Company: LAJQ Chick Enterprises Inc., Operating as FIT CHICKS Toronto. Canada
Company Division/Group: FIT CHICKS
Company Description: Head Chicks and BFF's, Amanda Quinn and Laura Jackson, are Co Founders of the Canadian based women's only fitness company, FIT CHICKS. FIT CHICKS offers 8 week bootcamp programs at over 30 locations across Canada as well as fitness / nutrition challenges, workshops and has recently launched the "FIT CHICKS Gear" clothing line. Since our launch is Sept 2008, FIT CHICKS has trained over 5000 women.
Nomination Category: Company/Organization Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Company of the Year – Consumer Services – 10 or Less Employees

Nomination Title: FIT CHICKS

Describe for the judges the activities and accomplishments of the nominated organization since the beginning of July last year (up to 500 words):

Since July of last year we have managed to grow our business offerings by becoming Hosts on our very own TV show - Shape Up With FIT CHICKS on Rogers TV!

We have added a Zumba class as a new program for chicks to try out instead of our High intensity interval Training Bootcamp classes or to add on to their exisitng program with FIT CHICKS.

FIT CHICKS has also partnered with Horseshoe Resort in Barrie to offer a super exciting chicks only weekend retreat call "Sweats and Sass" Retreat by FIT CHICKS. It is a weekend getaway for women only to explore new fitness trends, take on a fitness challenge of Geo-Caching and participate in fitness classes such as Yoga, Zumba, Bootcamp and a lead hike with the Head Chicks Laura Jackson and Amanda Quinn from FIT CHICKS.

FIT CHICKS is also about giving back to the community and since last year we have partnered up again with the Weekend Walk to End Women's Cancer as a training partner helping out at events and leading warm ups and walks for their training teams. We also do our annual Run for the Cure where we invite our Chick Sergeants (instructors) and chicks from class to join in on the fun and run.

Finally, we also will be holding our annual food drive for the local food banks in all areas that we have bootcamp and Zumba classes running. This is an excellent way to empower ladies from class to feel like they are also giving back by donating food to the local food bank through FIT CHICKS - they bringus food and we provide them a chance to win great prizes from us.

The most interesting part I think of all of this is that we are a lean team of 3 employees - all of our instructors are contract employees so we manage all of this above growth plus our 30 plus Bootcamp locations in the GTA, Ottawa and Calgary by dividing the work between our lean team of 3!

Provide a brief biography of the person or persons who lead the nominated company (up to 100 words):

Best friends since Grade 9 and both struggling with weight & body image, these 2 chicks used their passion for fitness, health, friendship (and a lot of laughs!) to change their lives – inside & out. After seeing the fab power of fitness, they decided to take it to take it to level, left their corporate jobs (aka swapped their suits for sweats) and set out on a mission to spread the healthy love. They have trained over 5000 Canadian women to date!

Creators of “FIT CHICKS Bootcamp” and “The 28 Day Pedometer Challenge”, their signature high intensity interval workouts mixed with a fierce, fun, results oriented approach to fitness.

The CEO (or other principal manager) of this company is a woman, and at least 40% of the management team is comprised of women.