Fallen Wisconsin service members honored through sixhour workout at CrossFire Fitness
Dec 29, 2024
ASHWAUBENON, Wis. (WFRV) - A dozen fallen law enforcement officers, firefighters and military members were commemorated through six hours of grueling exercise Sunday at CrossFire Fitness in Ashwaubenon. All are line of duty deaths, some from two years ago while others from just a couple weeks ago.
The whiteboard behind CrossFire Fitness owner Angel Van Noie lists all the service members, with their end of watch date listed next to their name. A lieutenant at the Hobart-Lawrence Police Department herself, the mission of the workout is a deeply personal one for her as she guides a dozen participants through the workouts.
“This workout, this purpose, is not for us, it’s to give back what these first responders gave so much to their communities, their lives, for us," she said. “Being a police officer, this is something very near and dear to my heart, and I wanted to dedicate something to them.”
The group was up early at 8 a.m. and did not finish until 2 p.m. as they took well-earned breaks between the 15-minute workouts. Each fallen hero has a custom workout that Van Noie designed to honor them, based on the skills they demonstrated in their profession.
“Every workout that I created for every single officer, firefighter, correction officer, military member is unique to their specific profession," she said. "So the functional fitness, the activities that firefighters and police officers have to go through everyday.”
Sam Packard was one of the first participants at CrossFire on Sunday, and was in the last group to leave, too. She was willing to give time and pain to keep the memories alove of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.
“These workouts helped to train in everyday motions, you don’t really think about it until you actually try to do those motions. And you’re like ‘wow, those really help with that,’” Packard said. “It is a long one, my legs are shaking. But it feels good, there’s a lot of adrenaline, endorphins running through. But it feels really good to accomplish something so difficult.”
A member of the fitness center, Packard has personally been affected by the deaths of fallen Green Bay firefighter Tyler Kreiter and police officer Tom Roberts.
“Tyler and Tom were relatives of some members I’m really close to here," she said. “We wanted to honor them, they put their lives on the line everyday and this is the least that we could do to honor them. It’s just important that we don’t forget what they go out there and do everyday to keep our communities safe, so we just want to keep their names alive.”
When opening her fitness center three years ago, Van Noie wanted to be different than other businesses by having a focus on a tight-knit family environment.
“I just wanted to hone in on the family oriented atmosphere, bringing in people to a place that they can workout and feel comfortable no matter what level they’re at," she said. “This is our family and everyone encourages each other. We’re here to cheer each other on and we push each other to be the best that we can be.”