 Amber Payton Anderson of Cape Girardeau, Mo., recently certified in Zumba Fitness in June, fell so much in love with the program that
she is now traveling to each state to find an instructor and class
with the same enthusiasm and to spread the "Zumba love," according
to Anderson. She has titled her mission "50 State Zumba Journey."
And on Oct. 24, her journey officially kicked off in Emden.After
several Illinois Zumba instructors put in their "bid" for Anderson
to choose their class to represent Illinois, Anderson ultimately
chose certified Zumba instructor Janell Woolard. Woolard leads Zumba
classes in two Logan County locations, Lincoln and Emden. To best
accommodate Anderson's own schedule, she chose to attend Woolard's
class in Emden on Oct. 24.
On Anderson's journey page, which can be found on Facebook, it
states that her purpose for this venture is to explore Zumba of all
types. With each visit she plans to explore the story of the
instructor and document the experience she has in the class.
After reading over all of the Illinois "bids," which consisted of
statements and testimonies from Zumba instructors and their own
clients, exclaiming why their class, and their own Zumba journey, is
best suited for Anderson's mission, Anderson said, "I chose Janell's
class because her passion for Zumba, and why she is doing it, was so
evident in the letter she submitted to me. Our history is so much
the same and we both look at Zumba as a form of restoration for
every participant." Anderson adds, "And the love and support that
rang out in her students' letters asking me to come made the right
decision that much more obvious."
 On Oct. 24, with close to 50 people ranging in age from 16 to
60-something participating, Anderson, accompanied by her mother,
Alka Johnson, also of Missouri, quickly realized they chose the
exact class they were looking for.
Anderson exclaims: "I can't express enough how much love I felt
from everyone. There was a great sense of warmth that filled the air
the moment I got there. Janell Woolard is one amazing lady. She has
the biggest heart, lots of spirit and is just so full of life."
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Before coming to Emden, Anderson was able to pick up sponsorship
from people and companies such as Shakeology, an entity of the
fitness company Beachbody, as well as some of Zumba's master dancers
while attending a Zumba master class in Chicago.
Anderson's next state will be Tennessee, specifically Memphis,
Tenn., as that is her hometown. And she hopes that her grand finale
state will be Hawaii.
When asked to sum up her impression of Emden, Anderson says,
"Don't let the population fool you! Emden knows how to rock it!"
Janell Woolard, a certified Zumba instructor and a member in good
standing of the Zumba Instructor Network, or ZIN, leads classes
throughout the week at two Logan County locations: at the Lincoln
Christian University Laughlin Center on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. and
Saturdays at 8 a.m.; also at the Emden Community Center on Mondays
and Thursdays at 6 p.m.
Woolard can be contacted by email at
janell.zumba@gmail.com.
[Text from file received from Janell
Woolard]
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