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Matt Fyffe Center Director

The Wellness Council would like to thank Matt Fyffe, Center Manager, who conducted the tour of his facility on February 10, 2004. Matt graduated from Bowling Green State University in health promotion and has been at Sherwin Williams Fitness Center for the past ten years.

Hours and staffing: The Center is staffed by two part time and two full time employees. The Center is operational from 6 am to 7 pm Monday through Friday.

History: The Center opened in October of 1987. Then CEO, Jack Breen, personally supported fitness and wanted to establish a place for his employees. The Center has evolved from a place with a few bikes and self-propelled treadmills to what today is a state of the art facility. The Center recently underwent a remodeling project in May of 2001 to update the look and function of the facility. At that time all new equipment was provided which expanded programming and class offerings. Sherwin Williams also operates a near-by outdoor exercise facility, just behind Terminal Tower near the river. Tennis, basketball, v-ball and an outside jogging track. The Center currently services 600 members, up 5% from last year, and 15% from 2 years ago.

Philosophy: Sherwin Williams strives to provide a safe and welcoming environment for people to improve and enhance their wellness. The center also provided a resource for people looking for advice or support regarding their wellness needs.

Physical description: The Center has 10,000 square feet of space divided into the main exercise floor, an aerobics room, locker rooms with showers and saunas, testing lab, resource library and laundry room. (Click here to see photo gallery)

Services and classes: To become a member, employees fill out a HBI (HRA derivation). Members are evaluated (resting HR/BP, ht./wt., body comp, submax bike test, strength/flex) and follow up with a consultation. The members pay a nominal fee deducted from their paycheck and the fee includes all services. The Center offers laundry service (towels and clothes), exercise classes (from step and kickboxing to yoga and Pilates), personal training, organize charitable events (walks, runs, United Way, H4H, etc.), golf, tennis, volleyball and basketball leagues, organize CPR classes, flu shots, incentive programs, and wellness talks (both by staff and EAP).

Popular programs/services: The best promotions of the last year have been the Holiday Challenge and Fitness 101 class. The challenge is offer through the holidays as a program to maintain weight. Fitness 101 is a program to reach out to less active employees. The most popular pieces of equipment are our treadmills and ellipticals. A successful Center management idea has been to strive to reach the inactives and non members through added programs and more individualized attention.

Management Expectations: The Center reports monthly to management  showing participation growth and periodical review of ROI. Last summer the center employed a Harvard University Intern to review return on investment. The study reported a favorable ROI to management.

Member Expectations: According to Matt ,"Members want a clean, functioning facility that is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with no one on their piece of equipment. They also want to lose 10 lbs and decrease body fat by 5% in a single workout, just like everyone else in the world! Seriously, I think that our members want a place that offers a wide variety of exercise options for every skill level/age/gender, and the support in place to answer their questions, provide guidance, and feel welcome when they walk in the door."

Future plans: The Center is newly charged with the responsibility to take wellness ideas to the whole company. Sherwin Williams has over 20,000 employees spread out across the globe. The Center is developing a plan to serve them. The Center also wants to grow their member base and increase the retention rate while improving their attendance figures. That is a constant.  The staff often reviews current and future member demographics to focus in on their target population and find ways to reach them. Surveys are used to find preferences along with, daily interaction with members to collect information to create specific plans to meet their needs.