With more

than 80 Fayette Chamber of Commerce members looking on,

Gold's Gym Peachtree City West was named as the county's

small business of the year last week.

In

recognition of the honor, the Chamber's Small Business

Council awarded owner J.D. Holmes a night for two at the

Holiday Inn Express, advertising space from several local

publications, including The Citizen and a large balloon

bouquet from AIG Insurance and Linda Mackey.

Last year's

winner, Uniglobe Accent Travel's Marcia Cole and Small

Business Council Chair Janet McGregor presented the award

to Holmes.

To qualify

for the award, the business must

- Be a

current member of the Chamber.

- Have

been in business for at least three years.

-

Project a positive image and adhere to strict business

ethics.

- Have

50 or fewer employees.

In the

application for the award, Holmes recounted how he bought

the gym, which was then Peachtree City Family Fitness in

1994 and posted his first profit in 1996.

In 1998,

Holmes broke ground on a new 20,000 sq.ft. facility and

moved into the building later that year.

Also in

1998, Holmes purchased $40,000 of new equipment for the

new building to make it a state-of-the-art facility.

Early this

year, Holmes purchased the Gold's Gym license which

allows his members access to more than 540 gyms around

the world.

Some of

Holmes' unique innovations in his business have been the

introduction of the pay by the month plan and a 30 day

guarantee.

Holmes said

his was the first fitness center in the county to offer a

monthly payment plan, instead of requiring prepaid annual

dues.

"We

understood that it was important for our members to feel

comfortable. This was particularly important in the early

years since many in the community had lost money on other

failed health clubs," he said.

Another

innovation was the 30 day money back guarantee. The state

now requires fitness clubs to give members at least seven

days to cancel their memberships after joining.

Holmes is

confidant enough in his facility to offer a 30 day money

back guarantee.

Peachtree

National Bank's Ron Duffey was one of the competition's

judges and congratulated Holmes.

"J.D.

and Varner Holmes have been successful in an industry

that has suffered with low credibility and prestige,

especially in the Fayette County area. They have

accomplished this by hard work and an honest,

straightforward business approach in their

operation," he said.

The fitness

facility is located at the corner of Ga. Highway 74 and

Aberdeen parkway in Peachtree City.

<!--##############