. He took this as a “sign from above” and became certified as a personal trainer. He loves the work, and working one-on-one, saying “I love to help people. I tell them about my journey but always tell them they’re an individual so their journey will be their own–whether it’s weight loss or fitness or both. I mix it up for everyone depending on their goals, and whether they’re beginners or experienced.”

I asked Steve about working out as we age, and he, like Donna, spoke to the importance of maintaining fitness over time, noting strength and balance are key and that optimal nutrition is vital too.

Yes, healthy bodies and minds do need to stay fueled. Sometimes we all need a bit of help sticking to a healthy diet too. Whether you’re looking for a quick energy boost or a full-on meal, whether you’re counting calories, doing Keto, or just looking for healthy options you don’t have to cook yourself, Club Fit has delicious meals and snacks including, per Inside Press’s own Grace Bennett, some of the very best soups and smoothies around town!

Speaking of Grace, many know of her incredible father “Poppy”, and that he passed away only somewhat recently, enjoying a full and happy (yes, happy, even having lived through and surviving the Holocaust) 97 years of life. Grace shares that Poppy was always on the move, telling her frequently that “blood flow” is the key to health.

In his honor, and because age and isolation do slow even the most intrepid editors down, Grace started working out again herself. And, yes, she’s (back at) Club Fit!

Grace shares that she has been a Club Fit member on and off for the last 25 years of so.

I can well relate! Sure, I loved my 1980s health club; there were great classes, fun and inspirational instructors and lots of locations so I could work out near my office or my apartment. Funny thing is, I don’t recall ever seeing anyone much older than I was. Nor did I see any families with kids. I worked out with friends, flirted a bit, even had a few gym dates!

When my husband and I moved to Chappaqua nearly 30 years ago, with a toddler in tow and a baby on the way, well, let’s just say I was looking for a different type of gym experience. Club Fit felt like a warm and welcome way to meet our needs. And now? With those kiddos long grown and flown, gotta say, it’s still (like Stacy’s mom) got it going on!

Beth Besen