Her motto is “To Live Life Joyfully.” Recently, her students surprised her by showing up at one of her fitness classes wearing T-shirts that read, “We Are Living Joyfully.”

The “Joy” in “Joyfully” also is the first name of Joy Millner, 54, who has dedicated herself to changing lives through physical fitness and nutrition. For four years, she has voluntarily led a free, weekly, group exercise class on Monday evenings in north St. Louis County. 

The class combines fitness, nutritional coaching, health information and inspirational messages to a diverse group of 40 to 45 students ranging in age from 18 to 70.  After the class, Millner, perennially the Jewish mother, feeds the class a well-balanced, nutritional meal free of charge.

“Joy does whatever it takes to help her students become healthier, whether it’s nutritional counseling, personal training sessions in her home or trips to the grocery store to learn how to make healthy food choices on a budget,” says Dan Glazier, executive director of Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, which provides free legal services for poor people.

Glazier says he began attending Millner’s exercise class at the urging of his wife, Nancy Snow, a retired school social worker who learned about it from a former colleague.

“Nancy would come back and tell me how amazing Joy’s classes were and what an eclectic group of people attend,” recalls Glazier, who was named a Jewish Light Unsung Hero in 2010.

“Frankly, it isn’t easy for me to attend an exercise class at 5:30 p.m. in North County when I’m working, so I started coming when I would have Mondays off, as part of a long holiday weekend,” Glazier says. “But I have to tell you, the classes so far exceeded my expectation that I felt I needed to work them into my regular schedule. Now I bring my blue gym bag and sneakers to work and my goal is to make it there every Monday. It’s just that good.”

In 2014, Millner, along with partner Gabi Cole, launched the Fit and Food Connection, a nonprofit that works to empower people in need to get healthy through fitness and nutrition opportunities. The organization is focusing its efforts in north St. Louis city and county, offering food provision, fitness classes, lifestyle programming, coaching and education as a comprehensive way to help families in need. 

“I started this because my life has been so blessed, and I wanted to combine my passions, which are helping others, fitness and nutrition,” Millner says. “It’s a way of giving back for my wonderful life.” 

Miller met her husband of 32 years, Rob Millner, in math class when they both attended Ladue Horton Watkins High School. The couple have three adult children and attend Congregation Shaare Emeth.

She has taught fitness and nutrition for 30 years and is a certified personal trainer and holistic nutrition consultant. Before partnering with Cole, Millner operated Living Joyfully for a few years, which offered free fitness and nutrition classes in north St. Louis County.

 Cole says she found the perfect business partner in Millner because the two balance each other perfectly.

“Joy’s name speaks volumes, she is so very joyful,” says Cole. “We come from two different backgrounds and places in our lives. I’m quiet and serious and Joy is full of life and energy. She’s passionate about what she does and she shows it with her body and emotion. Joy brings me up and I mellow her out.

“She’s the type of person who intuitatively can read people and communicates with them so that everyone benefits. She is so very open and welcoming.”

In addition to the Monday fitness classes that Snow and Glazier enjoy, the Fit and Food Connection offers several other free programs, including one-on-one personal training and nutritional consultation, group nutrition classes and a food delivery service. 

Millner says the food is provided through food drives, donations and a partnership with Fit Flavors, a healthy eating meal business based in Chesterfield. 

In addition, Millner’s organization just started its own food garden on leased property in north St. Louis. 

“In order to qualify for our food delivery, a person has to be very low-income, with no other resources,” she says. “But with our other fitness and nutritional programs, everyone is welcome, there are no low-income requirements and everything is free.”

Until recently, Millner pretty much paid for everything out of her own pocket. Now she and Cole are actively seeking more partnerships and donors as a way of growing their business so they can help more people.

“We have no paid employees, but we have been lucky with volunteers,” Millner says. “Once we get more partnerships in place, we can increase the number of people we serve.

“We had our first tennis program last fall, everything was donated, including the instructor’s time. If someone wants to teach yoga, for example, we will find a program for that person. I’m in need of channeling fitness and nutrition professionals who want to make a difference.”

Another need Millner has is for dedicated space. Through Beyond Housing, a nonprofit that works to strengthen local neighborhoods, Millner has been able to secure rooms for her classes at a north St. Louis community center and at a church in Pagedale.

“Ultimately, we would like our own facility that allows us space for offices, a kitchen, food pantry storage, gymnasium and classrooms,” she says.

Millner says her reward from this work is “empowering people with positivity.” 

“I believe in living every day like it’s your last,” she says. “I believe in doing a lot of the things that your body loves and a little of the things that it doesn’t like. I teach how to live a life with choices and moderation, never limiting yourself from the things you really want.”

Glazier, who belongs to Central Reform Congregation, says, “Joy Millner is the Rabbi Susan Talve of fitness and health,” referring to CRC’s chief rabbi. 

“Joy is just so inspiring,” he says. “She even does a fitness version of what Rabbi Susan does – she has us breathe and get rid of all the shmutz. She is extraordinarily gifted as a communicator of her message and goals, which is to see people, regardless of their circumstances, healthy and fit.”

Adds Millner: “To help people change their lives, to give them confidence, to educate them about healthy eating, to reduce the cholesterol and diabetes medications they are on, to help them get fit and find their health – that’s joy to me.”

JOY MILLNER

Age: 54

Family: Married to Rob Millner; two sons, ages 25 and 19, and a daughter, 24

Home: Ladue

Occupation:  Co-founder of the Fit and Food Connection (fitandfoodconnection.org)

Unusual Fact: Though Millner suffered with scoliosis as a teenager, she persevered through the pain and was a cheerleader all through high school.