It’s Thanksgiving WEEK! And There is a lot to be thankful for, so giving away a few “REX Scholarships”

By: John Mickelson

This week we celebrate Thanksgiving and give thanks for the many positive relationships and blessings that have come into our lives.

Wishing you and your loved ones a Happy Thanksgiving and may you reflect/cherish all you have been given over the year and look for opportunities to be able to give back to others that are less fortunate.

I have the best job in the world, to be able to travel and meet club owners who truly have a heart to help their members enjoy a better quality of life. Our industry has changed and its not just about “pumping iron” but its also about providing people a venue where they can meet, spend time together and improve their quality of life.

In the coming months, we will be highlighting club owners and their facilities that think outside the box and work with people with special needs. The “Baby Boomers” are requiring different programs to help with their age related challenges. Parkinson disease is becoming much more common place and in our featured article, Brielle Carter has a 62,000 square foot facility (Ability360 Center is located in the heart of Phoenix) that provides exceptional adaptive sports, recreation, aquatic, and fitness programs that promote the independence, health, and overall well-being of people with disabilities and their family members.

Continuing with the theme of giving back, on February 2-4^th the “Medical Fitness Tour” will be held at the above mentioned Ability360 Center. Speakers from all over north America will be presenting with the Keynote and Welcome address provided by industry icon Bill McBride. We have included the “Medical Fitness Tour” invite and speaker schedule for your review.

While at a REX Roundtable event held in Quincy Washington, Scott Draper from Club Northwest ( www.clubnw.com ) and I discussed how his facility is providing members with an improved membership experience. During our discussion, Scott mentioned that he and his staff reach out to his surrounding community via a monthly “Heath Article” published by the local newspaper. It seems that regional publications/newspapers are always looking for content. I found his approach intriguing as I’m not aware of any facilities (other than Club Northwest) that is currently performing this form of gorilla marketing. Scott has provided us a brief intro to his initial “Live Your Well” article which is published in this Soapbox edition.

In the spirit of giving and being a member of the REX Roundtable organization, we have a couple of “REX scholarships” we can award to interested facilities. If you have ever thought about becoming a member of REX Roundtable, I can certainly help facilitate your entry. Shown below are pictures of our dinner during an event in Santa Barbara in October.

Taking your facility or facilities to the next level, becoming more profitable and improving the membership experience are just a few things that REX can provide guidance with. You couldn’t make a better investment in your facility or yourself.

Thank you for being one of our valued readers. We are grateful for the pleasure of serving you and for a lot of you, meeting your locker room amenity needs.

From all of us who work on the Soapbox, we wish you a lovely Thanksgiving and a joyous holiday season.