When a dream no one believes in becomes a beloved reality

Let me start by telling you a short story. One of a young 19-year-old woman working their first job at a local store in a Pennsylvania town. As she is tending to her duties, an older gentleman approached her, and a conversation ensues. Eventually, he asks her about her future plans and what they entail. Without missing a beat, this 19-year-old says that she wants to open her own gym and run her own business someday.

The man in return scoffs at her and says, “everyone says that - that they want to open their own business,” and blew off her aspirations. However, it was at that moment that this 19-year-old knew what was going to do. She was going to prove to this man and most importantly, to herself that she was not just everybody else.

This young lady did just that and proved she wasn't just anybody else.

She has since been in business for over 35 years and continues to thrive in her career. That woman is business owner, gymnastic coach, and mentor, Lisa LaBrasca Becker, and her business is The Quarry Gymnastics Center, Inc.

Lovingly known as Miss Lisa to her students, Lisa was an independent woman long before we praised and uplifted the term as we do now. She was met with push back and some hostility when she opened her gym in 1983 by those who felt like a woman should still be at home with kids full-time. However, not to be deterred by those who felt differently than her, Lisa proved that she could manage her dream along with raising her children.

While she faced her fair share of hurdles such as a divorce and cancer diagnosis, Lisa didn't miss a beat and her business remained open while she recovered from both. Since her cancer diagnosis in 2007, she has been cancer-free for over 10 years and shares her story about remaining positive even when something tragic hits close to home to her students.

One thing that Lisa LaBrasca Becker has always promoted is that her gymnastics school is strictly recreational and not competition-based. Having been a competitive gymnast and District winning coach herself, Lisa didn't want her gym to be a place of pressure or high intensity for her students. She wanted a safe haven for young men and women to further their skills, grow their confidence, and learn to be leaders in the real world. While other gyms have come to her community and offered a competitive style gymnastic arena, many students came back to The Quarry because the atmosphere wasn't positive and their love of the sport began to fade by going elsewhere.

Even if students do come back after a hiatus from her gym, Lisa doesn't close her doors (literally and figuratively) on anyone. She welcomes all students back, with open arms and a smile. The Quarry Gymnastics Center is more than just a gym to those students, it's also a second home that many always come back to. Lisa inspires those who partake in her classes by enhancing their confidence in not only their athletic abilities but also their qualities outside the gym. That is why she now has the children and grandchildren of her former students and continues to be pivotal in helping them find their purpose and calling in life.

Unfortunately, during this unprecedented time in our country, The Quarry Gymnastics Center, Inc. had to shut its doors for the first time in all her years of business. While it hurts Lisa to do this, she didn't want to compromise the health of her students and their families. Her small business has suffered from flooding, cancer, and local competition, it could survive this pandemic as well.

While Pennsylvania is slowing healing and letting certain businesses open again, The Quarry Gymnastics Center, Inc. will remain closed until further restrictions can be lifted. However, Lisa has not been deterred by this news. She is currently posting uplifting videos on social media to her students while at the gym and keeping everyone up-to-date on its status while quarantined. The positive nature that Lisa shares in her gym, she now gets to share with more people who need it now more than ever.

Throughout her 35 years in business, she has served as a mentor to many of the young men and women from our local communities. Lisa paved the way for those students who were told "they couldn't do something," or "everyone says that." She proved that she wasn't just someone who simply 'said' something, but did it.

As we begin to enter into this new 'normal' Lisa will still be the same person, at the same gym that everyone knows and loves. Just like all those years ago, when she was challenged in opening her business, she showed that anything is possible when you set your mind to doing something greater for your community and its people.