The Best of Both Worlds

A recap of the 2017 Club Solutions Leadership Summit. 

On May 4-6, 2017, 25 top club owners and six sponsors from across the U.S. gathered in Louisville, Kentucky, for the annual 2017 Club Solutions Leadership Summit at The Kentucky Derby.

According to Lynne Brick, the president of Brick Bodies Fitness Services, Inc. and Planet Fitness Growth Partners, LLC, this year’s event was a great experience for one simple reason. “The Summit is the best of both worlds: a beautiful blend of business and pleasure at one of the world’s most coveted sporting events,” she said.

In addition to witnessing Always Dreaming dominate the most exciting two minutes in sports, this year’s attendees and sponsors also tackled four roundtables extremely relevant to the state of the health club industry today. Discussions were centered around leadership, technology, Group X and pricing strategy.

“The Summit forces me to step out of my circle of peer influence and engage in meaningful conversations regarding industry topics that affect each of us,” continued Brick. “Our moderator, Blair McHaney, helps us to think outside our box. The topics which we discuss in our groups are on trend and focus on forward industry thinking or ‘where the puck is going to be.’”

By the end of the Club Solutions Leadership Summit, one major takeaway was clear: Technology will continue to be a major area of focus for the health and fitness industry.

“One of my top takeaways was learning how so many of the top operators are looking at technologies to enhance their business and serve existing and new members,” said Bill McBride, the president and CEO of Active Wellness. “The group has a willingness not only to embrace new technologies, but to look at it in an innovative fashion. I firmly believe in technological enhancement with human touch.”

A huge thanks to our sponsors for making the 2017 Club Solutions Leadership Summit possible: NuStep, Epsilon, Matrix Fitness, ABC Financial, Power Systems and Les Mills. And, thank you to Blair McHaney, our moderator, for always keeping the discussion relevant and lively.   

Rachel Zabonick-Chonko

Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.