March Member of the Month: Christina Kourbelas of Body Perfect Tanning
Bountiful, Utah

Q: What is the 12 Months of Giving?

A: I have been blessed with two stores and made it through some of the toughest times in the tanning business, so now it’s time for me to give back. Now that I bought my second store I don’t want to get greedy. The 12 Months of Giving lets me give back to people in our community. The idea was that we would help a different person every month. For example, Body Perfect is always warm and bright, so we might ask our community to nominate people who don’t have the money to pay their heat or light bill. Maybe they don’t have the money for their medications this month or they need help with the groceries. But we will be posting so people can let us know who is in need.

Q: How has your business changed since opening a second location?

A: When I owned one store, it wasn’t as difficult to incentivize my employees because I was highly involved with them. But now that I have two stores, I have my son, Cody, managing the second. Because I’m not there all the time and the stores are 13 miles apart, it’s harder for me to be as personal with the employees. So we are trying to start different group things that include both stores. I have worked in environments where you’re a number and you have no say in when you were going to work, that’s why it’s important to me to have relationships with employees and appreciate their loyalty.

Q: How do you feel about the tanning industry now that you’re part of it?

A: I love it. When I compare what I thought then and what I see now, I am more pleased than ever. I am seeing the vision I had when I got into this business. We are getting to the point where you are seeing more professionals getting involved; it’s about more than just putting a teenager behind the counter and selling a tan. The best way to prevent any more detriment to our industry is for us to stay professional. We have a big battle ahead of us because we are looked upon with so much controversy, and I really believe it’s important to stand apart from what we were known as in the 80’s.