FLAGSTAFF, AZ (CBS5) -
At the base of the San Francisco peaks in Flagstaff, there is a small lot where a few old men come to get their heart rates up.
"At the end of the day, we feel our age, believe me," Joe Ray said.
They jokingly call it the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association Health Club.
All are invited to attend.
"We'll give you a sledge and a wedge, you'll be dripping with sweat, you'll lose weight, and you'll feel great," Ray said.
In fact, it will probably be the most satisfying exercise you'll ever have, because the workout entails helping people survive the freezing winters in Northern Arizona.
"We give the wood to the elderly, disabled, veterans and those who really need it," said Ray, who founded the program Wood 4 Warmth nearly 25 years ago.
Wood 4 Warmth gets the wood from Snowbowl when they clear trees before each ski season.
"We feel honored to provide them the wood for this wonderful program," said J.R. Murray, General Manager of Arizona Snowbowl.
But all the wood in the world wouldn't do any good if not for Ray and his friends, like Bob Bray, who volunteer their time to cut and split the logs into usable fire wood.
"I've probably cut about 2,000 cords of wood with my old chainsaw," Bray said.
But Bray's saw recently broke, and he had a hard time finding parts for the 1974 model.
If Bray's not sawing, that means some people may not get their wood, so Murray and the guys emailed CBS 5 and nominated Bray for our Pay It Forward series.
We surprised Bray with the $500 reward.
"We thought you could use this to buy a new chainsaw," Murray said.
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