Six questions with Laurie Smith, the COO at acac Fitness and Wellness Centers.
1. How did you get your start in the fitness industry?
My first job out of college was the tennis activities director for Natick Racquet Club in Natick, Massachusetts. This was during the heyday of tennis in the 80s, and I ran all the leagues, tournaments, socials and special events. We sold unlimited play contract time from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. (Early Birds) and from 10 p.m. to midnight (Night Owls) and the courts were always filled.
2. What are the keys to your organization’s success?
I’ve been with acac Fitness and Wellness Centers for two and a half years — spent 20 years with Leisure Sports and 10 years with VillaSport prior — so I can’t take any credit for acac’s 41-year history of successful club operations, but I believe the keys to our success have been:
- Knowing our core values and living by them.
- Team member loyalty and retention at the leadership level.
- An owner focused on creating clubs where both fit and deconditioned folks feel equally welcome and appreciated.
- Creating communities within the clubs and being a generous member of the communities in which we operate.
- High expectations for customer service and cleanliness.
- Continuous reinvestment in facilities and people.
3. What has been one of the biggest accomplishments of your career?
I’m not one for “shining my own apple” but I look back on my many years and experiences in the club industry, and I’m happy I chose a career that I have loved throughout. There has never been a time when I wanted to do anything else.
4. What has been one of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your career? How did you overcome it?
At one time in my career, I had a very toxic individual above me on the org chart – the kind who seemingly enjoys ruining other people’s days for the sport of it. I realized the only things I had control of in that situation were my own attitude and reactions to the demeaning behavior. I vowed not to let it affect me negatively, and to reframe it as a personal challenge to weather every storm with grace.
5. What is one lesson you have learned that other fitness professionals can learn from?
I’m sure there are many fitness professionals out there who are good at ensuring they carve out time for their own health and fitness activities, but there are probably also plenty like me who haven’t always done a great job at that – working long hours and weeks, sacrificing personal time and workouts for the good of the business. While necessary at times, this should not be a habit. You’re no good to your team or your members if you are unfit, stressed, sleep-deprived, etc. We should be setting the example for work-life balance.
6. Tell us a fact about yourself others may not know.
I’m currently shooting lower golf scores in my sixties than I did in my thirties, forties or fifties. I must watch so much golf on TV that I have subliminally developed a better swing. Either that, or better work-life balance now than I did back then.
