{"id":449981,"date":"2026-05-19T20:08:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T20:08:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/449981\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T20:08:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T20:08:17","slug":"jayco-dedicates-health-fitness-center-to-cindy-hawkins-rvbusiness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/449981\/","title":{"rendered":"Jayco Dedicates Health & Fitness Center to Cindy Hawkins – RVBusiness"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"A plaque with Cindy Hawkins photo is located inside the center.<\/p>\n

MIDDLEBURY, Ind. \u2014 A large crowd came out on Monday May 18 when the Jayco Family of Companies unveiled its newly remodeled and expanded fitness center with dedicating the building as the Jayco Cindy Hawkins Health & Fitness Center.<\/p>\n

The late Cindy Hawkins was the youngest daughter of Jayco\u2019s founders Lloyd and Bertha Bontrager. She graduated from Goshen College with a degree in Physical Education, which led to her role as the company\u2019s wellness coordinator. She was instrumental in developing the Jayco Wellness Program and spearheaded initiatives that are continued to be built upon today. Hawkins facilitated the initial gym on campus, wellness events and health screenings. <\/p>\n

Cindy was diagnosed with glioblastoma (brain cancer) in June of 2023 and ultimately passed in April 2024. The dedication of this facility honors her commitment and continued legacy of health and fitness at Jayco.<\/p>\n

Ken Walters, CEO of the Jayco-Tiffin Group, addressed the crowd, which included many of Cindy\u2019s husband David Hawkins and other family members, as well as many members of the broader Bontrager family, including her mother Bertha Bontrager Rhodes, Wilbur Bontrager (former Jayco CEO), Derald Bontrager (former president and CEO) and many current Jayco employees.<\/p>\n

\"\"Jayco CEO Ken Walters spoke about the fitness center prior to the ribbon cutting.<\/p>\n

Walters said construction of the expanded fitness facility was completed last fall but then winter came and Bertha was down south and it took a while to get the signage in place and arrange everyone\u2019s schedule to hold the celebration. He said he knew this meant a lot to the Bontrager family, adding that they approached the remodel and expansion as they do everything at Jayco.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want to mess up the good parts, but we want to build on the great foundation the Bontrager family started,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one else in the industry or in Elkhart County thought about an occupational health clinic and fitness facility for employees and we\u2019ve now doubled the size of the space,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

It is now a 4,400-square-foot, state-of-the-art, 24-hour wellness facility for all Jayco employees and their family members.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re still the only RV company in the county with an occupational health clinic and on the other side is a family health clinic,\u201d Walters pointed out.<\/p>\n

Everyone on insurance and their families can use the clinic, he said, adding that 47% of \u201cour employees\u2019 doctor visits are done here in our own clinic.\u201d That amounted to a savings of over $2 million for Jayco employees, Walters said, adding\u00a0that a lot of prescriptions have zero co-pay.<\/p>\n

\"\"Some of the equipment in the fitness room as Jayco employees and family members of Cindy Hawkins wait for the celebration to begin.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the important things for us if we did it, we wanted it to be excellent and we\u2019ve gotten great feedback,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Jayco recently put in over $100,000 of additional equipment as they get feedback about what is needed, and Waters said \u201cwe\u2019ll continue to invest heavily because we see the results.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Jayco Cindy Hawkins Health & Fitness Center features cardio equipment, free weights, machines and space for floor exercises. There are two locker rooms with showers, lockers and changing facilities. There are currently 2,000 employees registered for key cards to utilize the facility at any time. The completion of the fitness center rounds out the Jayco Holistic Health center, which includes an occupational health center and a family health center staffed with doctors and nurses in partnership with Goshen Health to provide care for Jayco employees and their families.<\/p>\n

\"\"Cindy Hawkins\u2019 name is on the outside of the building as well.<\/p>\n

For his part, Dave Hawkins said Cindy \u201cloved this company.\u201d He said he remembered the early conversations about whether this idea would work. He told Walters when he mentioned her name on the building, he envisioned a plaque, not her name literally on the building. He said, \u201cCindy is looking down in full elation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walters told the family, \u201cWe are honored to dedicate this building to Cindy. Her vision has led countless people to lead healthier lives. We are proud to be able to offer it to our employees and their families. This facility is another step in continuing the legacy built by the Bontrager family and is ultimately a steppingstone to fulfilling Cindy\u2019s vision of what wellness at Jayco can be.\u201d<\/p>\n

The family gathered for a ribbon cutting in front of the plaque with Cindy\u2019s likeness on it and Bertha did the honors.<\/p>\n

After the ribbon cutting, Dave Hawkins told RVBusiness, \u201cThis meant a lot to Cindy. When this first started it was one-third the size and she had no idea what kind of response there\u2019d be from the employees. It just took off. It\u2019s awesome to see a company like Jayco continue to provide this service to\u00a0 their employees, and\u00a0 ultimately because it includes their families, it\u2019s a community asset. Cindy is smiling from heaven seeing all this.\u201d<\/p>\n

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About the Jayco Family of Companies<\/p>\n

The Jayco Family of Companies manufactures and markets towable and motorized RVs through its Jayco, Entegra Coach, Heartland RV and Open Range RV divisions. Products are manufactured in facilities in Middlebury, Ind., and Twin Falls, Idaho. Jayco was started in 1968 and continues to operate on the same principles focusing on quality, customers and family. For more information about Jayco, Inc. or its products, call 1-800-RV-JAYCO, visit jaycofamily.com, or write to Jayco at PO Box 460, Middlebury, IN 46540.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A plaque with Cindy Hawkins photo is located inside the center. MIDDLEBURY, Ind. \u2014 A large crowd came…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":449982,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[589,163,85,46],"class_list":["post-449981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=449981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449981\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/449982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=449981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=449981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=449981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}