What is in this article?:
- The 2012 Best of the Best Health Club Program Winners
- BEST NEW MEMBER INTEGRATION PROGRAM
- MyPath Program Generates Revenue
- BEST NONMEMBER PROGRAM
- Fast Results
- BEST BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION PROGRAM
- Effective Engagement
- BEST NEW MEMBER SALES PROGRAM
- Sales and Marketing Done Right
- BEST COMMUNITY-BASED PROGRAM
- Citywide Results
- BEST CHILDREN'S PROGRAM
- Financial Wellness
The Best of the Best Awards recognize the best programming at fitness facilities in the United States and provide concrete examples of programs that have proven, successful results. The entries were rated by a group of judges from within the fitness industry who ranked each program based on its goals, goal attainment, innovation, budgeting, member or nonmember participation, marketing, program effectiveness, and the club’s follow-up efforts.
Follow the links to the right to read about each of the winning programs for 2012.
Effective Engagement
After the 12 weeks of competition, participants can take part in the free Life After HCC program that offers a weekly weigh-in for six weeks. For a fee, participants can do an expanded version of Life After HCC that includes continued nutrition and exercise education and guidance on how to operate more independently in their workouts.
Participants who have finished these programs are invited to be mentors for new participants, which not only helps the new participants but also keeps the mentors engaged in the program in a leadership role.
With all the follow-up programs and mentoring opportunities, nonmembers could spend up to one year at the wellness center before joining. However, 85 percent of the participants do become members.
The center has held eight sessions so far, and more than 700 participants have finished the program. Weight loss has exceeded 20,000 pounds, although the post-test results show more than weight loss. It also shows percentage of body fat lost, flexibility increase, and lowered blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
“Every single time, it’s much more than, ‘I lost 40 pounds, 80 pounds, five inches in my waist or 10 inches in my hips,’” Newton says. “Those figures are a given. If you do the program, that’s going to happen. But what is heart-rending is what else happens to these people and how it affects the rest of their life and everything around them, from their family life to their enjoyment of life.”
The revenue from HCC’s $350 application fees and program sponsorships totaled $35,700 for the two sessions. Expenditures for staff salaries and awards totaled $7,000.
