Three women, one vision: reimagining community health in Rincon

On any given weekday morning in Rincon, you might find a small group of residents line dancing in a city recreation building, laughing through missteps and learning the rhythm together. On another day, you might see neighbors gathering at a health fair, getting their blood pressure checked, or talking with local providers about nutrition, movement, or mental health. None of it looks flashy. All of it is intentional.

Behind those moments are three women who came to the same conclusion from different paths: if Rincon and Effingham County were going to become healthier, someone had to step forward and make it happen.

Healthy City 360 is the result of that decision. Founded and led by women with decades of combined experience in fitness, nonprofit leadership, and community service, the initiative is entirely volunteer-driven and built on one central belief—that education, access, and engagement can change the trajectory of a community’s health.

Building a citywide vision

For Regina Clontz, Rincon YMCA’s branch director, the idea behind Healthy City 360 began not with a program, but with a conversation.

“Last March, I was in a meeting at city hall with my boss and Mona Underwood,” Regina said. “And we just kind of discussed very briefly the opportunity to kind of reinvent Healthy Savannah, but do it with Rincon.”

That conversation quickly grew into something more intentional. With the YMCA long established in Rincon, Regina saw an opportunity to partner with community leaders.

“It made sense,” she said. “To partner with the city in a way in which allowed people to focus on health and wellness affordably. That was an easy connection for us.”

Regina helped shape Healthy City 360 around research into Blue Zones—regions of the world where people live longer, healthier lives.

“We researched what it meant to be a Blue Zone,” she said. “And our preliminary building blocks are centered around why people live longer in these areas, and what can we do in Rincon to promote a long, healthy life.”

Those principles—fresh food, walkability, daily movement, and community connection—became the framework for Healthy City 360.

A vision rooted in movement and education

Long before Mary Cain moved to Effingham County, Mary had already built and operated gyms across Georgia, guided by a belief that fitness should be about more than workouts.

“I grew up farming,” Mary said. “We always had a garden growing up, so it’s almost been ingrained from birth with me.”

After college, she discovered her passion for health, wellness, and fitness, eventually opening gyms in Macon and Columbus before relocating to Effingham County four years ago. When she and her husband made the move, they closed their Columbus gym and opened Empire Gym in Rincon.

“Every time we would come and visit, there was not a gym that we felt was community focused,” Mary said. “That was focused really on health and wellness of the community, investing in the community, like really being 100 percent about making changes here.”

When she was invited to join the early conversations around Healthy City 360, the mission resonated immediately.

“I was over the moon, excited to be part of an organization that focuses on how we can improve this community,” she said.

Her long-term vision is ambitious but clear. “I want us to be in the top 10 healthiest cities in the state of Georgia,” she said. “I want to see our community have access to things that give them opportunities for physical fitness, opportunities for learning how to eat clean, access to clean and healthy, nutritious foods. I want to see our youth involved in it.”

To get there, Mary believes the work starts with education. “Part of our slogan is, ‘educate, empower, engage,’” she said.

Service at the center

Caren Blackwell came to Healthy City 360 with a lifetime of service behind her. With experience spanning more than five decades in teaching, instructing, and personal training, she has worked in YMCA programs, taught senior fitness, spin, yoga, Pilates, and water aerobics, and spent years in dentistry—another avenue, she said, to help people live healthier lives.

“I’ve always been somebody who wanted to help somebody,” Caren said. “It’s in my blood.”

That instinct guided her into the early planning stages of Healthy City 360, which began not in a boardroom, but around a kitchen table.

“We met in my house, and for about two months, we sat around my kitchen table looking at what we could do,” she said. “We came up with Healthy City 360, and we started forming a board.”

One of Caren’s priorities has been making sure cost is never a barrier.

“Everything that we do is free,” she said. “For people that can’t afford to go to the YMCA or Empire Gym, we want to give them opportunities.”

Those opportunities include free line dancing classes, Zumba sessions, walking groups, and plans to expand into pickleball and other low-cost activities that encourage movement and connection.

“Just get people motivated,” Caren said. “That’s always the hardest part.”

Her approach is personal. Much of her volunteer work extends beyond Healthy City 360 —supporting Backpack Buddies, church mission programs, and community outreach efforts.

“I enjoy helping people, and it gives me joy when they’re having a good time and losing weight and helping them to have a healthy life,” she said.

A volunteer-driven effort

What unites Mary, Caren, and Regina is not only experience, but commitment. Healthy City 360 operates entirely through volunteers.

“Everybody that’s on Healthy City 360 is volunteering,” Mary said. “The reason they’re volunteering their time is because we believe in what this is going to offer for our community.”

Regina echoed that reality. “Most of us have full-time jobs,” she said. “This is something that we’re doing on top of already demanding schedules.”

Even the organization’s formal structure came together through persistence and shared belief.

“As of two months ago, we didn’t know where we were going to get the $250 to submit the 501(c)(3) application,” Regina said. “This is on the very ground floor.”

Today, Healthy City 360 has an official board that includes representatives from the city, the hospital system, United Way, county government, and the business community.

Expanding the circle

As Healthy City 360 has taken shape, its leaders have been intentional about reaching beyond the already health-conscious population. The challenge, they acknowledge, is meeting people where they are.

“A lot of the people that come to health fairs are already familiar with health and fitness,” Mary said.

Reaching the rest of the community will include bringing programming directly into neighborhoods and public spaces. Free classes at city facilities, movement-based events in parks, and plans for walking groups are designed to remove both financial and psychological barriers.

Another focus has been youth engagement. Mary pointed to efforts to implement school gardens as a way to introduce children to fresh foods early.

“That’ll reach the children that we wouldn’t normally reach at our community events,” she said.

Mental health access remains one of the most complex challenges.

“That’s probably one of our biggest hurdles,” Mary said. “The fitness and the nutrition aspect is going to be easier than really targeting the mental health wellness.”

Caren sees trust as central to that work. Her years of volunteering in churches, schools, and nonprofit spaces have taught her that information alone is not enough.

“A lot of people don’t see it on Facebook,” she said. “I want to start talking to some of the ministers and see if maybe we can go to the different churches and talk to the people and tell them what we’re doing.”

Regina believes those connections are what will ultimately sustain the initiative.

“As we age, we tend to isolate ourselves,” she said. “And that is something that we really, really want to encourage people to come out, be together, and move together.”

Looking ahead

The work is far from finished. Effingham County continues to rank high in rates of diabetes and obesity, challenges the women acknowledge openly.

“Education, education, education,” Mary said. “That’s what it’s going to take.”

Upcoming events include quarterly health-focused gatherings, participation in large community festivals, and expanded movement-based programming designed to reach residents who might never walk into a gym.

For the women behind Healthy City 360, influence is not measured in titles or recognition, but in participation—in neighbors showing up, moving together, and learning together.

“If our community members are healthier,” Mary said, “life is better for everybody.”

For Mary, Caren, and Regina, influence is less about recognition and more about resilience—showing up consistently, building partnerships patiently, and trusting that small changes compound over time. Healthy City 360 may still be in its earliest stages, but its foundation is built on decades of experience, shared values, and an unshakable commitment to community.