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Last fall, Evolution Partners’ Cherry Hill, New Jersey, Planet Fitness^® location celebrated its10th anniversary.

“It’s extremely important as it speaks to the hard work and dedication put forth by all employees over the years,” said Jeff Powell, marketing manager with Evolution Partners, which is owned by Rick and Kristine Raimondo. “We are in a highly competitive market, and many gyms have tried to take our members, which has proven unsuccessful. It’s a testament to our commitment to brand loyalty and the raving fans we help create.”

Although the Cherry Hill club has successfully operated for 10 strong years, the journey was not without its share of obstacles. A remodel that recently took place proved to be one such challenge. Throughout the four-month remodel, the club stayed open to the public through inclement weather and partial closures, including locker rooms.

But, regardless of any challenges, Evolution Partners pulled through all while receiving positive feedback.

“We’re honored to serve as one of the longest tenured gyms in this highly competitive market of south Jersey,” said Powell. “Many fitness facilities have come and gone around us, but our Planet Fitness club continues to thrive. Having recently completed a million-dollar renovation, we remain committed to providing members with a state-of-the-art fitness facility and look forward to the next 10 years when we celebrate our 20th anniversary!”

This January, Tristan Enterprises, LLC helped raise 3,300 books for the local Samoset Middle School to donate to a variety of charities.

Samoset Middle School was one of two schools in the state of Massachusetts to be awarded the $1,500 MLK Day Impact School Grant with the objective to support and promote civic engagement.

With the grant, Samoset Middle School decided to hold a book drive and deliver the collection to MOC Head start, Project Apple, the Spanish American Center, Health Alliance Hospital, Medical associated pediatrics, Parent information center, Senior Citizens center, Family Medical and Maternity center, Crocker Elementary school, The Red Raiders lending library, the Student Activity Center and DCF.

“This is the first time that we have partnered up with Samoset Middle School,” said Brett Fronte, assistant manager with Tristan Enterprises, LLC’s Leominster, Massachusetts, Planet Fitness^®, owned by Shane Poirier.

Planet Fitness became involved with the book drive in 2014 through one of their members, Francine Meigs. Meigs is a teacher at Samoset Middle School and was instrumental in applying for the grant. “She’s an incredibly hard-working woman who cares a lot about her family, job, students and community,” said Fronte.

Planet Fitness succeeded in collecting around 500 books at their location. “It certainly caught the eye of a lot of our current members,” said Fronte. “We have a lot of members that are involved with schools, hospitals and other organizations that had benefited from the book deliveries.”

This past year, PFHQ held a nationwide contest to see which locations could sell the most memberships while raising money for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. For the month of October, Sunshine Fitness Management’s Palm Bay, Florida, location was one of the top two sellers in their region, and PFHQ awarded the group $5,000 to donate to its local Boys & Girls Clubs.

Together, all participating clubs raised over $1 million dollars for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, which helped to support the Judgement Free Generation^® program. Since launching the initiative in 2016, Planet Fitness^® has contributed nearly $3 million to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and has awarded $50,000 in scholarships to eligible youth.

“This donation from our esteemed partner, Planet Fitness, allows us to continue to enhance and promote our culture of good character and citizenship, as well as healthy lifestyles,” said Nic Freeman, volunteer resources manager for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida in an interview with the Palm Bay Daily.

On Jan. 17, Sunshine Fitness Management’s Palm Bay, Florida, Planet Fitness presented the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida with a $5,000 check as well as equipment, giveaways and even a pizza party. Four Planet Fitness employees – Sunshine Fitness Management’s Marketing Manager Anthony Roberts Jr., two regional managers Tim Caylor and Jason Lucas; and the Palm Bay, Florida, club manager, Nick Atkins – went to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida and took with them pizza, Capri Suns and cupcakes.

“It was an honor helping out the Boys & Girls Clubs,” said Caylor. “It’s the greatest feeling seeing the kids’ eyes light up when we were donating equipment to them. It was also great that the kids felt comfortable enough with us that they even performed a song that they wrote. It is truly an honor and a privilege to be able to help out the Boys & Girls Clubs, and it creates a special feeling inside that I can’t explain.”

In addition to the pizza party, Sunshine Fitness Management donated a foosball table, a basketball goal, kickballs, basketballs, footballs, four square balls, volleyballs, two equipment bags and scoreboards.

“We are putting to great use all the equipment that was donated to us. In regard to the $5,000 dollars – we have great plans for it! For the past 2-3 weeks we have been doing research on different field trips and activities that we can participate in,” said Angel Montilla, service director for the Boys & Girls Club of Temple Terrace. “Since the majority of our members don’t have the funds necessary to be able to go on field trips during the summer, we are working to use some of the money to help us get the kids to field trips with the hopes of having them or their parents not have to pay for it. We are looking at going to the bowling alley, Zoo, Aquatica, Escape the Room for the teens, Andretti’s, Fun Town, Kennedy Space Center and, hopefully, make either Universal or Fun Spot possible.”

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida hopes to make this coming summer the best one yet. With the equipment Sunshine Fitness Management donated, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida now have more options for outside activities and can host foosball tournaments for the youth.

“Our partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs has been a fulfilling way to reach out to the youth across the country,” said Roberts Jr. in an interview with the Palm Bay Daily. “Instilling anti-bullying principles and attitudes of inclusiveness in the future men and women of our country is a passion Planet Fitness continues to stand behind.”

When Alder Partners franchisee Stan DeMartinis Jr. tasked his newly hired human resources director with help assessing the state of the company, the results were surprising.

“We realized our turnover was far higher than ever imagined, and quickly identified the financial and operational impact this has on our business. Through this reporting, I learned that at any given time over half of our club staff have been there for three months or less,” DeMartinis said. “The good news is this also allowed us to see that, once we hit a management level, our turnover slows down significantly, indicating we are on the right path in supporting development from that level.”

The desire to build up his team and focus on leadership development was capped by the message coming through at the PF Franchise Conference concerning culture and team-building, so DeMartinis turned to Stonewall Solutions. Led by former Division I athlete and Navy SEAL Jason Kuhn, Stonewall Solutions visited Alder Partners’ Riverdale, Georgia, training facility in April for a full day of curriculum with the franchise group’s corporate staff, club managers and assistant managers.

“When I heard Jason’s story, being a Division I athlete and how he was inspired by 9/11 to become a Navy SEAL, I started thinking about myself a little bit, and the principles he was talking about. I felt like I was able to relate because of my background,” said DeMartinis. “I was a two-sport college athlete, and Mike Rymsha, who runs all of my Atlanta clubs, was the quarterback of our college football team. We were not only teammates but also roommates, so when Mike came on board with Alder, we were able to build our company on a foundation of trust and teamwork that goes back 25 years. It’s that mentality that we are constantly trying to flood through our system. I believe that is the most important part of our job as leadership because, when our team operates with that mentality, I am confident our business will continue to elevate indefinitely.” 

For the training with Alder Partners, Kuhn brought The Fundamentals of Winning curriculum to the classroom and followed it up with an outdoor team-building session based on his experience as a Navy SEAL. “Hopefully, we change the lives of a few people. Primarily with the team drills, what we want to do is build trust in each other and understand the common cause to serve and the value in that. We really want them to understand the value in selfless service and trust and how to build it,” Kuhn said. “We are going to go through leadership development at that grassroots level. How do I lead my family? How do I lead in my everyday life? Communication. Mental toughness. Team culture.”

The morning kicked off with breakfast and time in the classroom. After lunch, Alder Partners moved to a local park where the group participated in warm-up drills and activities that focused on supporting and encouraging team members before breaking into groups for a bit of friendly competition, including moving large tires and 200-pound logs as a team.

“We brought a fair amount of intensity to today’s session, and it was responded to really well. It was fun to see,” said Kuhn. “There will be sore bodies tomorrow, but it will be that good kind of sore, that sense of accomplishment.”

Operations Specialist Derrick Jones, a team member with Alder Partners since 2014, said the program with Stonewall Solutions prepared him to increase his role as a team player and leader. “Because I am already a team player, this experience has taught me how to advance as a team player and how to pat my people on the back and tell them they are doing a good job more than I do sometimes,” he said. “It’s about giving the maximum encouragement; sometimes the minimum isn’t enough.”

Working with Kuhn also led DeMartinis to self-reflection. “This experience caused me to reflect on my own leadership and how I can provide stronger influence to bring out the full potential of this team. I need to do a better job praising you, being appreciative of your unwavering support of me and my vision for this company,” he said in an address to his team. “This has been somewhat life-changing to listen to. I can put my own daily experiences into this outline and know I can do better. I encourage each of you to do the same. I know you all are facing similar challenges, day in and day out, on our gym floors. We are going to get better as a team from this day.”