| IHRSA Report | Club Advisor
‘Basic Training’ on Joining Forces
By Patricia Amend
They’re our sons and daughters, husbands and wives, relatives, neighbors, and friends—the tens of thousands of men and women who serve in the military, and their loved ones. Perhaps you’ve thought of participating in the new IHRSA Joining Forces Network, as one way of saying “thank you” and showing appreciation for their deep commitment to, and sacrifices for, our country. Getting started is easy—just follow these simple steps:
Sign up online. “Last spring, the White House asked if IHRSA would coordinate a network of health clubs that would support deployed reservists and National Guard members and their immediate families by pro- viding free 6-to-12-month memberships for family members during deployment,” explains Joe Moore, IHRSA’s president and CEO. “The result is the IHRSA Joining Forces Network, an opportunity for clubs to support this important cause, which will benefit those families, while allowing us to put our best foot forward. If you’d like to participate, sign up as soon as possible so you can help us celebrate the network at IHRSA’s 31st
Point. We’ve received great write-ups in the papers, and, to date, we’ve had 11 military families sign up.”
Leverage social networking. Kruse-Fordham has also publicized the program using Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. “We have 700 people following us on Face- book, whom we’ve asked to share this program with their friends. To see how many have done so, we use the tracking tool
bitly.com. I check the club’s social- media sites twice a day—for five minutes in the morning and five minutes at night.”
Annual International Convention and Trade Show in Los Angeles, March 14-17, 2012.” “To enroll in the network, go to
healthclubs.com, and click on the Joining Forces Health Club Operators button,” suggests Tom Richards, IHRSA’s senior public- policy manager. “Once enrolled, your club will be listed on this Website for eligible military families to find. At this site, there’s also an information sheet for families who want to participate.”
Issue a press release. “I have a son in the military, so we’ve always made an effort to be gracious to military families, but enrolling in Joining Forces has enabled us to focus our efforts and use the tools that IHRSA has provided,” says Roberta Kruse-Fordham, the general manager of Sports, Fitness and Fun, a 41,000-square- foot multipurpose facility in Florida, New York. “To get the word out, we customized a press release that IHRSA furnished after enrollment, and sent it to every local paper we could think of. We also placed an ad in the newsletter at a nearby Marine base, and at West
Inform your staff. Because any program is most suc- cessful when it “comes from the top,” Kruse-Fordham issued a special memo to her team. “I want to make it clear to our staff that we’re offering up to a six-month membership to soldiers about to be deployed and their immediate families. We want these families to feel that our doors are open to them. And, of course, we want to make sure that the necessary procedures are followed—that is, that they sign a liability waiver.”
Make it personal. Finally, Kruse-Fordham urges club operators to let people know if they have a personal stake in the program. “Hanging in my office, I have a large photo of my son, T.J. Palovchik, who’s been in the Navy for six years and is about to be deployed for the fourth time. I want to share the fact that I under- stand soldiers are putting their lives on the line every day. Participating in Joining Forces with IHRSA and First Lady Michelle Obama, who inspired the effort, is a great way to demonstrate that. It’s a home run for every club and its community.” —|
– Patricia Amend,
PAmend@aol.com ihrsa.org | NOVEMBER 2011 | Club Business Internat ional 95
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