World Gym International Celebrates 40 Years of Seriously Fun Fitness at 2016 Las Vegas Convention
Posted: October 28, 2016 in Chains
World Gym
LOS ANGELES, CA – World Gym International, the iconic global brand for bodybuilding and seriously fun fitness, capped off the year-long celebration of its 40th Anniversary at the 2016 World Gym International Convention in Las Vegas, held September 11 – 14, 2016. The annual gathering was held at the Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, with more than 225 attendees from 13 countries coming together to celebrate all things World Gym, including the 21 new gyms opened this year.
“Every year, we think it is important to bring our franchisees, corporate team, vendors and partners together to find new ways to make our businesses stronger,” said Guy Cammilleri, Managing Director of World Gym. “As a company, World Gym has 40 years of experience leading the fitness industry. When the entire World Gym family comes together, we have hundreds of years of collective experience to share. The World Gym Convention feels like a family gathering where we all support each other and help our franchisees achieve success.”
The event kicked off with an opening session presented by Gold Sponsor, Matrix Fitness. The opening session highlighted the 40th Anniversary celebrations held around the world and a year of continued growth with World Gym expanding from 210 to 223 net total gyms in 19 countries and territories. Since the last convention, World Gym has added new gyms and conversions in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, Mexico, Taiwan and the United States.
Following the opening session, guests attended a welcome reception presented by Silver Sponsor, Twin Oaks, which also marked the opening of the trade show. At the trade show, World Gym owners were able to meet with nearly 40 different vendors highlighting their latest equipment, apparel and services.
Franchisees also had a chance to participate in different education sessions hosted by Gold Sponsor Life Fitness, including topics such as using social media to drive sales, finding and financing new locations, increasing personal training profits, how to approach corporate membership sales, overall industry trends and a tutorial on the new website and app launched by World Gym earlier this year.
Also included was a keynote session presented by Platinum Sponsor, Precor. The presentation titled, Client Retention: Age Old Problem, Brand New Solutions, was led by Tara Sampson, who showed how to apply best practices from a variety of different customer service industries to ensure member satisfaction at gyms.
The World Gym Convention is also the time of year when franchisees hold elections for the Franchisee Advisory Council (FAC), a group of franchisees from around the world that meet throughout the year to enhance and promote franchise system for the mutual benefit of World Gym International and all of the current and prospective franchisees around the globe. The FAC has helped to keep open lines of communication and ensure that individual franchisees are supported to help their businesses grow. Each year, two new members are elected to the FAC, followed by an election of officers. Coming out of the 2016 convention, the FAC consists of:
- Mike Nysten, President, World Gym Australia;
- Joe Talmadge, Vice President, San Francisco;
- Greg Tayman, Secretary, Glen Burnie;
- Wes Hodgson, Member at Large, Canada;
- Lee Roberts, Member at Large, Fulton;
- Jon Davie, Member at Large, Australia;
- John Caraccio, Member at Large, Taiwan;
- Michael Sanciprian, Member at Large, Taiwan;
- Pam Trader, Member at Large, Millsboro;
- Steve Trader, Member at Large, Millsboro.
The FAC also hosts two events during the convention, including a reception for all World Gym franchisees, made possible by Gold Sponsor, ABC Financial, and a breakfast for FAC members to discuss upcoming business, provide feedback from franchisees for World Gym International and elect new officers.
The event culminated with the annual Awards Gala, where different leaders and gym owners are recognized for their achievements. The awards were presented by Gold Sponsor, Freemotion, and it included a spin bike giveway from Precor. The winners were:
- Best Social Media Marketing – World Gym Taiwan;
- Best Public Relations Campaign – Mexico;
- Best Charitable Initiative – Kansas City, KS;
- Best Overall Marketing – Australia;
- Best Rebranding – USA – Merriam, KS;
- Best Rebranding – International – Tweed Heads, Australia;
- Best Gym Design & Branding – USA – Texas City, TX;
- Most Improved Gym – Ashmore, Australia;
- Best New Gym – USA – Oxnard, CA;
- Best New Gym – Canada – Niagara Falls, Canada;
- Best New Gym – International – Heliopolis, Egypt;
- Best American – Pacific Beach, CA;
- Best Australian Gym – Burleigh, QLD;
- Best Canadian Gym – Rosemere, Canada;
- Best Russian Gym – Sterlitamak, Russia;
- Best Taiwanese Gym – Taichung Chongde, Taiwan;
- Vendor of the Year – Muscle Up Marketing;
- Most Inspirational Member – Frankie Timmons, World Gym Millsboro, DE;
- Longevity Award – World Gym Westchester, OH;
- World Gym Visionary – John Caraccio and Michael Sanciprian;
- Franchisee of the Year – World Gym Quebec, Canada;
Also at the awards banquet, World Gym unveiled its 2016-17 Brand Ambassadors: Joshua Petrecky, from World Gym Fayetteville in North Carolina, and Geneviève Dubé Carpenter, from World Gym Hamilton in Ontario, Canada. The second annual ambassador search has been an engaging social media and marketing campaign that received thousands of entries from around the globe. As the new ambassadors, Geneviève and Josh will star in a series of videos for World Gym.
World Gym will gather again September 6 – 9 next year for the 2017 convention. More information will be available at www.worldgym.com/convention.
For more information on World Gym International, please visit www.worldgym.com.
