"Frankfort Faces" is a series that highlights people from within the Frankfort and Franklin County community. Each feature follows one of the city's most unique personalities and includes a story, photos and video, which can be found by clicking the TV icon attached to the story online at state-journal.com.

Most days she's up before the sun.

When Dottie O'Keefe arrives at the Frankfort Athletic Center at 5 a.m. there's usually a group of regulars ready to greet her.

O'Keefe, 50, has worked as general manager at FAC since 2000. She started as a front desk worker in 1995 answering phones and greeting members there for workouts. By 1998 she was assistant manager.

Now, she's pretty much a staple of FAC.

"I'm here all the time," she said.

Not that that bothers her.

"I like the people, working with the members," she says, sitting in her office in the rear of FAC. There's a desk, a few chairs and a bulletin board covered in photos; other than that, the small room is sparse.

O'Keefe said she doesn't have much time to fix it up, she's usually occupied in the workout area meeting with members and keeping things tidy.

Getting an early start

Her daily routine includes paper work " as general manager she's in charge of membership and finances - vacuuming, laundry as well as other general housekeeping and maintenance of exercise equipment.

During her shift she talks with members, offering them tips and assists others who want to join the gym.

O'Keefe is a registered nurse, but said as a single mother it was hard to work demanding shifts. When she moved to Kentucky in 1994 after living in Florida and Maine, FAC allowed her more flexibility.

That doesn't mean she hasn't put her nursing knowledge to use.

"My nursing background has definitely helped here," she said.

It's enabled her to connect to members who are working out as part of cardiac rehabilitation or dealing with other recovery issues, but she's never had to use it to help during an emergency situation.

She recalls a memorable incident during severe weather and tornados in February, when someone wanted to tan during a lightning storm and the electricity in the surrounding buildings went out - but FAC's power stayed on.

She said lots of people came to the center to shower and get ready for work because it was the only place with lights.

Also in February FAC launched 24-hour access allowing members card entry to the gym even when O'Keefe and other staff aren't there.

"It works out great staff-wise, we can be flexible," she said.

She said 24-hour access has eliminated problems with staff showing up late and opening FAC for those who like to workout first thing in the morning.

There are security cameras throughout the gym, except in locker room areas, that provide safety and monitor the building at all times.

Changes over time

Twenty-four hour access is just one change she's witnessed. She said over time, focus has shifted to eating better and exercising.

"People are more health conscious, I'm liking seeing that," she said.

She attributes Frankfort Area Chamber of Commerce's Biggest Loser Competition as one reason for the surge in fitness.

O'Keefe also says she's noticed more women are using weights. It's not uncommon to see groups of them working out at FAC.

"It's good for everybody, not just men," she said.

FAC has more than 500 annual members and 130 with short-term contracts, O'Keefe said. That includes lots of long-time members.

"It's growing all the time," she said.

She said people are living longer so the diversity of ages at the center continues to grow.

She hopes to one day expand and offer a second location. FAC was originally on Versailles Road but moved to its current location off East Main Street in 2002.

All in the family

Some families have generations of FAC members. Her family is one of them.

"They've (long-time members) watched my kids grow up and I've watched theirs," she said.

O'Keefe has a daughter, 23, and a son, 21, and two grandchildren, but it's her youngest daughter,
Molly O'Keefe-Page, 15, who grew up at they gym.

"I brought her to work with me everyday," she said. "The older two sometimes came here after school. They've all worked here at different times."

Molly spent this summer working with her mom.

Molly said growing up at FAC hasn't fazed her, but there are times when members come up and remind her that they've watched her transition from a toddler into a teenager.

She said working with her mom isn't out of the ordinary.

"It's alright," she said. "If I have to get off work it's really easy to do that."

She said her mom works well with FAC members.

"She's very patient with them. She's a big people person. Everybody loves her," Molly said.

Running the distance

Being around exercise all of the time it was only natural for O'Keefe to pick a favorite physical activity.

But, she says she found her running legs later in life, when at the age of 37, she was invited to join other local runners.

"It was fun. They were slow and I was really, really slow," she said.

She survived her first trek and did it again the next day for three miles.

But fatigue caught up with her.

"On the third day I thought I almost couldn't get out of bed. I was so sore."

So O'Keefe pushed herself to get in top running shape.

"That (running) kind of progressed and I started doing local 5K races," she said.

She's run the Bluegrass 10,000 in Lexington and said it was enjoyable because it was a longer distance at a slower pace.

She's planning to run a race in Cincinnati and the JFK 50, a 50-mile race in Maryland in November.

"It's the most popular 50-miler in the country," she said.

She's running the JFK 50 with a group of others all turning 50 in 2008. It will be the longest race she's ever entered.

Her strategy is to break the race up and just go checkpoint by checkpoint.

Because of her early work arrival, most of her training takes place in the afternoon - she leaves FAC by 1 p.m. She said she's hoping the summer heat will help condition her for November.

She likes to run the trails at Capital View Park, Lakeview Park and the hills near the Capitol Annex. She doesn't use an iPod or any other electronic distractions but runs with her thoughts.

"For me it's good alone time," she said. "I hope I run forever."

Officiating others

When she's not participating in a race, she's officiating other runners working part-time as a track official for local school districts and college meets for the University of Kentucky and University of Louisville.

She became a track official nearly five years ago, when she was asked to coach The Frankfort Christian Academy's middle school team.

It was a new experience.

"I had never been to a track meet. You need a lot of people to run a track meet."

O'Keefe is certified through USA Track and Field and the Kentucky High School Athletic Association.

"The biggest difference is athletes know where they have to be and when they have to be there," she said about high school and college athletes.

"I have had people disagree with a call. You just defer to the meet referee," she said. "For the most part it's not controversial."

At track meets O'Keefe monitors the long and triple jumps. She calls landings, measures jumps, coordinates athletes, calls numbers at the finish line and gives awards.

An encouraging word

Helping and motivating others - whether fellow runners, athletes or FAC members - is ingrained O'Keefe.

She says she tries to be encouraging and give compliments to those shaping up.

She also tries to reassure them.

"First thing I say is, we're not going to use all of those machines," she said.

She splits up workouts so that one day an individual exercises upper body, the next day lower body and builds on those workouts.

"It's baby steps really. One step at a time, feeling comfortable," she said.

Making sure others are comfortable is important to O'Keefe, a self-proclaimed morning person.

"I love my job," she said. "There's not a lot of people who can come to work everyday and say that."

Especially at 5 a.m.