The 2014 Run for Babies event, a part of March for Dimes, had just 38 runners. When Fitness Premier, which has four locations in Illinois, heard of this fact, it immediately wanted to help. “We really wanted to boost that,” said Samantha McCreery, the marketing coordinator for Fitness Premier Bourbonnais. “We got on the committee for March of Dimes Bourbonnais, and started working for the cause.”
According to McCreery, Fitness Premier hoped to take the number of runners from 38 to 300. With the club’s community-oriented focus, McCreery had no doubt the goal would be accomplished. “Our motto is ‘Fitness Premier, where membership means more,’’’ she said. “We truly believed that we would get there. The whole time we had unwavering confidence that we would hit that 300 mark.”
They did. The day before the event Fitness Premier hit its mark, recruiting 301 participants to run for the cause. “We really hit the ground running from the start, generating that excitement and really making it go viral,” said McCreery. “We contacted radio stations, set up interviews, had newspaper articles going, pretty much anything possible, and of course word of mouth in our clubs.”
In addition to recruiting 301 runners of its own, Fitness Premier also challenged other clubs in the area to participate. “We have a great relationship with some of the surrounding clubs, so we contacted them and challenged them to match us or beat us in creating a team to bring to the Run for Babies event, and a bunch of them decided to join,” said McCreery.
What can other gyms learn from this story? According to McCreery, the message is “coming together as an industry.”
“We’re big,” explained McCreery. “We can all share the love and come together and do something bigger than ourselves and better the community, since that’s our goal from the beginning.”
At the end of the day, the Run for Babies event raised $105,000 throughout the season, as a result of the community coming together as a whole.
“Everyone really stepped up and was really excited about the event,” said McCreery. “We have already signed on as committee members for next year, and I can only imagine what our team will concoct up for that.”
By Rachel Zabonick
