Kim named facility manager at Center for Health & Fitness-Raeford

RAEFORD – Suzanne Kim’s life began in Pennsylvania, but she and her family traveled half-way around the world and back before finding the place they consider “home” in Raeford.

Kim recently became facility manager of the FirstHealth Center for Health & Fitness-Raeford. She has worked there since April 1999.

“I love it,” she says of her work. “I love working with people and helping them get healthy or stay healthy.”

According to John Caliri, director of the FirstHealth Centers for Health & Fitness, Kim has been an integral part of the Raeford operation since before it opened in October 1999.

“Suzanne’s experience in assisting in the day-to-day management of the Center has helped it become successful,” he says. “Her promotion to facility manager is a natural progression for her, for the staff, for the center and for the community.”

Kim is a military wife who accompanied her husband to various duty stations – including Fort Hood, Texas; Korea; and Scofield Barracks, Hawaii – before they settled in North Carolina in 1995.

The Kims have three children: a daughter who is a graduate student at East Carolina University, a son who is active duty military and a daughter who is an undergraduate at East Carolina. Sgt. 1st Class Yung Kim is now retired, and the family has lived in Raeford since 1997.

“My kids think they’re from here,” Kim says.

Kim joined the Center for Health & Fitness-Raeford as an aerobics instructor and front desk attendant and later became nursery and front desk coordinator, the position she held before she assumed the role of facility manager. According to Caliri, she is uniquely positioned to build on the strong relationships that FirstHealth has always enjoyed in Hoke County – with both the military and non-military communities.

“As Hoke County continues to grow, we look forward to building on our longstanding commitment to promoting fitness in the area,” Caliri says. “Suzanne has been a long-term resident of Hoke County and is ideally suited to help in that effort.”

A medical fitness center, the Center for Health & Fitness-Raeford features the latest in cardio- and weight-training equipment as well as innovative group exercise classes. Other features include an indoor heated pool and whirlpool, a variety of children’s programs, a basketball court, educational lectures on a variety of health and wellness topics, and on-site massage services.

For more information on the FirstHealth Center for Health & Fitness-Raeford, call (910) 904-7400.