Meet Our Staff

 

Vernell "Bimbo" Coles, Director of Fitness
AFPA Certified Personal Trainer
 

Vernell ("Bimbo") Coles (born April 22, 1968 in Lewisburg, West Virginia) is a retired NBA basketball player. Coles was a standout at Greenbrier East High School in Lewisburg, WV. He played his college basketball for the Virginia Tech Hokies and is the all-time lead scorer for Conference USA (which is the 1995 reunification of the Great Midwest and Metro conferences; the conference breakup did not take place until after Coles had graduated).
He was a member of the United States 1988 Olympic basketball team.His NBA career started when he was selected by the Sacramento Kings in the 1990 NBA Draft, and immediately traded to the Miami Heat in exchange for veteran guard Rory Sparrow. After Coles' first of two stints with the Miami Heat, he was traded to the Golden State Warriors and also played with the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Boston Celtics. He was utilized primarily as a backup point guard. Coles was also a high school baseball outfielder selected by the California Angels in the 53rd round of the June 1990 Major League Baseball Draft.

 

Jason Barrett Morgan "Sarge"
AFPA Certified Personal Trainer, Children's Fitness Specialist

Jason Barrett Morgan has been associated with fitness in the Greenbrier Valley since 1993. A former asthmatic, Jason became interested in the fitness field when he overcame his asthma thanks to working out in 1992 and has remained physically active since.

A native of Ronceverte, WV, and a 1991 graduate of Greenbrier East High School,. Jason has worked at The Greenbrier Health Club (now the Lewisburg YMCA) and the Greenbrier Hotel as a fitness instructor.

Jason was a member of the 1/201st FA with the WV Army National Guard, serving West Virginia with flood relief, serving our country with Homeland Security details after the 9/11 attacks, and spent 14 months in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom providing military escorts for civilian and military convoys. Jason was Honorably Discharged from the military in April 2006.

JJason appeared on the Discovery/Military Channel shows "My War Diary" and "Voices From The Front" in November of 2007.  Jason is an AFPA certified Personal Trainer, a certified Children’s Fitness Specialist, the creator of the popular children's "Boot Kamp" program, the creator of the Greenbrier Valley Dodgeball League, and the Children's Fitness Columnist on http://www.worldphysique.com.

 

Shawn Hayes
AFPA Certified Personal Trainer

Shawn is a lifelong resident of Greenbrier County and a 1997 graduate of Greenbrier East High School.He has worked at GVPT&F since August 2004.Shawn volunteered as a strength and conditioning coach for the Greenbrier East High School football team during the 2004-2005 season.

Shawn received his AFPA Personal Trainer Certification in April of 2007.

 

 

Neil McClung
A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer

Neil McClung was introduced into the fitness profession in 1990 when he began working for Carolina Fitness Equipment in Richmond VA as a commercial salesman.

After moving to the Greenbrier Valley, Neil began working at the Greenbrier Hotel as a Personal Trainer in the Tennis/Fitness facility. In August of 2000 he began working at the Fitness Forum in downtown Lewisburg as a Personal Trainer and Office Manager.
Neil received his A.C.E. Certification in May of 2004.

 

 

Jessica Messmer
ACSM Certified Personal Trainer/Gymnastics Instructor

Jessica Messmer graduated from Michigan State University with a BS in Kinesiology and is a certified personal trainer through the American College of Sports Medicine.
Gymnastics has been a part of Jessica's life for over 20 year. She was a competitive gymnast and has continued her passion for gymnastics the past 10 years through coaching all levels, ages 1 through 18  competitive and non-competitive, and participating recreationally herself. After finishing her high school season, she went back to coach her high school team for a year.

Jessica worked as an athlete trainer in Michigan for 3 years training athletes of all ages (8-80 years) and levels (beginner, middle school, club, high school, college, and professional).� Some professional athletes she has trained include Paris Lennon  LB for the Detroit Lions (now for New England Patriots), Ricky Bryant (NFL), and Tim Shaw  LB for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
She also started her own personal training company called GetFitz and trained people looking to boost their overall health. Whether it was needing more energy, toning up, or lowing cholesterol, she helped her clients achieve their goals through exercise and nutrition.

Her love of people and sports has brought her to a vocation of teaching people of all walks of life how to train and be healthy under any circumstance.