When you come to the Jewish Community Center, you will be greeted by a pair of familiar faces serving in new capacities. Senior Director of Membership and Wellness Tom Wissinger has announced, “Johnny Kimberlin has been named Aquatics Director and Alicia Springer has been named Membership Director. Both Johnny and Alicia have exhibited tremendous knowledge and passion for their departments during their tenures here at the JCC, and during the recent period of transition they each excelled at leading their respective departments. I look forward to working with each of them and I have no doubt that both Johnny and Alicia will continue to add benefit to our members and our staff.”
Johnny Kimberlin
Johnny Kimberlin has been a fixture at the JCC for many years – always available to help wherever he is needed.
Growing up in Louisville, Kimberlin said “I was a big pool rat for the Louisville Boat Club.” He was a swim team member and hung out with the lifeguards. In high school, he swam for St. Xavier.
At 16, he became a lifeguard at Owl Creek Country Club and became head lifeguard during his first year. In his fourth year, he also took on the responsibility of coaching the swim team. He stayed at Owl Creek for 10 years.
While he was at Owl Creek, his brother, Bobby, was doing pool maintenance for the Jewish Community Center. “There was a time when Bobby went out of town for a few weeks,” Kimberlin explained, “and I subbed for him. When he moved out of town, I took over,” while still holding his other job.
A couple of years later, Kimberlin shared with the aquatics director that he could do more than pool maintenance and would be happy to step in if another coach were needed. Before long, Kimberlin was a member of the JCC aquatics coaching team, and two years later, he left Owl Creek, made the JCC his home and took on supervisory responsibilities. The following January, he became the JCC’s assistant aquatics director.
“I’ve been working around pools for a long time,” he said, “and I’ve been here seven or eight years – working my way up the chain.” He also earned a B.S. in psychology from the University of Louisville.
He’s excited about his new position and eager to ensure that the aquatics program at the JCC is first rate. He’s pushing to increase the number of people taking swim lessons through the Lenny Krayzelburg Swim Academy and he’s encouraging young swimmers to join the Gators Swim Team. Looking to the future, he’s also hoping to add some new programs.
In the meantime, he added, “I will be out on deck and available to members,” so come up and say hello.
Alicia Springer
When you first walk in the building and pass the welcome desk, you’ll see the membership office just across the lobby. If you take a moment to poke your head in, most of the time, you’ll find Alicia Springer in her office with a ready smile and a how-can-I-help-you attitude – unless of course she’s taking a prospective member on a tour of the facility.
Born in Chicago, Springer was raised in Las Vegas. She started her first career in the entertainment industry, appearing in commercials, starting at the tender age of 8. She attended the Van Mar Academy for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills and worked in commercials and sitcoms. Over the course of her career, she did McDonald’s commercials, worked for a short time on “Bay Watch” and even played Barbie for Mattel.
She continued to work in the entertainment industry until she married and started to raise a family. “I decided that 15 hour days on the set were too much for a working mom.” When she left the stage, she remained in the entertainment industry, working as a booking agent for models and actors in California.
When the family moved to Florida, Springer said, “I went into real estate and left behind the exciting lifestyle in California for a quieter life and raising my son on the beaches of Florida.”
When her son, Bryce, left for college, Springer decided it was time for something different. For as long as she can remember, her father had kept a place in Louisville and she visited often – “never for an extended period, but I kept popping in and out throughout my life” … “I love this city.” Coming back to Louisville seemed to be the next logical step.
Springer knew she wanted to stay in sales, preferably in real estate, because she is always happiest when she is talking with people, but when she got to Louisville, her life took a different turn.
She started using the pools at the JCC, and when she came in to talk with Assistant Director of Membership and Wellness Tara Stone and others, she knew the JCC was the place she wanted to work. She started as a membership associate and has been here about two years.
“I’m very excited about my new position,” she said. “We have great staff and members – a wonderful team. Together, we’re working on making some great changes in Health and Wellness and implementing new programs.”
The JCC just joined the St. Matthews Chamber of Commerce, and Springer is particularly excited about the events the JCC is planning with them and the many community events that are being planned.