Company Profile
Club Northwest
Company Overview
At Club Northwest our highest mission is our member's and guest's experience of wellness here now. We are committed to the highest standard in servicing our members. We accomplish this by providing a work environment that provides opportunities for employees to master their craft, find their purpose by being part of something bigger then themselves, and to develop autonomy by finding their voice within the larger purpose. With 12 departments providing a variety of services to over 9,000 members, we are active, engaged and happy to serve the greatest members in the world.
Company History
In November of 1991, Scott Draper bought a small athletic club operating out of a leased church building in downtown Grants Pass; the name was Parkway Athletic Club. With 400 members, old equipment, financials in the red, and a reputation as a primarily racquetball facility, the sale price was $87,500. Scott's goal for the company was "to be different." Not knowing what normal was in the fitness industry, this seemed to Scott to be an attainable goal.
By 1995, Parkway Athletic Club had grown to over 2,000 members through lots of hours and hard, yet rewarding, work by Scott, his family and a contingency of believers. Members enjoyed not only the remodeled original facility, but the additional amenities of Parkway Athletic Club WEST, located just six blocks away in a building that had been scheduled for demolition. After refurbishing, the amenities of PACWEST included Kids' Gym, offering fun and self-esteem building classes for children of all ages in gymnastics, creative movement and KidFit. Scott and the Team literally built Kids' Gym, as was the case with most early expansions.
In 1996, Scott took on eight silently supportive partners who purchased 25% of the business, injecting $500,000 to create Club Oregon, LLC, with the goal of purchasing and remodeling the 50,000 square foot DuroLast building near I-5 in northwest Grants Pass and converting it to Club Northwest. The plan was to close both Parkway Clubs, and create a private athletic club surrounded by innovative businesses open to the public, the sum of which would offer the best affordable, healthy, and user-friendly fitness, recreation, and entertainment experiences in the world to the people of southern Oregon. Most people thought it was a really bad idea.
Still, six leaders of the soon-to-open club locked themselves in a room for several days to create a mission for this new venture. When they emerged, they agreed that the mission would be "To do whatever it takes to create an environment in which everyone has the greatest chance to succeed." Little did they understand at the time the brevity of this pact and the challenges, disappointments, joys, and lessons that lay ahead.
Now the 100,000 square feet of Club Northwest is home not only to over 8,000 members of The Athletic Club, but to many innovative and award-winning businesses that welcome members and the public alike including the new well guaranteed weight loss center, The Spa at Club Northwest, KidZone, The Juice Co., The Pro Shop, The Book Well and The Gallery, all owned and operated by Club Northwest. The $9 million facility employs over 130 with a payroll of over 15 times that of the original Parkway payroll. In 2006, our offerings expanded outside the Grants Pass area in the form of the new well guaranteed weight loss center in Medford. Ownership continues to invest a substantial portion of the profits back into Club Northwest.
The world's leading authority on premiere athletic clubs, The International Health, Racquet, and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), has called Club Northwest,"...ahead of the curve." In actuality, Club Northwest just may be behind the curve—proudly. In a completely new millennium and in a business world that many times bets on technology before people, Club Northwest is becoming legendary by betting its business on the human spirit.
Club Northwest is at the center of a fitness and wellness revolution – a celebration of healthy living, welcoming people of all ages, wellness and recreation goals. Over time the number of those who believed in the integrity of the mission, and have earnestly applied themselves to it, has expanded. Many are still here, some have moved on but all have furthered the mission. If you ask a staff person to tell you about Club Northwest, the words challenging...rewarding...different are likely to be spoken with passion.
At the very core of Club Northwest is the belief in the value of efficiently, happily, heartily, and selflessly delivering the uncommonly good human experience. We continue to surrender to the understanding, practice and sharing of this wellness. Each day we experience those things that give us a deeper understanding of our original mission. The revolution of wellness that is Club Northwest continues to expand.
Welcome to our history, our present and our future. Welcome to the revolution! What IS possible?
Benefits
Employees receive usage of the club via our monthly All Staff Meetings. All employees are eligible for discounts on products and services.