Club
Industry

2009
is About ‘More’ Than Fitness
One of the industry’s premier conferences
tackles economic issues
By Jon Feld
The timely theme of ci09, Club Industry’s 2009 show, being
held this month, October 14-17, at McCormick Place in
T
Chicago, is “Your Clients Are Looking for More Than Fitness.
Give Them Everything They Want.”
While the tagline is meant to suggest several markets and a
wide range of topics—including wellness, healthy lifestyles,
superior service, weight management, creative programming,
and functional training—it’s also designed to address the
daunting realities that the fitness industry currently faces.
“What makes this year’s Club Industry event different is that,
today, the industry, like the entire economy, is challenged,”
points out Herb Greenebaum, the marketing manager for the
show. “The conference addresses the economy specifically. We
have meetings on cutting costs, innovative programming,
financing in a difficult economy, and positioning your business
for future success, and we delve deeply into the emerging area
of wellness.
“And, of course, we cover retention heavily—that’s always
important, but in a recession, it’s critical.”
Zari Stahl, the group show director, echoes Greenebaum’s
points. “Overall,” he explains, “our focus is on the economy and
on wellness. We want to give people solid, tangible reasons to
attend. Club Industry ’09 is all about making sure that people
who are serious about improving their club operations get to
meet and learn from other operators of like mind.”
This year’s conference tracks include ones on Business
Management; Sales & Marketing; Leadership & Personal
Development; Specialty Populations; Personal Training; Well-
ness, Weight Loss & Medical Integration; Customer Service &
Retention; Creative Programming; and Worksite Wellness.
Within each of the tracks, there are dozens of tightly-focused
sessions on a comprehensive range of topics.
>
www.ihrsa.org | OCTOBeR 2009 | Club Business International
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