IHRSA 2019 Thoughts From Dori Nugent

2019 Educational Highlight of IHRSA

98…99…100 educational sessions were held this year at the 2019 IHRSA convention in San Diego, California; the MECA of fitness education! No other fitness event provides the opportunity to learn from the “Best of the Best.” With this year being my 5th year attending IHRSA, I challenged myself to open my mind and breath in as many new ideas as I possibly could inhale. Challenge Accepted! And here are a two of my favorites:

Presenter Craig Weber, from the REX Roundtable event at the San Diego Zoo, offered up his tips and pointers from his latest book Conversational Capacity on how to successfully build a cohesive team, effective communication within your team and the importance of building healthy relationships in the workplace. His information was so intriguing that I pulled out my phone, clicked on the yellow “Notes” app and begin typing bullet point after bullet point; information that I deemed super impactful and worthy of remembering once his presentation was over!

Many thanks to Scott Gillespie, from Saco Fitness in Maine, for providing me with so many “ah-ha” moments in his presentation that I looked more like a tourist, than an attended of an educational session, by taking so many pictures of his of his slide presentation. Needless to say, I sat on the edge of my seat soaking in every minute from his topic Next Generation Sales. His futurist approach of “selling memberships” made me think twice about the way I run my sales department.

 

3 Golden Nuggets that I am leaving with

• 5,4,3,2,…1- That’s how many seconds I have to act on a goal, or my mind will kill it; according to Mel Robbins. A new habit that I will definitely be implementing!
• Think FORWARD! The fitness industry is changing faster than ever! Technology and the Millennial Generation are pushing fitness clubs and fitness professionals to step up their game and stay progressive. The future depends on what you do today!
• As a fitness community, we can make a DIFFERENCE in finding a cure for ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). The industry needs to work together to provide opportunities to raise money for continued research! #augiesquest #als

 

Why should someone attend IHRSA 2020

In the movie The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and her 3 friends set out on a journey to find the “Land of Oz” in hopes that they can find what they are looking for: a heart, courage, a brain and Dorothy, of course, wants to find “home.” I find myself comparing IHRSA to the Land of OZ.

As I follow the “yellow brick road,” from the East Coast to the West Coast, I close my eyes in wonder and excitement. What will I find at IHRSA 2019?

After 5 amazing days, the question has been answered:

IHRSA, once again, gives my heart love and passion for this industry! My heart is overwhelmed and overflowing with gratitude not only for my profession, but for my colleagues, and my club.

IHRSA gives me courage to try new things, be open minded and most importantly to embrace personal growth.

IHRSA fills my brain with new ideas, new knowledge and just as importantly new industry friends. The amount of knowledge that I walk away with, from the convention, is incomparable to any webinar, magazine article or podcast. Not that those tools don’t fill my brain with knowledge, but IHRSA is different ~ it’s inspiring!

And lastly, IHRSA’s embrace gives me the excitement and the rejuvenation that drives me to want to go home and to start making a positive impact on my co-workers and the members of my club!

I am forever grateful to IHRSA and all of those who work hard to provide such an amazing experience. I strongly encourage everyone to visit the “Land of Oz.” I promise you…you won’t be disappointed!