Editor’s Note: People in the Chenango community perform extraordinary feats under extraordinary circumstances every day. Oftentimes they go unnoticed or unappreciated; this series will put the spotlight on those people whose compelling stories you might not otherwise hear.


In the quiet halls on the lower floor of the Eaton Center, there is an unlimited amount of considerable energy which has been rising since 2001. In an open room with floor mats, barbells, exercise balls and positive messages posted on the walls, there is a woman who knows firsthand how precious life can be and how to preserve it.
A native of the local community, Barb McGuire has been many things – she has had an array of office-type jobs, she is a mother of four, she is a business owner and a survivor.
One afternoon her wake up call about her health came. Barb explains as she was home one day with her children, she began to have chest pains, feel confused, she couldn’t move or barely breathe. After two years of testing and waiting, she was told she had a life-threatening condition in her heart. She was also told it was a miracle she had not died when the sudden attacks would occur.
To this day, Barb looks back on how she felt then and admits if it were not for her healthy lifestyle and devotion to wellness, she would not have been able to see her children enter adulthood. She had devoted time to fitness and health to ensure her own quality of life.
Owning her own business just kind of happened, she says. Her father had owned his own business called Norwich Wallpaper & Paint and would one day pass it down the line to one of his four sons, but Barb never thought she too would run her own.
“Many of the men in my family own their own businesses but the women never did. I like to pride myself in knowing that I am the only sister to own her own business,” McGuire said.
She took over To Your Health Fitness Center in 2001 and no sooner than it was hers, she began to give it all she had. Today, five years later, just walking into the center her energy is inspiring and her divine devotion is apparent.
She says she loves what she does and takes her job very seriously. Her fitness center is known for the personal relationships she builds with her clients.
“I focus on the whole person and the areas that will truly help them. It is not all about appearance. It is about being healthy, eating right and building endurance as well as strength,” McGuire said.
McGuire is a certified personal trainer and to build her credentials she is currently getting ready to take the national boards in personal training. Barb says she attends two conventions a year and tries everything she can to stay up with exercising and eating trends and she teaches a variety of classes either in groups or privately.
Barb devotes herself to her business professionally and personally. She says she is grateful she had the opportunity to own the center.
“It fits me,” she said. For more information about how Barb can work with you, call 336-3488 or e-mail her at mcgb@citilink.net.