Dear SoapBox Readers,
We are changing things up a bit in this May Soapbox Newsletter. This month we feature two individuals that have a strong desire to make things better for those around them. Tom Johnston has a desire to help change the world and Dan Lopez has a passion to change and evolve his facilities for a better membership experience.
I was introduced to Tom Johnston through a mutual friend. Tom is the Chief Operating Officer for American Leisure with a passion for promoting and championing Global Wellness Day (GWD). As explained in the content shown below, GWD started as a grass roots movement that has now spread around the world. June 11th will be the 4th year anniversary and it so happens that Tom is the GWD Ambassador for the United States. I’m sure many of you have questions and perhaps have a desire to become involved with GWD. I encourage you to contact Tom via his email and he will be more than happy to answer all your questions. Thank you Tom for sharing your passion to make the world a much better place.
Our second featured author is Dan Lopez who is the operations/facility officer for the Spare Time Clubs in Sacramento. A large portion of our readers are involved in the actual “nuts and bolts” of facility management. Its our hope you will find Dan’s insight into club operations of interest. Dan brings a number of disciplines to his role at Spare Time and is one of the few people I know that loves to share his knowledge and experience with others. Have you experienced challenges or issues in managing your facility or facilities? How can you reduce pool expenditures, how about the best form of indoor or outdoor lighting, Dan is the man that has the answers. Over the years, Dan has been able to succeed in providing the savings that ownership has needed yet has improved the membership experience. I marvel as I walk through his clubs and the logistics that take place to make his facilities safe, fun and profitable. As with Tom, Dan’s contact info is listed at the end of his article and I encourage you to contact him for words of wisdom.
We cherish our readership and it’s a pleasure and privilege to serve you.We welcome your questions, comments and concerns and if there is a favorite topic you feel passionate about, please let us know. We are here for you and would love to hear from you
John Mickelson
Meet our Featured Contributor
Tom Johnston, Chief Operating Officer of American Leisure and GWD Ambassador
Recognized for overseeing operations of innovative lifestyle amenity spaces for prominent real estate developers. Tom has a consistent record driving increased membership and sales revenue in the health and fitness industry. You can connect with Tom via email.
Global Wellness Day: Saturday, June 11, 2016
This information brought to the SoapBox by Tom Johnston
(You can read the full press release here)
Saturday, June 11, 2016 will mark the fourth Global Wellness Day (GWD) being celebrated around the world. GWD’s international network of over 70 Global Wellness Day Ambassadors report that they are on target to have over 3,000 properties & locations in 100 countries organize complimentary wellness activities like yoga/Pilates/dance workshops; breathing & mindfulness sessions and nutrition & beauty classes to help millions realize that “One day can change your whole life.” In fact, GWD events will be held around the world on the second Saturday in June, from sunrise in New Zealand until sunset in Hawaii.
Taking away the barriers of exclusivity, this year’s rallying cry for GWD is “Wellness for Everyone!’’ with a range of cities, tourism boards, health clinics and even national dance companies offering are workshops and classes to educate & inspire the public about the benefits of proactive wellness and mind-body fitness. Waterfront communities from Asbury Park New Jersey to Imperial Beach, California, and both Jacksonville and Boca Raton, Florida, are organizing a day of family friendly wellness activities. AltaMed, the largest community health center in the nation based in California, understands wellness extends beyond healthcare and will be championing wellness opportunities for its employees and the communities it serves on June 11 in order to fully advocate equal access health & wellness services. And in Arizona, the Mountain Vista Medical Center will promote GWD activities at their Women’s Wellness Expo and the Sedona Golf Resort will hold the state’s first Wellness Golf Tournament, followed by a Community Wellness Fair at The Collective Sedona, a food/shopping/art/wellness center, with over 10 local spas holding classes and events.
Setting aside the second Saturday of June to provide complimentary, educational and experiential wellness activities to the public to promote good physical and mental health was the brainchild of Belgin Aksoy, owner of Turkey’s only destination spa and herself a cancer survivor. An idea whose time had come, Global Wellness Day was quickly embraced by the wellness industry and, amazingly, only one year later GWD was celebrated in 74 different countries at over 600 spas, hotels & destinations!
So our question to you is…What should the SoapBox do for GWD??
Submit your ideas today and we will highlight them in next month’s publication! Let’s get our local club members AND employees motivated with global ideas that think local. Click here to share your idea.
The GWD American Leisure Team
John’s Testimonials: Hear What Our Customers Are Saying!
When John asked me to contribute to The Soapbox I was honored. John and Petra have been a part of my Spare Time team for 14 years. He and Petra are a vital part of our daily business. Petra is not just a vendor they are a team member that contributes to the over all success of our company. I mention this because as a Facilities Director managing multiple locations I depend on many people to help me maintain our clubs to the highest standards.
A critical key to finding a quality vendor or solving a difficult facility issue is to seek out Quality Information before making Any Decision. When it comes to making decisions on a particular product or vendor we usually have plenty of time to gather information and investigate the products or companies before making a decision. This principal must be applied in all of our decisions, even when we are dealing with time sensitive repairs that effect our daily operation and most importantly our members. I find that many people in the repair and service industry makes decision based on their experience, that is a vital piece to understanding a problem and implementing a solution, however it is not the only piece. There are other factors. Following is a guideline that I use when making any decisions for my facilities. The challenge is to not ignore this process for time sake, because a hasty uninformed decision only leads to further problems and longer and more costly repair times.
The First piece of Quality Information needed- What is the problem? Sounds simple, however many times it is not. Really understanding what the issue is a critical step in making a Quality Decision. Asking many questions will eliminate many rabbit trails and cut down dramatically on the time it takes to solve the issue. “A quick decision leads quickly to more problems.”
The Second piece of Quality Information needed- What are the solutions? Once you have a clear understanding of the problem you must know decide how to resolve it. The key here is to once again have good information. It may be that the simple inexpensive fix may not be the right fix. The real questions are what have I spent in the past, what I will need to spend in the future and how does the down time affect my members. “A cheap fix may cost you more”
The Third piece of Quality Information needed- How do I prevent this from happening again? This is the piece that gets left out in many of our decision making process, however it is a critical function that I use to reduce both down time and cost of repairs at our clubs. If I fully understand the reasons for the failures I can put in place procedures to prevent it from happening again. This is a win win for our members and our bottom line. “Am I fixing it for today or forever?”
I strongly encourage companies to use some type of asset tracking software. I use it on a daily basis when deciding to repair or replace a particular asset such as a pool heater. It is very important that all repairs get imputed to the software so you can make an informed decision. If anyone has questions about asset tracking software, I would be happy to discuss my experience and knowledge with you.
John Mickelson's Soap Box 