Bart Headrick makes sure the free weights in one of the fitness rooms at the Gardendale Civic Center are organized and safe.

Bart Headrick has been working for so long at the Gardendale Civic Center that he’s forgotten his actual job title.

“I guess there’s not really an official title,” said Headrick. “You could say I do a little of everything.” Headrick’s focus is working in the fitness areas of the civic center, but he does whatever he’s called to do, even if it’s stacking chairs after an event or cleaning the bathrooms.

“When I come in, it’s not uncommon for things to be scattered all over the place. I try to make it so things are neater, and people don’t have to go hunting around for all the weights.” He said elderly people come in to work out in the mornings, and he likes to make sure all the weights are properly stored so they don’t have to move them around.

“A lot of the elderly can’t take those big 45-pound weights off,” he said.

Headrick also works as a sort of personal trainer at the civic center.

“I’ll help anybody in any way I can. I’ve set people up on programs in the past, anywhere from beginner to intermediate to advanced,” he said. “And I’ll be glad to spot them, you know, to set them up to learn the basics so they don’t hurt themselves.”

Headrick worked for years at the old civic center facility, and he said he likes how the gym is more accessible at the new facility.

“The old gym was more of a hardcore gym … it had a lot of hardcore muscleheads,” he said. “The new exercise facilities are more open, and it’s a better environment.”

He said many people are self-conscious when they come into a gym for the first time, and he tries to make them feel at home.

“They feel like they’re intruding,” said Headrick. “They have as much right to be here as anyone else, and every person in there is exercising for their own reasons.”

Headrick works part-time in the evenings at the civic center. He gets just as much exposure to the public at his day job working for the U.S. Postal Service.

“I like people. I try to get along with everybody,” he said. “I’ve known people in my jobs for years and years and years, and I consider most of them to be friends.”

Headrick said he likes his job because of the people he works with.

“There are a great group of guys that exercise in the gym. If you need some help and you ask one of these guys, they’ll be more than happy to spot you or if you have any questions they’ll help you in any way they can,” he said.

Headrick is a lifelong resident of Gardendale. He has been working with the city for more than 30 years.