The first inaugural Gene Van Wyk Bench Press Competition was held at Pella Christian High School last month, and organizers said their first event was a success.

Russ Van Wyk and Sandra Fancher with the Gene Van Wyk Memorial said that approximately 50 people participated in the weightlifting competition, with many of them sharing how much they enjoyed the event. Van Wyk says that they had many volunteers that did a variety of tasks to help the event run smoothly, and that they were grateful for everyone that participated in the first competition.

“We were so fortunate to have so many great volunteers in so many areas with their skills. That doesn’t happen in a lot of places, so we feel very fortunate that people are friends with us or who are friends with my dad and would like to help out. One of the volunteers kind of made me tear up a little bit, because he said that Gene had done so much for him in my life, and that it was great for him to be able to give back to Gene’s legacy in some way. It was such a fun night for everybody that participated or were volunteers.”

Hear more about the Gene Van Wyk Bench Press Competition on an upcoming Let’s Talk Pella.