Club Insider

Norm's Notes for December 2025

By: Norm Cates

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Norm CatesNorm Cates

■Hello Everybody! This is your Club Insider Founder and Tribal Leader Since 1993 checking in with our 384th monthly edition of this 30+ year running club business publication I refer to as: A Labor of Love! I'm very thankful that you've tuned in again for this iteration of Norm's Notes, as I proceed on my keyboard with my longtime habit of "Telling-It-Like-It-Is!" I'm really happy that you're reading this edition, and I want to THANK YOU ALL for sticking with us every month! As usual, we have a bunch of health and fitness club business news, so please read on!

■Is AMERICA a GREAT COUNTRY, or WHAT!? Hmm... hmm... hmm! And, as usual, let me start these Norm's Notes with my normal monthly salutation to you all: GOD BLESS AMERICA and GOD BLESS YOU, YOUR FAMILY and YOUR BUSINESS!!!

■From our family to yours, we want to wish you a very Merry Christmas (or Hanukah, Kwanzaa or other) and a Happy, Healthy New Year!

■Closing out this year's Norm's Notes, I can't help but to think of my friend of 50+ years that we lost: "UNCLE RICK" CARO. As I write this, today is December 15, 2025. Going back in time today, I recall my comments from 14 years ago on the occasion of Rick 65th birthday when I wrote: All the Reasons We Love Rick...

When, Mrs. Rick Caro, SUE DENISON, informed me that she was putting together a 65th Birthday Party for Rick, and she wanted us to write comments on all the reasons we love Rick, I immediately thought to myself... Geez Sue, I don't have a whole year to spare right now... Even though I do somehow make my living as a wordsmith, I find this writing assignment to be a truly big challenge. It's a big challenge because:

  1. 1. Words cannot express the caring and respect that I, and everybody I know of who knows Rick, have for the man.
  2. 2. Beyond words, the caring and respect that I, and everybody I know of who knows Rick, have for him, would be better expressed in person with lots of pats on the back and hugs. However, I'm on deadline right now for our 202nd monthly edition of Club Insider, and unfortunately, I cannot physically be with Uncle Rick (as my son, Justin, and I call him) and his lovely wife, Sue, for this wonderful and special 65th Birthday Celebration.
  3. 3. "Mad Cow" is slowly creeping into my noggin, and there's no way I can possibly remember all I should remember about the wonderful experience of 30+ years of friendship and working with the one and only Rick Caro. Not long ago, one day when I was looking at the current leadership in the United States of America, I came to a conclusion. I concluded that America could do much better. Then, after a little more thought, I concluded that our industry, the health, racquet and sportsclub industry, could come up with a much better candidate to be President of the United States. His name is Rick Caro. I'm sure Rick, and his lovely Wife, Sue, will pooh-pooh my idea... forthwith. However, this is my idea, and I'm sticking to it! RICK CARO for President of The United States of America!

Consider some of the man's many attributes. Here are ten for starters... all reasons we love Rick and all reasons RICK CARO would make a great President of the United States:

  1. 1. Rick is humble...!
  2. 2. Rick is smart...!
  3. 3. Rick is a realist with clear vision...!
  4. 4. Rick is a leader...!
  5. 5. Rick is not a narcissist...!
  6. 6. Rick has friends who are Republicans, Democrats and Independents...!
  7. 7. Rick is a forward thinker...!
  8. 8. Rick is a gifted public speaker, even without a teleprompter...!
  9. 9. Rick can be trusted to tell the truth when he speaks...!
  10. 10. Rick knows when to talk and when not to...!

I say: HEAR, HEAR! RICK CARO for President!

Folks, thank you for letting me to take a moment to reminisce about fun times like this with my dear friend Rick Caro. May he always Rest In Peace.

■In case you missed them, here are some of the news items we covered in our Club Insider Weekly Editions:

  • Planet Fitness, one of the largest and fastest-growing franchisors and operators of fitness centers with more members than any other fitness brand, announces it will return for the eleventh consecutive year as the presenting sponsor of the Times Square's New Year's Eve celebration, in partnership with the Times Square Alliance and One Times Square.
  • PureGym Limited ("PureGym" or "The PureGym Group") is launching across New York and New Jersey, most of which will open with true 24/7 access, with the remaining locations set to follow in the coming months. Formerly Blink Fitness, each gym has been upgraded and rebranded to reflect PureGym's fitness model: premium gym equipment at an affordable price.
  • Equinox, an authority in high-performance luxury lifestyle, is expanding its partnership with Function, the health platform offering access to 160+ advanced lab tests and imaging powered by FDA-cleared AI. This next phase brings comprehensive testing directly into the high-performance experience, empowering members to connect their workouts to their inner health like never before.
  • Life Fitness / Hammer Strength introduces SYNRGY, a training system designed to adapt to any fitness environment. With unmatched configurability and versatility, SYNRGY empowers facility operators to create dynamic, space-efficient training zones that meet the needs of every kind of exerciser.
  • Mindbody, a leading experience technology platform for the fitness, wellness and beauty industries, announces a strategic commercial partnership with Attentive, the AI marketing platform for 1:1 personalization trusted by leading global brands.
  • The USTA Foundation announces it has received a $2.7 million grant from the Chess Foundation that will help it expand its reach and impact in under-resourced communities nationwide.

■On December 18, 2025, I had the distinct pleasure of attending a special reunion luncheon arranged by some of my former U.S. Air Force Reserve friends. The reunion turned out to be very enjoyable. I attended with SCOTT MURRAY, a long-time friend of mine who's also a retired Delta Air Lines Captain. Years ago, Scott and I served together as Air Force Reserve Pilots at Dobbins Air Force Base in Marietta, Georgia. Thanks SCOTTIE BOY!

■JUSTIN and I want to THANK YOU for reading Club Insider! We appreciate you being with us. And, in particular, WE VERY SINCERELY APPRECIATE ANY and ALL SUPPORT OF OUR ESTEEMED Club Insider ADVERTISERS! PLEASE DO BUSINESS WITH THEM and WHEN YOU DO, PLEASE TELL 'EM Club Insider SENT YOU! THANK YOU ALL!

■God bless our troops, airmen and sailors worldwide and keep them safe. Thank you, Congratulations and Welcome Home to all of our troops who have served around the world. God bless America's Policemen and women and Firemen and women; keep them safe. Finally, God bless you, your family, your club(s) and your members. God Bless America! Laus Deo!

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