Roselee Senior (Williams) of Smithville stands with Chief Gary Batton among council and community members, all lined up to cut a ribbon opening the new wellness center expansion.
Choctaw Nation Opens New Wellness Center in Smithville
Choctaw Nation
Smithville, Okla.– Smithville community members, Chief Gary Batton, Assistant Chief Jack Austin, Jr., members of the Tribal Council, and Choctaw Nation employees met at the Smithville Choctaw Community Center on Nov. 17, to officially open the Choctaw Nation Wellness Center expansion.
Roselee Senior (Williams), a Smithville local and Choctaw elder, cut the ribbon, signaling the availability of the workout equipment. Senior said she plans on coming to the facility as often as possible.
Treadmills, ellipticals, and stationary bikes line up against windows looking out onto the wooded trails near the community center. There are also free weights, lifting benches, and weight machines.
“We want to make sure to keep our people well,” Chief Batton said. “We want our tribal members to live longer and have good, long, fruitful lives.”
Chief Batton went on to explain the Choctaw Tribal Council members serving all counties such as District 3 Councilman Kenny Bryant have consistently worked to bring these types of opportunities to their people.
“I am very proud of them for making that a wish, and then making it become a reality for us over here on this side of the state,” he said.
This new wellness center marks the eleventh center to open within Choctaw Country, and another is scheduled to open in McAlester in December 2015.
Larry Finch Construction Corp. completed the construction for the Smithville center and is also responsible for the new chapel on the capital grounds at Tvshka Homma.
Smithville’s wellness center is attached to its community center, which can be found on 39617 N. Highway 259, Smithville.