THREE RIVERS, Mich. — Just one week before it was set to close for good, Beacon Health and Fitness in Three Rivers is back in business under new local ownership, reopening as the Three Rivers Athletic Club, or TRAC, on October 1.
The facility had been a community staple for nearly three decades. When the closure was announced, it hit residents hard. Members rallied to keep the doors open, launching a petition that quickly gathered more than 300 signatures.
That pressure helped lead to the intervention of Brock and Autumn Yost, a Three Rivers couple who had already built a presence in the local fitness scene through their work at a facility known as The Pit.
"We invested in the family farm, 150 year old farm this year," Brock Yost said. "And during that process, we decided that we were going to commit to just devoting our lives to the health and happiness of this community."
Taking over the Beacon location was the next step in that commitment.
"It was important to Beacon that they preserved this as well," Yost said. "They just were in a spot where they had to make a hard decision. They made the hard decision and the fallout was happening. And once I showed some interest, they made it very easy for us to transition."
The new name, TRAC, is a deliberate nod to the gym's origins. The facility first opened in 1997 under a name that carried the HealthTRAC brand, and the Yosts wanted to honor that history while moving forward.
Members who rely on the location, including pool users, veterans and people with disabilities, are expected to keep access to the same equipment and the same pool. The couple said they plan to open the basketball court and to add pickleball courts, though most of the rest of the facility will remain as it was, at the same price.
"Standard membership rates will remain the same under TRAC," according to the Three Rivers Commercial-News, with existing members needing to establish a new membership directly with the club.
Beacon confirmed in a letter to members that its own memberships end on September 30, and that it will not transfer or share member information with TRAC for privacy reasons.
"For a lot of us, this is a second home," said Debbie Buck, a longtime member. "This new owner is a hero. He's a hero for the community."
Buck said she could not sleep the night the news broke, and added that she wanted to thank the Yosts in person.
Greg Tote, another member who swims at the facility five to six days a week, said he loves the place, the people and the community around it.
The change marks a rare ending: a national fitness brand stepping back from a small town location, and a local family stepping in to keep it open for the neighbors who count on it.