Sometimes, it just takes a little elbow grease.
At Bellingham Training and Tennis Club in Fairhaven, owner Robin Robertson sat down with WhatcomTalk during the annual Club Scrub, a staff-wide collaboration to cleanse the entire facility top to bottom.
The Scrub
“We bought the club in 2000 and it was probably 2002 or 2003 that we started having a closed day or two that we could get to things we typically couldn’t do when the club was open,” Robin says. “Then, it grew into an annual event because it was so much fun. It’s the only time that we can be together to get in an all-staff meeting.”
This meeting kicks off the event and serves as an opportunity for staff to connect with and meet one another. “We give a little ‘state of the club’ talk to let everyone know what we’re working on, too,” says Robin. “This year, our big project is to clean and reseal our 50,000 square foot metal roof, and then we’re putting solar panels up. We also let people know what we’re heading toward in the next few years and what we’re trying to achieve. Then, at the end of the Club Scrub, we have a staff party.”
During the process, to-do lists and cleaning goals are reviewed while new projects and ideas are discussed. Then, hours are spent updating, polishing, and revamping areas around the club. “Some of them are the same things we do every year like painting, touch up, deep cleaning under and around all the equipment, getting into the corners, and specialty projects based on whatever might be happening this year,” says Robin. “It’s a great opportunity for staff to bond.”
The Value of Clean
Manager of Guest Services and Events Michelle Fry was impressed with the dedication and teamwork she witnessed after joining the BTTC family. “I think my first impression was how the owners were involved, how much they cared about the club, and how all the team members were in it as if they owned the club,” Michelle says. “I’ve always felt, from the minute I started, how much it felt like a team and how much we all cared. It’s our club, and we take pride in how it looks.”
That pride in their work is something owner Robin fosters every day, but especially during Club Scrub. “From a business perspective, it’s an expensive couple of days because all the staff are all on and we’re doing all the odd jobs,” Robin says. “Could we hire other people to do it? Of course we could, but we find the value is in the connections our team makes with each other. The more they like and know each other, the more they will be there to support each other.”
Special Projects
The Scrub is a flurry of activity, with staff members bustling throughout the club, deep cleaning every corner, high and low. This year, Robin helped facilitate a shuffling of equipment to restructure their zone fitness area as one of the special projects, allowing for ‘pods’ instead of polarized ends with cardio equipment on one side and weights on the other.
“At each station there’s a bench, the weight rack, a bike, a rower, the aerobics steps, and a hex bar with a plate loaded,” says Robin. “This is so we can have two or three people at each station with enough space left around.”
Projects like rearranging the fitness zone area are essential to keep the club as current as possible while also helping create an atmosphere encouraging progression. The tenacity of the staff to rid the club of every last speck of dirt, update and freshen every inch of space, and have a rollicking good time doing so is truly the result of the strong foundational values Robin and her management team infuse into the club every single day.
Ride Coast 2 Coast
Robin is no stranger to achieving goals, taking her Club Scrub week a step further this year. The day after the event concluded, Robin and her husband, Doug, left for the last leg of their coast-to-coast cycling journey that has spanned the past four years.
“One of my bucket lists was to ride my bicycle, self-powered, from the Pacific Coast to the Atlantic Coast,” she says. “When my husband retired from his law career and switched to teaching, he then had summers off. We are going to Louisville, Kentucky for our last leg of the ride. We’ll go from Louisville to Yorktown, Virginia to finish it.”
In conjunction with their ride, the Robertsons are also raising funds for three charities on a local, national, and international level. “We’re hoping to raise $10,000 for the Whatcom Community Foundation, the Arthritis Foundation, and the World Bicycle Relief Fund, which helps get bicycles into the hands of women, healthcare workers, and entrepreneurs in a variety of countries in Africa,” Robin says. “I know everything will run well without me here and I am so proud to say that.”
It’s rare to find a business successful in bringing their entire staff together to complete a monumental task with amazing work ethic and warm camaraderie. Not to mention, they have a sparklingly spotless tennis and fitness facility to welcome their members back to.
To find out more about the Robertsons’ ride across the country and help donate to their cause, visit www.healthykneescoach.com/ride-c2c.
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