Publisher's Note: I am pleased to tell you about an exciting and important new staff development at Club Industry magazine.

Joining the staff of Club Industry this month is our newly named Editor-in-Chief, John Agoglia. John's appointment is important in a number of ways. For one, John is dedicated and committed to the club environment, as previously he has served as the Editor-in-Chief of and Content Director for Health & Fitness Business Magazine and was responsible for the editorial direction of that publication. But more than that, he has been involved in the fitness industry for more than a decade beginning as a personal trainer in New York City in 1992.

John's level of interest and his involvement with the issues and topics that concern you, our readers, about the club environment will no doubt contribute to the enhancment and viability of the Club Industry editorial product in the coming months and years ahead. I encourage each of you to create a dialogue with John, and for that matter the entire Club Industry staff, about how we can serve you better.
Barry LeCerf Publisher

There is nothing more powerful in the business world than a strong brand. Club Industry is that kind of brand. In fact, I can still hear the squeals of my best friend, Laura Cooper (still called by her maiden name “Stulman” around our house), a personal trainer from South Burlington, Vt., when I told her I was joining the magazine's staff — that excitement is brand power.

That is the same kind of excited reaction I had (without the squealing, of course — no, really, no squealing) when I learned of the opportunity to fill the shoes of the magazine's last Editor-in-Chief (and a friend of mine), Jerry Janda, when he decided to pursue another opportunity.

You see, as a personal trainer in New York City during the '90s at clubs such as Equinox, Gold's Gym, and The 92nd St. Y, I can recall reading Club Industry during slow times on the floor or between clients.

Over the past five years I have taken a lot of what I learned about the business of fitness from the pages of the magazine and used it to help educate and inform another segment of the industry as part of Health & Fitness Business, a trade magazine targeting fitness retailers. Now I look forward to being part of the Club Industry team, bringing the health club industry a vital business magazine.

While coming to Club Industry isn't a homecoming in the traditional sense, it gives me a chance to once again be part of an industry that I am passionate about (OK, not as passionate as I am about the Mets as opening day creeps up, but still passionate). It gives me — all of us at Club Industry, in fact — a chance to bring you the kind of news and information that will help build each of your businesses individually, and the fitness industry as a whole.

But I am not the only change to the magazine worth noting. A quick look at our masthead on page six shows a beefed-up editorial staff to help bring you that cutting-edge information I promised a couple of paragraph back.

And that isn't the end of the changes for Club Industry. Keep an eye out for an electronic newsletter this month that will bring you industry news three times a month, to help you make the decisions you need to compete.

Also, watch out for a new look for Club Industry next month. We hope you'll enjoy not only the new look, but the increased focus on building your bottom line.

Lastly, as Barry said, free to drop me a note or give me a call to let us know how we are doing or what issues affecting your business you'd like to see us explore.

It is an exciting time for the magazine, the fitness industry, and me personally. Sure, it's not enough to get me to squeal, but all-in-all I can't think of a better way to spend my day.

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© 2012 Penton Media Inc.