Episode 17: Wellness Program Management and Fit-to-Enforce with Kelly Kennedy
Kelly Kennedy is on of the OGs in Tactical, and I had the honor of meeting her by accident at a restaurant and all because of a green backpack!
In Episode 17, we talk about her long career as a civilian health and wellness expert for the largest police agency in the southwestern United States and her personal business Fit-to-Enforce. We also discuss her lessons learned, the obstacles she's faced, and that sometimes the most valuable part of attending a training or a conference is hearing from other attendees and learning through them.
Kelly Kennedy, Ph.D., is one of the nation’s leading experts in fitness training for police. While working at the largest Police Department in the Southeast United States, she has physically trained and tested thousands of police recruits and officers since 1999. During this time, she has lectured on physical fitness to classes for Police, Corrections, and specialized units such as the Special Response Team, Rapid Deployment Force (RDF), and Defensive Tactics Instructor.
She led the design of an extensive tactical obstacle course and was a part of a committee to create a pretest physical fitness screening for the members of the RDF. Additionally, she created a physical screening standard for readiness for the Aviation Unit, and Marine Patrol Unit. She served as the project manager of a team of physiologists in developing the minimum standards for fitness for the job of Police officer, K-9 Unit, and Special Response Team.
In 2003, she started an education and consulting company, Fit-to-Enforce that takes her all over the country teaching and consulting law enforcement. She has worked as a Subject Matter Expert in physical fitness for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. She has served on the editorial review for the Tactical Strength and Conditioning Report. In addition, she has presented at Conferences for the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA), International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN), Tactical Strength and Conditioning Conference (TSAC), and Florida SWAT Association.
After graduating with a master’s degree in Exercise Physiology, she worked as an adjunct instructor at Florida International University for five years.
Kelly is certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), with the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) as a Certified Exercise Physiologist, and Certified by the International Society of Sports Nutrition (CISSN). She is a past certified Level 1 Sport Performance Coach from USAW, for 10 years was a Level 1 CrossFit Instructor, is currently Certified as a Defensive Tactics Instructor, is a member of the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association, and earned a Ph.D. in Global Leadership from Lynn University.
So what? Now what?
No matter the size of your agency, you CAN make an impact. If you're a LEO and want to learn more about health and wellness for your population, check out KK's 40-hour class.
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Annette Zapp: 0:02
Thank you for joining me on the fire rescue wellness podcast. I'm your host AZ. I find the research and resources, and then provide the fire service with the so what? Now what? to ensure the health and well being of every member of our profession. Together., Let's thrive. Hey everyone, its AZ with the Fire Rescue wellness podcast and I am back with episode number 17. And I am here with my friend Kelly Kennedy Kelly, say hello to my listeners. Kelly. You're amazing. You know what? Usually I say how we met, but I'm gonna put you on the spot. Do you
Kelly Kennedy: 0:40
I do remember how we met. I think that I saw you remember how, when and where we met? eating at a restaurant I was. I was at a conference. And I was eating by myself. And I saw you eating. And you had a backpack from the International Society of sports nutrition. And I was like, I know that backpack. And then I asked you, Hey, do you go to the ISSN? And you're like, you're trying to chew on your leaves. And you're like, yeah, like who is this weird person walking over to me. You were scared. I'm just kidding. I don't think you were scared.
Annette Zapp: 1:25
I was not scared. I was also eating alone though,
Kelly Kennedy: 1:29
Yeah, you know. So like the Lonely Hearts Club. I was trying to look for some common bond. I'm justkidding. No, I saw the backpack. And I was like, Oh my gosh, she goes to ISSN. And I've been going there ever since it almost started. And so I wanted I was like, I must have run into you at some point. So I was excited.
Annette Zapp: 1:50
I was excited too because I was at that conference. I was pretty much alone. I didn't know anybody. And at that conference, I met you because of the ISSN bag. And my claim to fame is that I meet almost everyone due to the ISSN bag.
Kelly Kennedy: 2:05
No really?
Annette Zapp: 2:06
I do I do. I met Kory Van Wyk from the ISSN. Bag. So it's amazing. I carry my bag around.
Kelly Kennedy: 2:15
Yes, you should.
Annette Zapp: 2:17
Well, and the funny thing is we we had such a good conversation that I looked at my watch. I'm like, Oh my gosh, I have to go to my session. And I was like Nice to meet you. And I went running out and tried to go up the down escalator got my flip flops stuck. And I cut my foot in half. Oh, yeah. It was bad, I still have the flip flop. I can show you later. So anyway, yes. Kelly and I met in 2018 at the tactical annual training in Virginia, due to the ISSN. Bag. Kelly and I just did the math prior to the podcast she's been on or serving for 23 years as a...are you the health and wellness coordinator? What are you exactly? Kelly?
Kelly Kennedy: 3:02
Oh, I'm the wellness program facility manager at the largest police department in the southeast United States. So I've been there Yes, since 1999. And it's a total shock. I don't think that I'm old enough for that. I feel like everybody is my age. And and then I realize that they're not. I am much older than them. But I don't feel it.
Annette Zapp: 3:30
Everybody is our age and that age is 25.
Kelly Kennedy: 3:34
Right, exactly.
Annette Zapp: 3:36
You just started there when you were two. Yeah. So in addition to that, you I think this is really exciting because you and I do similar things. You are the owner and operator of a company called fit-to-enforce. So tell us just a little bit about that too.
Kelly Kennedy: 3:53
Yeah, so before I started working for the police department, I was teaching at FIU, Florida International University as an adjunct instructor. And when I did that, I kind of developed a course based on the all of the aspects of like physical fitness, the basic aspects of physical fitness, nutrition and stress reduction. And I merged it with what I had learned at the police department, and over the years have just kept sharpening my sword when it comes to all of the aspects of training for law enforcement. And so I opened my company maybe like 15 years ago, and started teaching specifically the things that I felt were most helpful for the police officers that I work with. And I started teaching it at other departments and so so that is what fit to enforce does is I teach a 40 hour Course on all of the aspects of physical fitness, nutrition and stress reduction as it applies to law enforcement in either an academy setting or an officer wellness setting. So training people one on one, or training them in groups. So I love it.
Annette Zapp: 5:17
And that sounds like it would be so helpful for some of my listeners. So we're gonna hit on that a little bit more later on in the podcast. But first, I'm going to shine that very bright spotlight on you and ask you who is Kelly Kennedy?
Kelly Kennedy: 5:34
Hmm. Well, um, I would say that, you know, I'm an exercise physiologist that's been working with law enforcement really my entire career. And most of the work that I do is really just connecting the dots for people that may not be familiar with, you know, what it is that I do in comparison to what it is that they do. I know that sounds kind of weird. But I think that what happens is that when you work in law enforcement it's in, it's very easy for people to cross lanes, you know, that they don't really stay in their lane, sometimes. They're not only like a defensive tactics instructor, but they're a firearms instructor. They're a CPR instructor, and they wear many hats. And, and sometimes, it feels like that can muddy the waters when it comes to fitness, because fitness, everybody works out. And so if everybody works out, then you're kind of like an expert in like working out too. And, and so I really have only one lane to stay in. So I just work on the same thing over and over and over again, and try to figure out how I can climb the same mountain multiple times, so that I can get better at this one thing that I do. So that would be it.
Annette Zapp: 7:08
I think that is, that's an absolutely outstanding answer. And so now I want to know what sets your soul on fire.
Kelly Kennedy: 7:18
What sets my soul on fire is. I you know, and I think that we kind of talked a little bit about it before, you don't really realize the sort of, you know, like, when you have conversations with people throughout your life, there are certain things that like stand out. And, and I appreciate what it is that you told me, because I think that that it's something that I think about all the time when I'm working with people. And it's something that I try to hone in on for myself as well, is having a sense of like, pride and accomplishment in what I'm able to do. It's like fitness as a sense of empowerment. And I think that trying to kind of dig out what is most important to people when it comes to finding their own, like inspiration for fitness, and what it is that they're really looking for. Because sometimes when people come into the gym, and they're like, Oh, I just want to, I want to lose weight. And when you really figure out why they want to lose weight, it's because they want to be able to, you know, to run faster, they want to feel proud of themselves again. And so sometimes when I ask them like well, what would make you feel proud if you could do one thing from this exercise program? What would that one thing be because I really love to focus on actionable things, that people that I can help kind of guide someone toward, rather than just having them lose weight or gain muscle in general. And asking them that question really kind of like, it sets my soul on fire to ask them that question, because I asked myself that question how I can keep myself feeling proud of myself by certain, you know, benchmarks or accomplishments that I still look to make. So that would be my answer.
Annette Zapp: 9:21
My listeners, my listeners, can you understand now? how powerful it is. Kelly Kennedy stays in her lane, which is health, wellness and fitness. And because she stays in her lane, we have now a professional that cares what makes her officers proud. I'm just I'm absolutely overwhelmed with that answer. We had this conversation I think maybe in 2019 after the neurosports conference when we went out to eat and that has resonated with me ever since. It's so good. So my last question Kelly, how are you changing the world?
Kelly Kennedy: 10:11
You know, I guess, by really trying as hard as I can to bring the most updated information collaboratively to, in all the classes that I teach, I think that not one of us is smarter than all of us. So when you're in a class, there's so much experience that we can pull from that people have that they just either don't feel comfortable sharing, or they don't think about, you know, bringing up. So when you're teaching in a setting in another city, in another state, there's always a lot of kind of, like, collaborative experience that you can bring to a class. And every single time I teach, I try to take away one thing that I can kind of like, put in my pocket and take to the next class, so that I can keep kind of building upon that kind of larger body of information, on best practices for training. And it's really, kind of, it's inspiring, when, really, all I'm doing is regurgitating information that I've learned from other people. And I give them, you know, I make sure to give them credit. It's not like I'm taking credit, you know, for the information myself, but like, just in strategies when, you know, chasing a subject, for example, there are certain strategies that police officer, tenured police officers have to indicate like when someone is fatigued, or when someone is, you know, when they feel like they can close the gap, and, you know, in kind of catching someone, and a lot of times when you start bringing all that information from other classes that they've shared with you, other officers, you know, connect with it, and they, they realize that there's a really large body of information out there, that, you know, you silently may know, but you don't realize that other people are actually talking about it, too. So. So yeah, I think that it's, it's important to keep kind of like sharing all of that information and just kind of building upon all of those, like I call them marbles, I just keep kind of gathering marbles. And then you can kind of share them with other people when you're teaching. So I think that that's like, the bet. Did I even answer the question? What was the question?
Annette Zapp: 12:53
You did. How are you changing the world? And I think if I wrote this down correctly, you said, No, one of us is smarter than all of us. Did I get that? Right?
Kelly Kennedy: 13:02
Yeah, well, one of my friends, one of my friends says that in his in his lectures, and it's so true. And I think he got it from another quote. But, Mario, if you're listening, I'm gonna throw that back out there. Because I know that he says it when he's teaching. And I think that it's a really brilliant reminder of the fact that, you know, we all have something to share. And oftentimes, when we're when we go to like a certification or a course, we're just absorbing information. And we don't really get an opportunity to share information. And when I was in college, my friend Dave Sandler would always say, Kelly go out and talk to people. And I was like, No, I want to listen in the sessions. That's where I'm really going to learn. And he was always out talking to people making connections and learning from other people. And I think both are really valuable. So the course that I teach is kind of like half lecture, and it's half workshop where people are actually interacting with each other. Because I think that the value, this, this small amount of time that we have to really connect with other people doing the same work is so it's so important to kind of like capture that opportunity. So it kind of builds its own community. But there are no conferences that are just all about absorbing information. It's more about sharing information. And I think that, you know, when I have somebody that I can talk to, to say, hey, you know, Annette, what do you do in this situation? It's because you and I have a connection because we've, we do the same work because we can talk to each other about it, you know, so without those personal connections that you have with people. I think that the lesson, kind of like it becomes so much more rich. When when we can share with other people that are doing the same work so. So that's what I that's what I love about kind of that collaborative kind of reminder that not one of us is more more to contribute than all of us.
Annette Zapp: 15:16
And what I think the lesson is here, Kelly is that everyone needs to get an ISSN bag so that they can connect. It's true. I know. So, I recently interviewed Jay Dawes, and so I'll link that back in the show notes. But he talked about when he was at the NSCA. And he and Mark Stephens, kind of started to nurture this concept of the tactical athlete, and so on and so forth. But I believe Jay told me that was 2007. And you've been at the largest PD in the southeast United States for 23 years. So over a decade prior, so this whole concept of tactical didn't exist at that time you were doing a job before it was even a thing in most places. So when you started, what did that job look like?
Kelly Kennedy: 16:08
So it was more like a corporate fitness type of job. That's what it looked like when I started. Interestingly, so we opened in 1989. And there was an exercise physiologist, we actually opened as a testament to the department that I work for. We had exercise physiologist, nutritionists and physical therapist in 1989, that was a contract to a hospital. And I think that that's and we also had psychological services back then. So we had a, like, a fully outfitted, you know, service to every member of our department. And I think it really speaks to like the progressive, kind of like attitude of, you know, how they're putting health and fitness, just inside the culture of, you know, of this department. And I was really lucky to happen to, you know, kind of like, you know, learn my craft here. But there was an exercise physiologist here 10 years before I was, and he left, he's the one who hired me, and he left right after I started, so. But it was mostly like a corporate fitness type of thing we actually didn't have, we weren't working with an academy at that time, was only when I started in 1899 that they had, they were working on there, I want to say the first class that ever graduated was here in that year. So anyway, to make a long story short, we actually, I had the opportunity to start working with the Academy because they were looking for some, some different perspectives and training. And I started taking some of the information that I taught at the university, and, you know, tried to help kind of like move the needle forward, a lot of the exercises, you know, imagine, and in other departments, it's the same, right to this day. So when I teach for my own company, I go to other departments and other places around the country, and ask them what why are you here? And they'll say, well, because I locked eyes with my chief, and he said, You look like you're in good shape, you're going to take over the the wellness program and the PT program for our recruits. And, and that's why I'm here. And I'm like, wow, so basically, it's, it's, you're taking somebody that really, this is not what their what they wanted to do full time, and they've been redirected to kind of like make this their one of their responsibilities. And it's, it's a really large task, because you're taking someone that this is not what they what they learned about, this is not what they set out to do for their career. And your take, you have to kind of like Teach them from the ground up, how to build a program and how to, you know, guide and where to get information. And it's a big kind of, like tall order. So so I feel really lucky that I was able to, you know, to learn from way back then because it was more a corporate fitness thing. And then they, they had me take over the PT program for our recruit recruits. So that's where I kind of like started to weave more advanced training techniques in here and figuring out how to systemize them, I think is another kind of like, hurdle. Because it would be one thing if the department was small enough to where I would be able to train people. Just one on me, me with another instructor to a class, I think you can really affect a meaningful change. It's much more difficult when you have to manage the people that are supposed to exist. wracked those classes, and then there's like five or six classes running concurrently. So it becomes a much larger kind of like, you know, you can't, you can't turn a cruise ship on a dime. And so that's, you know, it's it's a much more slow kind of like process to make changes.
Annette Zapp: 20:21
And so is that your primary job right now? Kelly, the academy? or So how is your program evolved in your position evolved?
Kelly Kennedy: 20:32
Yeah. So it's, well, it's evolved. But the industry has evolved a lot. So when, when I first got here, and I'm going to, I'm probably going to regret saying this, we didn't have the internet when I first got here. So I brought all of my books from university, into my office, and I would actually use books to get information.
Annette Zapp: 20:59
My goodness,
Kelly Kennedy: 21:00
I know, I know, it really hurts my feelings even to say it. We did get the internet soon after. So I was here for like, a year, and we did have the internet. So but, you know, I started calling actually cold calling departments all the largest departments in each state. And I asked them how they got their training, and what kind of training they got, and what it is they were looking for, because I myself was looking for training, because I wanted to the most popular training, like program was Cooper's Institute, and Cooper's. And when I called them, they said, Well, this isn't, this isn't for you, because you already have a background in exercise. Phys this is for people who don't have a background in exercise Phys. So I really didn't have anywhere, I didn't have anywhere to turn to learn best practices in, like, physically teaching a police academy, you know. So I basically learned it from the people that I was training with, and that I was there to help. We were the really there to work together, you know, I was learning from them, and they were learning from me. And, you know, I think we created a better system than then existed before. And I think that yet, there's a lot of area of opportunity for, you know, us to keep moving forward. But like, just data collection and fitness testing. You know, we've been doing that for like, 20 years. So we have probably the largest database of, you know, of, you know, fitness data, just because, you know, I've been collecting it for so many years. So it's, it's kind of the, the industry has evolved a lot. And we actually hosted the tactical strength and conditioning course here as like a beta test. So that, you know, we could, like, give some feedback on like, the information that was shared. And that was a really, that was in its infancy. So yeah, the industry is totally transformed. In fact, last time, I was at T SAC, this last meeting, I was just like, looking at the crowd, and how big in the expo and, and everything. And I was like, wow, this is really impressive. In fact, before I started fit to enforce, I spoke to somebody and I said to them, you know, what we need? We need a conference for, you know, for law enforcement, because there's no, there is no mentorship for physical fitness. And I'll never forget, the person I was talking to was like, that'll never work. No way. There's no way that'll never work. And I was like, I really don't think so I I think that it's a completely untapped field. And they're like, Nah, and then a couple years later, you know, a couple years later, you know, that's when the NSCA was starting to like, marinate in the idea of, you know, tactical strength and conditioning, which I think was such a huge need, and no better, you know, organization to do it than the NSCA in my opinion. But yeah, so it's come a long way.
Annette Zapp: 24:19
And it's really funny, Kelly, as you were talking about that, you know, I think we need a conference. I really think there's a place for it. I was I was reminiscing back to another conversation you and I had about a food product that you been wanting to invent. And here it is: when Kelly Kennedy has an idea, people should listen. So Kelly, what I didn't tell the listeners yet is you actually not only do you have 23 years experience in your agency, you also casually got a PhD along the way. So was that PhD? Was that the research that you gathered at your agency or...tell me about that PhD.
Kelly Kennedy: 25:01
Well, so when I got here, I had my master's and the department wanted to give an opportunity for people working here to further their education. So I got my PhD in global leadership from Lynn University. And my, actually, my dissertation was on the factors involved in marksmanship during police officers during qualifying shooting drills. So yeah, that's what I did my PhD and my dissertation on.
Annette Zapp: 25:39
I'm blown away right now. I don't think I knew that. Holy cow. Yeah, you're you're one amazing woman. Oh, that's an amazing woman. All right. So Kelly, my listeners, I have a variety of listeners, I do have some from law enforcement. And I have a lot from fire. And then I have a lot from the professional health and wellness realm realm. So I have kind of a mixture, if you would want to call it that. But what I know that I'm going to hear from my fire agencies, and my firefighters is this. But Kelly, I'm a fire department. I'm not a law enforcement agency. And I'm tiny. So none of this applies to me, I can't use any of these of this information. And what would you say to them? Specifically, I would love to have you hit on the return on investment for health and wellness interventions, if you could riff on that.
Kelly Kennedy: 26:33
Yeah, that, so for any, any agency, like, even, you know, so people from the fire service, I've had firefighters in my courses before, and I think all of it applies, I don't think that there's one, one entity that's too small to be able to learn all that they can about, like health and wellness. Because there is just such a, it's kind of like an exponential return on your ability to hone in on your training and improve your own performance. And in turn, you can improve the performance of other people that you are able to influence and share with. You know, a lot of it has to do with just like increasing your networking. What's interesting is that, like, certain cities that I teach in regularly, I meet with other people that have taken the class before we go to happy hour, and we all from different classes, and different classes around the country, when they come to recert. They want to, you know, go have a drink, or go hang out, and all of us will go out together and just talk about like the work that we do. It's not necessarily even about law enforcement, it's more just about like training in general. I just think that it's such an IT JUST overlaps every aspect of, you know, of the profession for first responders. And and I think that it'll just allows us a kind of a straighter path to controlling and outcome, which is essentially what, you know, we're all kind of like looking, looking to do. I will never forget, when I sat in on a conference and Susan Kleiner was talking, she was talking about goal setting. And she was asking, she was asking the audience, what do people typically say that they want to do, and they come to make a change, you know, in their lives. And, and typically, their goal is to lose weight. And she's like, well, that's not a goal. That's an outcome. And a goal is something like actionable that you can do every single day. And so when you look at, you know, trying to lose weight, and we look at that as an outcome. When I go to sleep at night, I can't say did I lose the five pounds? Because I will always fail? But if I say Did I do my 30 minutes today? It's either yes or no. And so it's kind of putting power back into your own hands to say, not only can I make achievable goals for myself, that will lead to a more predictable outcome. But I can collaborate with other people that are interested in the same types of things that I'm interested in, in order to propagate this improvement, you know, and share it with other people. Because, you know, essentially, it's empowering when you can not win when you have kind of like your own sense of control over the information that other People are giving to you. I, I, the first trainer that I ever worked with, I'll never forget this. He was ordering a sandwich and he says hold the pickles. And I was like, oh, hold the pickles. There must be a reason for that. Probably the sodium. And so like, I don't know, a year later, I was like, why? Or maybe like six months? I don't know. I was like, why is it that you don't eat pickles? He goes, No, I just don't like pickles. I thought it was like, because of the sodium because it wasn't healthy. And I was making it so much more complicated than it had to be. Because everything that he said, I believed if he said that I needed to have Himalayan sea salt, rather than regular table salt. I was like, Okay, makes sense to me. But when you ask him why? He'd be like, oh, yeah, cuz I don't really like regular salt. I think it's not pretty. You know, like, there's, there's really like, you just have to know how you can empower yourself to like, find the right information, and actually understand the why. And I think that that's probably the most maybe if I have to say like, I'll go back to answer one of your earlier questions. Is, is, you know, kind of like figuring out the why I think that that's probably what drives me even more, is understanding why. And I think that that's really empowering.
Annette Zapp: 31:22
I agree with you, Kelly. And I just I have to know, and I'm sure my listeners are dying to know too. Did you immediately fire that trainer when you found out he didn't like pickles?
Kelly Kennedy: 31:33
Savage.
Annette Zapp: 31:34
Because what kind of a savage doesn't what kind of pickles?
Kelly Kennedy: 31:36
He doesn't like pickles. Oh, my gosh, I completely agree. Yes,
Annette Zapp: 31:43
I love that. And I think that also what you just said that ties back to that pride. And so knowing your why, knowing what makes you proud. And as soon as Susan Kleiner said, knowing what your goal is versus your outcome, all of that's really magical. I really liked that. So you also are probably an most excellent resource for another aspect of my listenership, which is those health and wellness pros aspiring to work in public safety. And so if you were asked Kelly, give me your top three tips. If I want to work with a law enforcement agency, what should I do? What would you tell those people
Kelly Kennedy: 32:31
I would definitely tell them to they should make sure that they keep an open mind when it comes to what are best practices when inside of a fitness, like in inside of fitness training in a law enforcement institution as compared to outside. A lot of times, if you're coming from like a kind of like a sports specific background, you want to bring a lot of that, you know, sports specific training into the law enforcement agency. And that ends up being kind of like, it's hard to connect those things together. Unless you're able to understand that horizon line and know what the end goal is, and how you can really connect it to their training. It would be just make sure that you're an expert in your field, not in their field. So sometimes, sometimes, you know, people overreach, when they want to work with law enforcement, or they want to work with fire, let's say. And they try to use their lingo. And they try to use their they try to say no, I know how to talk to cops, I have a friend, he's a cop. Don't ever say that. Because they're just people. And it's not like you're already separating yourself from them yet trying to make a connection. It's really weird. You know, you just have to be an expert in your field, and let them be an expert in their field. And you should be asking them questions on how you can help. So it's almost like a sales position when you're trying to sell something. I used to think that sales when I when I got I had I owned three franchises. And part of that I don't own them anymore. But part of the sales process that I had never really understood was that sales is not about me selling you something that I want to sell you it's about me asking you questions on what it is that you need, and me kind of like meeting that need. And that's exactly what they need to do. They need to ask questions on what do they need? What what kinds of problems are they having when it comes to not making connections with their own fitness and how they can kind of fill that need. And so it's more about learning how you can help. And then being a student, trying to learn as much as you can about, about the role. You know, it's kind of like odd to say it, because I mean, how I got this job was just that, you know, I was I didn't I just applied, you have to know people in order to apply, right. So I was working here as a contract. And I met the gym manager. And I asked him, I needed health insurance. So I asked him if they were had any positions available. And they said that they may have a position opening up soon. And they would let me know. And already they liked me as a contract. So I think that that was also a foot in the door. So if you can do any contract work for them, to get to know them and have some sort of proof of concept, then, you know, you make those personal connections. And once you do that, then you can, you know, wedge your foot in the door that way, but you can't do it without, without making sure that that you've tried to do everything you can to bring as much information, you know, to the table as possible, and make yourself as valuable to them. Because it doesn't matter, you could be the most amazing athlete and the most amazing coach. But if all you keep thinking about is how amazing you are, you're missing the boat and trying to meet their need. So I would say focusing more on their needs is probably the most maybe impactful bit of information I could say.
Annette Zapp: 36:45
So my health and wellness pros, go back, rewind about two minutes. And then write those tips down. Because Kelly Kennedy nailed it. Absolutely. Nailed it. All right. Well, Kelly, I want to be respectful of your time. And so we're going to start winding down. But first, I want to ask you, before we get to your contact information and your classes, I want to ask you, was there something that you were dying to talk about today that I just blew it? And I didn't ask you?
Kelly Kennedy: 37:19
Um, no, I think you just like, I think that you asked a bunch of, I don't know that there was anything in particular that I was thinking of, of sharing. Other than, you know, the stuff I'm, that we've already talked about, really?
Annette Zapp: 37:40
Oh my gosh, listeners, I nailed it.
Kelly Kennedy: 37:42
You nailed it, girl.
Annette Zapp: 37:45
Okay, so what I really want to do is, give us a little bit more information. I know you have some classes, some fit-to-enforce classes coming up, give us a little bit of information about those classes, and then let us know how we would reach you are how we would register for those classes.
Kelly Kennedy: 38:02
Okay, yeah, I have a class coming up in Huntsville, Alabama, at the end of January, it's going to be January 23, through the 27th. And that you can register on the website fit to enforce.com. And if you go to, you know, if you fill out the registration page, then I'll contact you and you can send an invoice to your, you know, your department. But that's essentially how you would do it. I just You just go straight to the website. And you just register here. And I have some other classes coming up at the end of the year. And those locations are going to be announced after Registration closes for this Huntsville location. So we are filling up Huntsville now. And once we have our Registration closes, then we will start registering for the next class that's going to be in June. It'll be at the beginning of June. And then the next one will be likely in November of 2023.
Annette Zapp: 39:17
Outstanding and so I'll make sure and put your website in the show notes. And is your website the best way to contact you or do you? What do you do email or how do you like your people to reach you?
Kelly Kennedy: 39:29
Email is Kelly at fit to enforce.com but it's fit-to-enforce.com so they can email me or my phone number is on the website. They can call me I guess
Annette Zapp: 39:50
Don't be a savage. Do not call Kelly Kennedy. Send her an email.
Kelly Kennedy: 39:55
If you send me an email first that would be great because that way I could call you at a mutually convenient time.
Annette Zapp: 40:05
That sounds like a great plan. Well, Kelly, I have been looking forward to this conversation for a very long time. I am so grateful for you and so I'm proud of you and what you do and so it was just a wonderful conversation. I appreciate you. And with that, I will say Goodbye, everyone. Thank you so much AZ and Kelly Kennedy are officially out
