VCEDA Executive Director/General Counsel Jonathan Belcher, left, presents a ceremonial check representing the $10,000 seed capital matching grant recently awarded to PK Fitness Inc. to Craig Nash, who owns the Anytime Fitness franchise at Claypool Hill with his wife, Angela.
CLAYPOOL HILL, VA — (JANUARY 23, 2020) — “Your goals are our goals. Welcome to your first step.” It may be a motto on a web page, but for PK Fitness Inc. owners Craig and Angela Nash, it’s how they approach operating their Anytime Fitness gym franchise at the Claypool Hill Mall. Helping members to achieve their fitness goals is what it’s all about for PK Fitness Inc., which was recently approved for a $10,000 seed capital matching grant from the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA).
The gym is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, making it easy for fitness enthusiasts to choose a time to work out that best fits their own individual schedules. Fitness consultation, personal workouts and team training are offered.
“The PK Fitness Inc. project fit very well into our seed capital matching grant program,” said VCEDA Executive Director/General Counsel Jonathan Belcher. “It created jobs and adds to the quality of life in the region which is a factor in attracting additional jobs to the region.”
The new fitness center, which opened in May 2019, is located in a recently remodeled 7,000-square-foot space within the mall at Claypool Hill, next to Belk and just a few steps away from Subway. Currently, Craig Nash said the gym has approximately 600 members. Memberships are $40 per month and include a free fitness consultation, as well as global access to more than 4,000 gyms since gym members at Claypool Hill have reciprocal gym membership privileges at any Anytime Fitness location.
“The beauty of that for those who travel for business or other reasons, is they can still maintain their gym routines at other Anytime Fitness locations,” Nash said.
Gym members at the Claypool Hill facility are primarily from the Richlands, Cedar Bluff, Honaker, Lebanon, Oakwood, Raven and Pounding Mill areas.
In addition to offering traditional exercise equipment options from treadmills to bikes, barbells to strengthening equipment, one added feature is a virtual training room where gym members can use technology to take a class, or participate in any number of popular online exercise programs.
“We plan to use our VCEDA grant to purchase additional exercise equipment,” Nash said, noting there are still some additional pieces of equipment the gym is making plans to purchase in the future.
Nash noted the business currently has two full-time and four part-time employees with plans to have five full-time and five part-time employees within five years. The gym is staffed from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Thursday; from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays; and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. It is open around the clock for gym members, who have access keys to the facility provided at the time they become members.
The Nash’s worked with Margie Douglass, director of the Small Business Development Center at Southwest Virginia Community College, in developing their application to VCEDA for funding.
“Margie was of great assistance to us,” Nash said.
For more information about the gym, interested persons may call 276-598-4708 or visit the Anytime Fitness website at https://www.anytimefitness.com/gyms/4836/cedar-bluff-va-24609/ or its Facebook page.
About Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority and Southwest Virginia’s e-Region: The Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority, created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1988 to enhance and diversify the region’s economy and help create jobs, markets Southwest Virginia’s e-Region and its focus on electronic information technology, energy, education, emerging technologies, and entrepreneurship. VCEDA is a unique economic development organization that manages funds for economic development projects from a percentage of the coal and natural gas severance taxes paid by coal and natural gas companies that operate in the region. Located in southwestern Virginia, the region includes Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Tazewell, and Wise counties and the City of Norton. www.vceda.us or www.e-Region.org.
About the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority Seed Capital Matching Grant Fund: VCEDA region for-profit businesses one year and under with less than 10 full-time employees are eligible to apply for dollar-for-dollar matching grants up to $10,000 from the VCEDA Seed Capital Matching Fund. Applicants work with the Small Business Development Centers at Mountain Empire and Southwest Virginia community colleges to prepare the applications to VCEDA that include detailed business and financial plans. Businesses must be located in or plan to operate in the VCEDA region in southwestern Virginia that includes Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Tazewell, and Wise counties and the City of Norton.