Center Parcs Training Convention - WOW!

It’s a while since I blogged. Since we came back from our holiday two weeks ago my feet don’t seemed to have touched the ground. It’s been totally manic – but as always, tremendous fun!

Last weekend was no exception. It was our annual Training Convention at Center Parcs and no less than 200 of our wonderful franchisees and their employees/instructors attended. It really is the most extraordinary sight! Two hundred super-fit women all exercising together, learning different choreography from a variety of presenters – some from our organisation and some from outside – and they absolutely loved it. Smiling faces, laughing out-loud, sweat dripping down their backs...it was positively buzzing!

We have an extraordinary Training Team who put together the exciting programme of events, but what struck me so strongly was the sheer talent of our franchisees and their instructors. The energy they have, the ability to learn sometimes quite complicated routines almost instantly is amazing. I just looked on in total admiration and pride that we have such brilliant teachers representing our organisation. No wonder the members love them so much.

The Center Parcs event is the one occasion during the year that I have the opportunity to meet the instructors who work for our franchisees. Some have lost an incredible amount of weight and have been recruited from the classes. There were three Slimmers of the Year who have either become franchisees or employees. Others were eagerly sharing their stories with me of their members who have lost 2/3/4/5 stone already on the Amazing Inch Loss Plan diet. Photographs were being pulled out of kit bags, books were being passed to me to sign for special members. It was all lovely.

I know all our girls are special. They care so much about their members and when I was shown a book that had been compiled and produced by a member of franchisee Jo Beardsmore-Dilks I was really touched. The book was incredible. It was the quality of any glossy book you’d buy in Waterstones. The members had gone to the trouble to write their personal messages of gratitude, have their individual photographs taken, to show their appreciation to Jo and to commemorate her birthday as a franchisee. Not her 10th or 15th anniversary, but her 2nd. In the two years since Jo started her business, she has made such an impression that her members wanted to recognise her efforts and support. Wonderful!

As I looked on, smiling continuously, at our teachers exercising in the style of Bollywood to Zumba, I felt an immense sense of pride. I felt like a mother hen looking over her flock. They do a fantastic job, along with our staff who keep the wheels of our company turning and the Center Parcs weekend operating like clockwork. The icing on the cake was the staff performing a stunning and enormous fun World Cup spoof routine as a grand finale. Everybody had a fabulous time and today it’s back to normality, which, for most of our franchisees, that’s running an average of eleven diet and fitness classes every week. No wonder they’re fit!