By Martie Thompson
editor@floridanewsline.com
Jack Avery is celebrating his 15th year participating in the Fight For Air Climb, an annual event to support the American Lung Association’s mission to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease. During the event, participants climb to the top of the Bank of America tower in downtown Jacksonville. Avery said he “climbs for those who can’t” and is thankful that he is still able to participate in the event at the spry age of 80. “It’s amazing how as you age, it takes longer to get up the stairs,” he said in jest, pointing out that his times have ranged from 12:59 minutes his first climb to 22 minutes last year. This year, he is preparing for his 15th climb on March 18 and said that, “God willing,” his 16th climb would be after that.
Q: How long have you lived in Jacksonville?
A: I say that I’ve lived here longer than most natives. I was raised in Jacksonville since my father was in the Navy. I went to Bishop Kenny High School and Jacksonville University. I took a brief stint away from the area as I worked as a bank examiner in Belleview, but my wife and I moved back to the area when I worked for American National Bank. I worked for a number of banks and retired as a branch manager.
Q: How did you meet your wife, Maggie?
A: She worked in a sandwich shop and I guess I caught her eye. We’ve been married 50 years as of last December. We have four children, seven grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
Q: How did you first get involved in the Fight For Air Climb?
A: A colleague at the bank I worked for found out about it and asked me if I wanted to participate. I thought it sounded like fun. So we went to the first practice at the Bank of America tower (they open up the tower a couple of nights a week in the months prior to the climb for participants to practice). I walked up 20 flights of stairs and said, “I’m done.” But we kept practicing. In the four months practicing before the event, I lost 20 pounds and two inches in the waist. I fell in love with stair climbing. I had a bad knee and wore knee braces all the time. On the day of the first climb event, I forgot to put the knee braces on and had to do the climb without them. I haven’t worn them since.
Q: When were you diagnosed with COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)?
A: After the first Fight For Air Climb, I developed a cough that I couldn’t get rid of. I went to a pulmonologist for tests and he made the diagnosis and said I had 60 percent lung capacity. My first question to him was, “Can I still climb?” and he said yes, he thought that would be good for me. Two years of practicing and climbing events later, I had 80 percent lung capacity.
Q: What is your training regimen?
A: I’m part of a climbing team and we climb the stairs at the Bank of America tower a couple of nights a week for about three months prior to each annual climb event. In the off season, I go to the gym and always do some work on the stairmaster. It’s not quite the same, but it’s close.
Q: What is your favorite part of participating in the Fight For Air Climb?
A: I’d say my favorite part is knowing that I can do it! I also like being part of my team; I call them my “Climb Family.” Each one of them cares about the Climb and the reason for it. Altogether we have raised $107,000 in the past 15 years for the American Lung Association, which ranked us No. 14 last year nationally out of 2,500 fundraising teams. What really impresses me about the American Lung Association is that 90 cents of every dollar goes to research and education. The American Lung Association has so many free resources; I encourage everyone to visit lung.org to learn more.
[Editor’s Note: Visit climbjax.org for more information about the annual Fight For Air Climb.]
Photo courtesy Jack Avery
Jack Avery
