Augie In Action! Augie In Action! - Ihrsa

The International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub
Association is a not-for-profit trade association
open to investor-owned and member-owned
fitness, racquet and athletic facilities. Associate
memberships are available to manufacturers
or suppliers of products and services of use
to IHRSA members.
800-228-4772 USA & Canada
617-951-0055 International
617-951-0056 FAX
www.ihrsa.org
www.healthclubs.com
E-mail: info@ihrsa.org
IHRSA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Michael Levy: Chairperson
Casaral, Inc.
416-961-5556, ext. 242
Tony de Leede: Fitness First Australia
(61) 2-9387-5266
Lloyd Gainsboro: Dedham Health & Athletic Complex
781-326-2900
Mike Motta: Plus One Fitness
646-312-6200
Ed Williams: The Wellbridge Company
303-866-0800
Laurie Smith: Leisure Sports
925-600-1966
Gene LaMott: TW Holdings
360-877-3915
Phil Wendel: ACAC Fitness & Wellness Centers
434-978-3800
Lynne Brick: Brick Bodies Fitness
410-252-8058
David Patchell-Evans: GoodLife Fitness Clubs
519-661-0190 ext. 238
Rick Beusman: Saw Mill Club
914-241-0797
Bob Shoulders: Fayetteville Athletic Club
479-587-0500
Frank Napolitano: GlobalFit
215-751-1992
Mike Raymond: Curves International
254-399-9285
Susan Cooper: BodyBusiness Health Club & Spa
512-459-9424
Art Curtis: Millennium Partners
Sports Club Management, LLC
617-476-8910
Sandy Hoeffer: Western Athletic Clubs
415-901-9243
Julie Main: Ex-officio
West Coast Athletic Clubs
805-966-6147
SPECIAL ADVISOR
LATIN AMERICA
Richard Bilton: Companhia Athletica
(55) 11-5181-2000
What’s happening out there? Why are we so worried
about our industry’s health? Is it really as bad as
all of the headlines and some individuals suggest?
I recently received a letter from a small group of club owners
who are concerned that our industry isn’t growing and prospering
as it should. They cited statistics which indicated that America
was in decline and that our industry may have passed its peak.
They detailed what, it seemed, was an interminable catalog of
woes: issues with families; a weak dollar; rising energy costs;
the subprime lending crisis; increased governmental interference;
problems with immigration and diversity; the upcoming election;
global warming; and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Are they really right? Should we just fold up our tents and
Michael S. Levy
slink away into the night?
IHRSA Chairperson
I think not.
Ironically, as the new year got under way, I found myself
reflecting on how fortunate those of us in this industry are. It’s a belief borne
not of Pollyannaish optimism, but, rather, of a clear-eyed pragmatism
produced by more than 60 years of life experience.
As the years pass, each generation, it seems, faces issues, problems, and
crises that perplex and frighten it. In the ’60s, it was the cold war and the
threat of nuclear annihilation. In the ’70s, it was, among other things, the oil
embargo and the shock of $1-a-gallon gasoline. In the ’80s, it was stagflation and
higher interest rates than we could possibly afford. In the ’90s, it was the
meltdown of real-estate values.
As the late Gildna Radner, in the character of Roseanne Roseannadanna
on Saturday Night Live, inevitably observed: “Well, it just goes to show you—
it’s always something.”
However, if you look at the nation’s, and our industry’s, underlying
strengths, the impressions that emerge are quite different. Our standard
of living is the highest in the world and continues to climb. We have full
employment, rising productivity, declining costs for consumer goods, the
lowest interest rates in more than 50 years, and an international environment
in which products and services cross borders efficiently.
We work in an industry that offers its members good health and good times,
at a reasonable price, in a safe and friendly setting. It’s also an industry that’s
growing in both size and profitability; increasingly popular with investors;
and quickly gaining credibility with the extended healthcare community.
We will always have problems… but, if history is any guide, we will always
find ways to solve them. —|
The Photo Group
– Michael S. Levy, mslevy@casaral.com
| IHRSA Report | First Set
‘It’s Always Something!’
Isn’t It?
www.ihrsa.org | MARCH 2008 | Club Business International 169