Julia Sanders

June is Pride Month, meant for celebrating the LGBTQ+ community. Additionally, Planet Fitness is all about promoting inclusivity and equality, as well as a judgement free space. On June 25-26, Taymax members celebrated Pride Month by attending this year’s Nashville Pride festival. Kai Wilson, the general manager from Goodlettsville, came up with the idea to get involved with the event.

The pride festival had about 150,000 people in attendance. Leslie Jordan was one of the Grand Marshalls. Singer-songwriter Tanya Tucker and the band Walk the Moon were musical guests, sharing their jamming tunes with the Music City. The event had vendors, musical performances on multiple stages and a parade.

During the festival, Taymax handed out 500 paper day passes, and many more attendees scanned the QR code. Taymax had a wheel where participants could spin to win fun prizes such as T-shirts, gift cards, water bottles and towels. The group was able to secure 35 memberships at the event and has about 2,000 other potential members.

The event was a great way to make connections with community leaders, as well as support equality for the LGBTQ+ community. Taymax decided to get involved to support its members and team members who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community. The group also wanted to share the advantages of exercise, as well as the benefits of being a Planet Fitness member with the Nashville community. Taymax looks forward to being a part of the event in 2023!

United PF Partners believes in promoting fitness and supporting important causes, which is why the group participated in the 2022 Central Arkansas Heart Walk and 18th annual Pat’s Run. The 2022 Central Arkansas Heart Walk raised money for the American Heart Association while the 4.2-mile Pat’s Run raised money for the Pat Tillman Foundation’s Tillman Scholars program, an organization supporting veterans in their professional lives. The race also honors Pat Tillman, an American professional football player and military veteran.

At the 2022 Central Arkansas Heart Walk on April 30, the franchisee’s Arkansas team led participants through a pre-walk warmup and stretch and then the three-mile walk. There was a huge turnout for the event. The United PF Arkansas team handed out swag to the walk’s attendees, including frisbees, lanyards, sunglasses, towels and bracelets.

During Pat’s Run on April 23, racers honored Pat Tillman and his legendary jersey No. 42 with attendees crossing the finish line on the 42-yard line of Sun Devils Stadium. The stadium is located on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, which is where Tillman played football. Tillman is famous for leaving his National Football League career with the Arizona Cardinals to join the U.S. Army after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. In 2004, he passed away in Afghanistan while serving.

Many people came out to honor Tillman – over 25,000 people participated in the annual race, which has occurred since 2005. United PF team members handed out swag to participants, including backpacks, water bottles, towels and more. UPF also sponsored the Kids Run and cheered on the children participating in the race. Planet Fitness^® has been a sponsor of Pat’s Run for several years. This year’s race was the first in-person race they have had since 2019 due to COVID-19 precautions.

United PF Partners has been busy this year with 11 grand opening celebrations in 2022 alone! The 11 new locations include Yuma, Arizona; Sedalia, Missouri; South Point, Ohio; Beaumont, Texas; Norman, Oklahoma; Gilbert, Arizona; Glendale, Arizona; Kansas City, Missouri; Germantown, Tennessee; Jacksonville, Arkansas; and Phoenix, Arizona. The growth does not stop there! United PF plans on opening 10 more clubs before the end of the year.

With each grand opening, the franchisee group gave swag bags to the first 100 members and raffles. The items included backpacks, water bottles, towels and more. The raffle prizes included a Black Card Membership, corn hole game and Planet Fitness^®-branded cooler.

Additionally, with all the grand openings, the group donated to local charities and organizations as a way to give back to the community. United PF donated around $5,000 for each grand opening. The charities included the Yuma Proving Ground in Yuma, Arizona; the Boys and Girls Club of Western Missouri; NECCO; Boys and Girls Club of Beaumont; Boys and Girls Club of Norman, Oklahoma; Boys and Girls Club of the Valley in Gilbert, Arizona; Boys and Girls Club of Greater Kansas City, Missouri; Boys and Girls Club of Greater Memphis; Jacksonville Friends of the Animals; and Boys and Girls Club of the Valley. All the organizations were very thankful for the donations.

“We have 27 clubs in the greater Phoenix area, and we love this whole community. We also consider our clubs to be a safe and special place for our members, and we don’t exist without our community partners. We just can’t thank you enough,” said Jill Johnson of the Boys and Girls Club of the Valley.