Health & Fitness Association Strengthens Relationships in the U.S. Capital with Latest Fly-In and Advocacy Summit

Four years after being hired to lead the Health & Fitness Association, President & CEO Liz Clark has shown that she understands the value of relationships.

During her 10 years as a lobbyist for the National Confectioners Association (NCA) prior to joining Health & Fitness, Clark directed the Candy PAC and was a chief liaison and strategist with the White House, Congress, and government agencies, all of which helped her hone her relationship skills and likely helped get the NCA deemed “essential” during the COVID pandemic.

At Health & Fitness, she has built a team that shares her view about relationships. That team just completed the latest HFA Fly-In and Advocacy Summit May 7-8 in Washington, DC, during which 120 industry leaders held 130 meetings with members of Congress or their staff to push for sponsorship of the Personal Health Investment Today (PHIT) Act.

The PHIT Act currently has 76 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives and 18 in the Senate. It would allow Americans with flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and health savings accounts (HSAs) to use up to $1,000 for single people and $2,000 for couples to pay for memberships to fitness facilities, fitness equipment, and youth sports leagues.

Participants also advocated for the Cardiac Arrest Survival Act and an industry initiative to help the armed services stay healthy, promoting soldier readiness and retention through community-based fitness initiatives.

“One of the biggest reasons for the fly-in is to develop long-term relationships between our association and legislators and between our member facilities and their legislators,” Clark said. “We hope that this is the start of many fruitful relationships for our members. What’s amazing is that after our fourth fly-in to Capitol Hill, policymakers and their staff remember us, and they’re excited to see us again next year.”

Leaders from multiple health clubs and studios attended the event, including executives from 24 Hour Fitness, acac Health & Fitness, Chelsea Piers, East Bank Club, Fitness Formula Clubs, Genesis Health Clubs, LA Fitness, Life Time, Longevity Club, Orangetheory Fitness, Planet Fitness, SolidCore, Wisconsin Athletic Club, VIDA Fitness (who also was a sponsor), and YouFit.

Sponsoring suppliers also participated in the meetings, including ABC Fitness, Alta Technology Group, ClubConnect, Daxko, DX Factor, EGym, Fit On Health, Junk Headbands, Matrix, Myzone, NASM/AFAA, Precor, ROR Partners, Studio Grow, Technogym, Tivity Health, Wellhub (formerly Gympass), WellnessSpace Brands (formerly Hydromassage), and Wexer.

The fly-in had twice the number of participants this year compared to last May, and Clark looks to double participation again in 2025 when the HFA will host the Fly-In and Advocacy Summit May 6-7, 2025.

Some of the credit for the growth in participation stems from opening the fly-in to individuals who are not members of Health & Fitness.

“We wanted as many people to be a part of this event as possible so we could activate more people and reach more policymakers, so we decided not to keep this amazing experience just to our members, and that turned out to be a great decision,” said Vice President of Government Affairs Mike Goscinski, who organized the event. “We were blown away by how many people took time out of their busy schedules to be there and share their stories. This industry is filled with strong leaders, and I’m happy to give them an event to introduce them to their legislators and let their voices be heard.”

The first day of the Advocacy Summit was a day of education at the National Union Building where speakers presented information related to the economic impact of the industry on the U.S. economy, obesity rates, mental and physical health issues for children, and more.

Clark credits the quality of the education programming and the feat of dividing 120 people into 15 groups to meet with 130 Congressional offices to Goscinski, who was assisted by Manager of Government Affairs Charles Regnante and PAC Treasurer Tom Richards.

“Mike is an organized powerhouse,” Clark said. “He and his team put together a top-notch day of education that helped to allay fears anyone may have had about the meetings the next day.”

For additional networking opportunities, the event included a reception at Nationals Park on May 7, sponsored by ABC Fitness, Studio Grow, and Technogym, followed by the baseball game between the Washington Nationals and the Baltimore Orioles with tickets sponsored by ABC Fitness.

About 30 participants woke up the next morning for a 6:30 a.m. workout at a park near the capitol building. Led by Michaela Brown, general manager of VIDA Fitness & Aura Spa - Logan Circle, the workout was sponsored by Myzone, VIDA Fitness, and the Physical Activity Alliance. The workout was part of the Congressional Physical Activity Challenge put on each year by Myzone and the Physical Activity Alliance to promote physical activity to members of Congress and their staff. Rep. William Timmons (R-SC) participated in the workout with the group.

Clark urged everyone to save the date for the May 6-7, 2025, fly-in.