Chelsea Chavez has called Cottonwood home for most of her life. She’s back here in Cottonwood and is doing her best to help people who have a desire to either get or stay in shape, buzzing people in through the front doors at Snap Fitness on Main Street.
She was born in Tucson and lived there for her five years.
Chavez said her family decided to move to the Verde Valley when her mom had a job opportunity as an X-ray technician at a local physician’s office.
Chavez said her mom ended up working at the hospital and eventually at the Verde Valley Imaging Center.
Chavez said she still has ties with Tucson and some family members who still live down here.
Overall, Chavez said she enjoyed growing up in Cottonwood.
“It’s a really small town,” Chavez said. “And everybody knows what everyone else is doing.”
That often means not being able to get away with much as a kid, particularly when you have an older brother to rat you out, Chavez laughed.
Chavez left the area for a few years, first to attend South Mountain Community College down in Phoenix.
One of her biggest impressions of Phoenix was the heat, which is saying something if it sticks out in the mind of an Arizona native.
If Arizona wasn’t called the Grand Canyon State, Chavez figures “The Oven State” would be an appropriate moniker.
Prior to moving to Phoenix, Chavez had found a love that has served her well.
Chavez was still a little girl when she discovered volleyball.
She got involved with the sport around fifth grade and middle school.
By the time Chavez got to high school, she was six-feet tall and realized she was really good at the game.
To read the full story, see the Wednesday, May 6, edition of The Camp Verde Journal.
