John McCarthy, the founding executive director of the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), will become the 12th recipient of the Club Industry Lifetime Achievement Award.
McCarthy will receive the award at the Club Industry Show, Oct. 22-24 at McCormick Place in Chicago.
McCarthy served as executive director of Boston-based IHRSA from its inception in 1981 until 2006. The John McCarthy Industry Visionary Award is named in his honor and presented at the IHRSA show.
John McCarthy served as the executive director of IHRSA from 1981 to 2006 and currently serves as an advisor to several companies in the fitness club industry. (Photo courtesy of IHRSA.)"John has served the fitness industry in one form or another for almost 40 years," says Pamela Kufahl, director of content and engagement at Club Industry. "His leadership during IHRSA's formation and for its first 25 years helped to give the commercial club market a voice at the national and state level, band together clubs in a common goal of bringing more people to fitness and provide research and benchmarks for that segment of the industry."
Prior to his tenure at IHRSA, McCarthy was executive director of the New England Racquet Sports Association from 1978 to 1981. Previously, McCarthy was a partner in the Wimbledon 109 Tennis Club in Walpole, MA, and served as a tennis pro at the Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead, MA.
Currently, McCarthy serves as an advisor to Cybex International, Medway, MA; North Castle Partners, Greenwich, CT; and Healthtrax International, Glastonbury, CT.
McCarthy also serves as chairman of the Bash for Augie's Quest, the health club industry event named for Augie Nieto that raises money to find a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
"Since leaving IHRSA, John's industry expertise has made him a valuable resource for several fitness companies," Kufahl says. "He has used his considerable contacts and his celebrity within the industry to help build the Bash for Augie's Quest into the biggest fundraising event for the industry. The fact that this event brings together competitors for a worthy cause is testament to not only the respect that the industry has for Augie Nieto but also for John."
A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, McCarthy received his M.B.A. from Boston College. He and his wife, Gail, reside in Weston, MA. They have four children.
McCarthy will receive the Club Industry Lifetime Achievement Award on Thursday, Oct. 23, prior to the show's keynote address.
Previous recipients of Club Industry's Lifetime Achievement Award include Joe Gold, Joe Weider, Judi Sheppard-Missett, Dr. Kenneth Cooper, Jack LaLanne, Joe Cirulli and more. For the full list, visit Club Industry's Lifetime Achievement Award page.