Asli Basegmez, left, Dean Vaughn and Amanda Gutierrez with Gym Lou's pose for a portrait Friday. The gym received a 600,000 federal grant to help create jobs in the fitness industry. (Jon Austria — The Daily Times)
For more information on Gym Lou s Train 10 fitness certification training and incubation program, call 505-592-3845. Anyone 18 years or older who is interested in working in the fitness field is encouraged to submit an application.
FARMINGTON — A Farmington gym has received a substantial federal grant that it hopes to use to stimulate jobs and businesses in the fitness industry.
The $600,000 grants comes from the Department of Health and Human Services' Community and Economic Development program.
Gym Lou's 24-hour fitness center, located at 416 W. Broadway St., is a nonprofit operated by Capacity Builders, Inc., or CBI, which applied for the grant. Within the next few months, Gym Lou's plans to use the money to train 10 former student athletes a year with the eventual goal of turning them into small business owners who can then expand fitness businesses throughout the region.
Deborah Montgomery, founder and vice president of CBI, said she originally started the gym for her own personal use. But as cost of running the gym became prohibitive, she decided about a year ago to donate it to CBI to use as a nonprofit gym.
Profits from the gym go back to CBI, a Four Corners-based economic development agency whose mission is to create jobs and innovative economic development opportunities for Native Americans and disenfranchised residents. The organization also works to prevent teen pregnancy and drug abuse through education and outreach.
"This is one of the only nonprofit gyms in the state, and every dollar from the gym goes back into teen pregnancy and drug prevention programs," Montgomery said.
Gym Lou's has started searching for high school graduates interested in going into the fitness field. Students accepted into the program, which is called "Train 10," will receive six months of training to receive their certified personal trainer licenses, and they will also receive training in how to run a fitness business.
Their trainer exam fee will be covered, and they will receive an apprenticeship salary. At the end of the training session, the hope is that graduates will start their own businesses in areas that are underserved by the fitness industry, such as the Navajo Nation.
"By then, the students will have built up their own clientele and can begin to do fitness training in other areas," said Montgomery, adding that during the training session, apprentices will provide free fitness training to Gym Lou's clients.
A portion of the federal grant will also cover Gym Lou's expansion from 3,300 square feet to 6,500 square feet.
The gym's manager, Asli Basegmez, will serve as coordinator of the grant funds. Basegmez said before applying for the grant, she and other CBI representatives visited chapter houses on the reservation, as well as other low-income areas, to talk to students who may not go to college but are interested in fitness.
"Each year, we will train the 10 students and will teach them business, accounting and how to survive in this economy," Basegmez said. "Afterward, we will also help them take their businesses out to places like the reservation. We've been getting really good feedback on the program."
The gym can reapply for the grant every three years, and Basegmez hopes the program will be successful enough at stimulating jobs in the fitness industry that it will be continued.
Judy Castleberry is director of San Juan College's Enterprise Center, which is a certified business incubation center that helps small businesses get started. Castleberry said she has not spoken with CBI or Gym Lou's about their fitness business incubation plans, but she hopes that they and others will tap into the knowledge and expertise of other existing economic development groups.
"I would love to work with anyone who wants to help develop business in this area," Castleberry said. "There are many resources here in the community for economic development, and I would encourage them to reach out for those resources."
Leigh Black Irvin covers health for The Daily Times. She can be reached at 505-564-4610 and lirvin@daily-times.com[1] Follow her @irvindailytimes[2] on Twitter.
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