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Page 8A The Braselton News Wednesday, October 24, 2007 Social Lottery winner uses funds to start fitness club Benefit dance ahead for Elliott Low Minimum Balance Required to Earn Interest •No Other Account Required to Open aMoney Market Account Main Office: 1907 Hwy 211 • Hoschton • 770-868-2600 Jefferson: 1596 Washington St. • Jefferson • 706-367-1860 Hoschton: 3528 Highway 53 • Hoschton • 706-824-0106 Hamilton Mill: 2463 Hamilton Mill Pkwv; Suite 200 • Dacula • 678-730-5001 Gainesville: 854 Washington St. • Gainesville • 678-343-2300 HAMILTON State Bank Why Pay More & Get Less From Other Builders? Martin is chiefly responsible for processing new memberships, main taining equipment, assisting person al trainer Malcolm Simpson, and supervising the club's day-to-day operations. And because he lives close-by, he's also on call on those rare occasions when a late-night patron experiences difficulty with his entry key. Martin told me that 60 percent of the club’s current members are teach ers or other government employees, and about 60 percent female as well. He further pointed out that, although Anytime Fitness welcomes month- by-month patrons with no contract, 98 percent of their customers choose one-to-three year commitments over monthly memberships. “Not only are contract rates $10-20 dollars cheaper than monthly rates, but you can quit any long-term com mitment at any time for just a $100 cancellation fee,” he explained. Monthly rates are currently $50 plus a one-time $15 processing charge and a $35 dollar card key charge. Contract rates vary from $40 per month for 12 months to $30 per month for 36 months. In addition, there are enrollment fees that vary from $100 to $150 per term. These cover the first month of membership, one cardkey, and a National Data entry charge. Although the Mulberry Place loca tion is currently the only Anytime In Focus with Fil Fil Jessee filwrites@aol.com Among the Northeast Georgia businessmen on my “how lucky can you get” list, Kevin Wimbs of Jefferson tops the totem pole. Driving home from work late on the evening before his 33rd birthday on Aug. 31, 2006, he decided to stop at a convenience store at the intersec tion of Hwy. 211 and Hwy. 124 in Braselton, and spend the last $10 in his wallet on a lottery ticket. It was one of those scratch-off “Slots of Luck” tickets and, while still in the store, he learned that he was a big winner. However, he really didn’t know how big until he asked the sales clerk to run the ticket after all the other customers had left the building. What Wimbs initially thought was a $25,000 prize turned out to be a $250,000 windfall. That’s about a $171,000 after taxes and what I call a really nice birthday present! Yet, while many other big lottery winners are tempted to spend a large portion of their winnings on expen sive luxuries like yachts and classic cars, Wimbs chose a more practical option. He decided to use the bulk of his money to open a second business in Braselton. “Both my father and my finan cial consultant convinced me that I should never spend my assets on my toys,” Wimbs said. But he did apply a small portion of his prize money to paying off some bills and taking a long deep-sea fishing trip out of Destin, Fla. Wimbs’ original firm is Wired Communications, a year-old com pany based in Jefferson and special izing in custom low-voltage wir ing, cable, satellite, data, telephone, home theater and related electronics. His newest enterprise is Anytime Fitness, a Mulberry Place franchise he purchased from a national com pany based in Hastings, Minnesota. Anytime Fitness began with two fitness clubs in 2002 and, since, has sold more than 1,400 territories nationwide. With more than 650 new clubs expected to open by the end of 2007, it isn’t surprising that Forbes magazine named this company as one of the top 25 franchises and that it is considered one of the world’s fastest growing fitness club chains. Although these accolades cer tainly had a lot to do with Wimbs’ initial interest in Anytime Fitness, he credits Jefferson friend and fellow work-out partner John Cook as the person who really shoved him off the diving board. “He knew I had a strong interest in personal fitness, and encouraged me to turn this into a business,” Wimbs said. When I asked him why he thought Anytime Fitness would succeed in Braselton better than other longer- established franchises, he told me “it’s because we are co-ed, have 24-hour card key access, do not require long-term contracts, and offer the newest and best work-out equipment in the business.” In addition, Wimbs pointed out “we offer a no-frills family atmo sphere you won’t find at gyms or other fitness clubs.” Wimbs further explained that Anytime Fitness is not the kind of place where you’ll typically find a lot of serious body builders. He described it as more of center for improving personal health by routine exercise, goal setting and lifestyle changes. To accomplish this for a variety of customers who vary in age from 19 to 91 and come there for a vari ety of reasons, Anytime Fitness has a close working relationship with nearby Chateau Spinal Rehab (CSR) and also offers two on-staff personal trainers and one nutritionist. Personal training is especially rec ommended for those who tend to quit exercising because of boredom, lack of quick results, or the inability to establish goals and stick to a regi men without a coach. It is also recommended by Chiropractic Doctor Gary Adams of CSR for some of his patients who require supervised therapy. And for those who may benefit from CSR services. Anytime Fitness contract clients get an optional free month of consultation with Dr. Adams. Since the responsibilities of run ning his communications firm take the majority of Kevin Wimbs’ time, he appointed Shannon Martin as general manager for his fitness club. A benefit dance for Sherry Elliott will be held from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, at West Jackson Primary School gym. The cost is $25 per couple or $15 per single. Elliott, 39, is on a kidney trans plant list and a fund-raising com mittee is seeking to raise at least $20,000 to $30,000 to help Elliott with post-transplant treatments. The committee is working with the Georgia Transplant Foundation’s Access to Care, which will match funds up to $10,000. Eliott is a special education paraprofessional at WJPS. She is a mother of three daughters and has been married to David Elliott for 23 years. In addition to the benefit dance, donations are also accepted at any Peoples Bank under the Elliott Kidney Fund. Checks may also be sent to Terry Baird, P.O. Box 313, Braselton, GA 30517. For more information, contact Elliott at 770-530-7277; Pam Hightower, 770-906-4104; Chasity Fortenberry, 770-882-6055; Hannah Elliott, 770-530-2648; or Loraine Baird, 706-654-2454. Braselton author featured in new book, ‘Our Journey’ Author Ruthanna Kilpatrick- Bass, Braselton, is one of 22 writ ers featured in a new book, “Our Journey,” which is on sale at several Gainesville locations. “Our Journey” is a collection of 63 stories and poems by the writ ing organization Northeast Georgia Writers. The 82-page book sells for $12.50. The book is available at the Northeast Georgia History Center’s gift shop, the Books-A-Million at Lakeshore Mall and Frames You- Nique on the square in Gainesville. Bass published three poems in the collection. She also won a first place award for the short story and second place for the poetry cat egory in the annual contest of the organization. Frames You-Nique will hold a book signing on Wednesday, Oct. 31, from noon to 1 p.m. Also, the writer’s group meets at 1 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month at St. Paul Methodist Church, located on Washington Street in Gainesville. Interested persons are welcomed to attend. www.hamiltonstatebank.com telebanc: 1-877-527-2416 MEMBER FPJ€ S * APY means annual percentage yield. *’ Bonus rate available for the first 180 day s after the account is opened. Must be a new account to get the bonus rate. Minimum balance required to obtain advertised APY is $10,000. Money Mattel inter est rate is variable and subject to change at any lime. Offer subject to withdraw al without notice^ j*y. x Rate effective as ofOci 14 2007. iKk Ok —3 DEMONSTRATING NEW EQUIPMENT Anytime Fitness general manager and trainer Shannon Martin (left) shows club owner Kevin Wimbs how customers will use a new hammer strength seated, weighted, abdominal crunch machine. Fitness club in our area, a second franchise is set to open in Jefferson in January 2008, and others are also planned for Hoschton, Flowery Branch, Buford and Winder. In the meantime, you can’t beat Braselton’s original for 24-hour workout convenience unless, of course, you too win the lottery and can afford to open the likes of Anytime Fitness in your own base ment. But then you would miss out on the benefits of camaraderie and that friendly competition for the title of most improved couch potato. Fil Jessee lives in Braselton, where he works as a freelance journalist. Fie can be reached at filwrites@aol. com. 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