This document discusses how health clubs can build relationships within their local community. It recommends that clubs look outside their four walls to identify community needs and find ways the club can help solve problems. Suggestions include partnering with local organizations on programming, outreach initiatives, and advocacy efforts. The document provides many examples of how clubs have successfully engaged with their communities through charitable events, children's activities, senior programs, and more. Building community relationships is presented as beneficial for membership recruitment and retention as well as strengthening the club's reputation.

1. Building Community
Relationships
Bre McGahey
Public Policy Communications Manager
International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association
FitLife Summer Conference August 4, 2008

2. Becoming the 3rd Place
Home
Work
Club?
Can clubs become a place for the
community?

3. An Inward Focus
• Financials
• Operations
• Employees
• Members
• Sales
• Retention
• Programming
• Long-term Planning

4. What is Community Relations?
• Establishing and maintaining a mutually
beneficial relationship between a
company and the community it
operates in
• Accepting civic responsibility, taking an
active role in community well-being
• Core business strategy

5. Community
Looking Outside
Your 4 Walls
Your Club
• Financials
• Operations
• Employees
Relations
Relations
• Members
• Sales
• Retention
• Programming
• Long-term Planning
Community

6. Benefits for Your Club
Enhance
Create a sense Boost your recruitment
and retention
of community
bottom-line
of members
Enhance Improve
Strengthen
recruitment positioning in
and retention competitive reputation
of employees
market
Build
Increase loyalty
Foster goodwill
community ties
and support

7. Local
government
State
Local Citizens
government
Your
Federal
Media
government
Club
Community
Schools
groups
Health Physician
Organizations
networks
Charities

8. Identify the Need
What are the biggest problems facing your
community?

9. Provide a Solution
• How can your club provide a solution?
• What resources at your club are under-
utilized?
• Time of day
• Day of the week
• Facility area
• Staff expertise
• What are your business goals?

10. Vision
• Create a written vision statement
– Acknowledge that community issues have
direct impact on the club and its future success
– Statement of responsibility to community and
commitment to being “neighbor of choice”
• Make it part of your club culture

11. Create a Budget Line Item
• To foster long-term relationship building,
ensure adequate funding
– Start out small, continually evaluate
• Create criteria for use of funds
• Schedule community relations calendar

12. Staff
• Who are staff • 84% of employees feel
members that would that a company’s
thrive with a new community image is
challenge?
important
• Opportunity to
educate, engage, and
enrich the community
they live and work in

13. Who to partner with?
• Identify the people/organizations who can help
you achieve your vision
• Get with those people/organizations and help
them succeed
• Let them reciprocate by helping you do the
same
• Stay in regular contact with these people/
organizations
• Enjoy mutual success AND a great relationship

14. Become a Member
• Local business
association
• Chamber of
Commerce
• Visitors Bureau
• Rotary International
• Kiwanis
Community
groups

15. Create a Community Wellness Coalition
• Partner with like-minded
organizations
• Work together
• Share resources
• Become community
leaders
Community Physician
Charities
Health orgs
groups
networks

16. Programming
• Partner with the right people and
organizations
• Create programming that is mutually
beneficial and solves the needs of
your community

17. Disease-based Programming
• Partner with local health organizations and
physician networks
– Cancer recovery (ACS & oncologists)
– Orthopedics
Physician
Health
Charities
networks
orgs

18. Diabetes
• Dedham Health & Athletic Complex
partners with renowned Joslin
Diabetes Clinic
• Provided a healthy lifestyle solution to
patients
• Increased membership
• Received media coverage
Physician
Health orgs
networks

19. Charity-Based Programming
• Partner with charities that are
addressing a vital need in your
community
• Be sure to evaluate the strategic
benefits, not just the “feel good” factor
– How does it relate to your strategic
business goals and your community
relations vision?

20. Gold’s Gym & American Diabetes Assoc.
Tour de Cure
• Official sponsor • Raised $218,797.22 so
starting in 2005
far this year
• Gold’s sold Tour de
Cure merchandise,
offered free spinning
classes for riders
training for the event
and hosted diabetes
awareness days
Health orgs
Charities

21. Reaching Out to Families
• PE for home school kids
• Trained staff visiting local
schools
– Special “training sessions”
– Hosting “Field Day”
• Opening doors to local PE
classes
Local Community
Schools
Citizens
groups

22. Rochester Athletic Club
“The Neighborhood”
• Turned 4 racquet ball courts in
a kid’s paradise and a parents
dream
• 3 Dance Dance Revolution systems
• 3 Aeroball stations - trampoline basketball
• 18-hole signature miniature golf
• 3 Golf cages – Automatic tee up
• 2200 square feet of Synthetic ice
• 2 hockey slide boards
• 2 Throwing lanes
• Large climbing / play structure by PlaySmart
• High School size Gymnasium
• 3 Batting Cages
• Sportwall play area
• Foosball, air hockey, dome hockey, and ping pong
• Concessions with Free WIFI
• 9 hole golf putting green

23. “Parents Leading Active Play”
• Just Aerobics and Fitness
Center in Frackville, PA
• Bringing parents and kids
together in an active
environment
• Ages 3-13
• Membership increased
20%, with a projected
40-50% increase over the
next five years

24. Reaching Out to Seniors
• Create a senior outdoor
walking program
• Donate pool time to the
local senior center
• Send instructors to
senior centers to teach
gentle strength and
stretching exercises
Community Local
groups
citizens

25. Become a Voice for Healthy Lifestyles
• Pen articles for the local paper
• Offer yourself as an expert on fitness and
healthy lifestyles
• Take your PR to the next level
• Write letters to the editors
• Invite the media to your club
Media

26. IHRSA Health Promotion Programming
• Designed to foster community relations
and health promotion, not sales programs
• Turn-key community relations programs
• Designed to benefit clubs and enhance
positioning with stakeholders
• Help retain current membership and
present growth opportunities

27. • IHRSA’s campaign to • Demonstrate
combat overweight supportive, safe and
and obesity and fun environment
promote active • Help people get
lifestyles
started on an exercise
• May nationwide open program that will fit
house and “bring a their specific lifestyle
friend”
Local Physician
Media
Citizens
networks

28. • Drive traffic to the club and promote
physical activity and healthy lifestyles in
your community
• Benefits – raise awareness about the
importance of exercise, create positive PR,
reinvigorates current members, build
community relations
Local Physician
Media
Citizens
networks

29. • 8-week weight loss campaign
• Runs every January
• Designed to help members, new and old
alike, lose weight during the New Year’s
“weight loss season”
Local Physician
Media
Citizens
networks

30. • Community outreach campaign designed to
introduce your community to you club
• Reinvigorate and retain current members
• Benefits: Successful weight loss = powerful
message to media, members and
community
Local Physician
Media
Citizens
networks

31. • Designed to introduce exercise to teens
by offering free summer matinee
memberships
• Community outreach initiative
• Opportunity to give back to community
and provide solution to growing
adolescent obesity epidemic
Local Physician
Schools
Media
Citizens
networks

32. • Benefits:
• Building community relationships
• PR opportunity
• Introduce parents and teens to your
club
• Educating young people about healthy
lifestyles
Local Physician
Schools
Media
Citizens
networks

33. IHRSA Health Promotion Resources
• IHRSA.org Wellness • Turn-key
Resource Center
programming
• Health E-Review email • Benefits of exercise
and marketing tools
searchable database
• Publications:
• Educational track at
IHRSA Convention
– Get Active! Magazine
– Health Benefits of
Exercise
– Economic Benefits of
Exercise

34. Local
government
State
Local Citizens
government
Your
Federal
Media
government
Club
Community
Schools
groups
Health Physician
Organizations
networks
Charities

35. Why you should be involved
with public policy leaders
• Why you should be
involved in public policy

36. How is Advocacy and Government
Relations Community Relations?
• Health promotion legislation seeks to
help people across your state and
across the nation solve critical needs
• Becoming a resource on healthy
lifestyles = mutually beneficial
relationship

37. Local Government
• Local Selectperson
• Town/City Council
• Mayor
Goal:
• Educate them about the value you provide to the community
• Educate them about the solution you provide to a critical need
• Educate them about the preventative power of exercise
Local
government

38. State Government
• State Representative
• State Senator
• Governor
• State Council on Physical Fitness
– Oregon Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports
Goal:
• Educate them about the value you provide to the community
• Educate them about the solution you provide to a critical need
• Educate them about the preventative power of exercise
State
government

39. Federal Government
• Capitol Hill Office
• US Representative
• District Office
– House Committee on Ways
Means
– Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA)
Goal:
– Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
• Educate them about the
WHIP and PHIT Acts
• US Senators
• Educate them about the
– Senate Committee on Finance
preventative power of exercise
– Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)
• Educate them about the role
of health clubs in the solution
– Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)
to the health care, obesity, and
– Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
physical inactivity crises
– Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR)
Federal
government

40. • Workforce Health • Personal Health
Improvement Program Investment Today (PHIT)
(WHIP) Act
Act
– would ensure that the wellness – allows for expenditures for
benefit from off-site fitness physical fitness programs and
facilities is not taxed as exercise equipment to be
additional income for payable out of pre-tax health
employees
investment accounts
– encouraging employers to – encouraging Americans to
offer more wellness programs spend on preventative health
that include fitness services to care (i.e. exercise); improving
their employees; improving the the health of the American
health of the American public; and decreasing the cost
workforce; and decreasing the health care
cost of employee health care
for employers

41. Grassroots Advocacy 101
• Available online
• IHRSA staff is always available to help

42. 8 Grassroots Concepts
• Voting is not enough
• Elected officials are
people too
• Geography is #1
• Money is part of the
• One angry letter does
not change the world
game
• It takes time to settle
• Instant grassroots (i.e.
an issue
signing a petition) isn’t
especially effective
• Staying “on message”
is vital

43. Building Relationships
Fundraising
Clubs Visits
Office Visits
Phone Calls
Emails

44. Emails
• Introduction to advocacy
• Personalized email will get better
response
• An email will not resolve an issue

45. Phone Calls
• Next step
– Still very brief time commitment
• Know the issue
– Have the talking points and bill number handy

46. Office Visits
• In-person meetings are the most
powerful grassroots action you can
take to fight for an issue
• They are people too and want to listen
to their constituents

47. Club Tours
• Use to help establish a relationship
• Demonstrate the impact that the club is
having on the community

48. Fundraisers Events
• Advanced advocacy
• Use to further existing relationship

49. IHRSA Resources
• State Federal • Legislative Summit
lobbying
• Legal hotline
• Capitol Report
• Grassroots Initiative
• IHRSA.org/
PublicPolicy
• Legislative Advocacy
Alerts
• Coalition leadership

50. Next Steps
• What are the needs in • Who are potential
your community?
partners?
– Which stakeholder
• What solution can
groups to focus on?
your club provide?
• How many of your
– Under utilized
elected officials do
resources?
you know?
• What is your vision?
– How could you reach
out to them?

51. Community Relations Roadmap
What are the needs What solution can
What is your vision?
in your community?
you provide?
Which stakeholder
How much money Who are your
groups will you
can you dedicate?
potential partners?
focus on?
Who are your
elected officials?
When are you going What is your first
• Local
to start?
action step?
• State
• Federal