In BRIEF

Jim Mizes was promoted to president and chief executive officer of Club One. Mizes joined the San Francisco-based company three years ago as chief operating officer.

Curves International promoted its senior vice president of marketing, Mike Raymond, to president. In his new role, Raymond will report to company CEO and founder, Gary Heavin. The position of president has been vacant since the retirement of former President Gary Findley in late 2004.

Lady of America Franchise Corp. named Gerald Weber as its president and chief executive officer last month. The position had been filled on an interim basis by Jeff Silverman since Lady of America's founder, Roger Wittenberns, retired in January 2005.

Ginger Collins, former Gold's Gym franchisee, was elected the first executive director of the Gold's Gym Franchisee Association. She will oversee all membership activities.

LA Workout in Camarillo, CA, has appointed Michael Sanciprian as a partner. He has 15 years of experience in the industry working for companies such as Jack LaLane, Family Fitness and other chains.

Almaden Valley Athletic Club (AVAC) in San Jose, CA, was honored by the Association of Fundraising Professionals last month with a Distinguished Fundraiser Award. Since 2003, AVAC's Celebration of Life fundraising initiative has raised more than $40,000 for Santa Clara County's Hospice of the Valley.

MembersFirst Inc. appointed John Blake as president and chief executive officer. Blake succeeded Tony Baudanza, the founder and current CEO, who assumed the title and position of chairman. Blake most recently served as MembersFirst's chief operating officer.

Conexion appointed Dick Mitchell as vice president of sales and marketing. Mitchell, an industry veteran in club management software development, will draw on his experience to extend the Conexion brand.

SCIFIT Systems, Inc. named Corey Disler its new vice president of sales. Disler has been with SCIFIT for 13 years, has 20 years experience in the fitness industry and is an industry expert on equipment accessibility.

The third annual American Family Fitness 10K Run/5K Walk raised more than $32,000 in October and involved nearly 1,000 participants. Including this year's gift, American Family Fitness, Richmond, VA's largest privately held fitness center, has raised nearly $110,000 for Children's Hospital since 1997. Proceeds will benefit the pediatric dental program at Children's Hospital.

The Association for Pool & Spa Professionals and The National Swimming Pool Foundation® signed an agreement to expand cooperation between the two organizations to better encourage healthier living through aquatic education and research.

Brad Cardinal, Oregon State University (OSU) associate professor in the College of Health and Human Sciences Department of Nutrition and Exercise Sciences earned an OSU professor recognition as Health Educator of the Year from the Oregon Association for Health Education. Cardinal specializes in the psycho-social perspective of physical activity. Cardinal is also president of the Research Consortium of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance and associate editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Health Promotion.

The Georgia Institute of Technology Campus Recreation Center (CRC) earned a 2005 National Design-Build Award in the Design-Build Rehabilitation/Renovation/Restoration category given by the Design-Build Institute of America. Hastings & Chivetta was Skanska USA Building Inc. design-build partner on the project. The team expanded Georgia Tech's existing athletic center to include 273,000 square feet of new construction and 210,000 square feet of renovated space. The school's expanded CRC opened in 2004.

The International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association launched ActiveCareers (www.activecareers.com). Sponsored exclusively by CheckFree, the Web site was designed with both job seekers and fitness industry employers in mind.

YogaFit has selected Mad Dogg Athletics to manage the marketing and implementation of instructor certification in all non-U.S. markets.

New York Sports Clubs is helping its members get ready for the ski season with two new programs — SkiReady and SkiFit. SkiFit is a free, six-week, trainer-supervised, self-guided program that allows members to work on the fitness components of skiing, and SkiReady guides participants through eight to 10 lower body and core strengthening exercises in a timed circuit format.

XTREME Performance announced its role as the Official Nutritional Sponsor of the Aurora Cavalry, a member of the new professional International Basketball League. Through the agreement, XTREME Performance will provide a financial sponsorship, a product sponsorship and nutritional education to support the players and coaches of the Aurora Cavalry.