by Carrie Moritz, Gazette
Last Thursday, Tim and Shar Nelson passed the baton of the local fitness facility to new owners Bailey Slaby and Chase Tempel.
After 17 years, the Nelsons are getting ready to retire, and had an offer they could not refuse.
"It's bittersweet selling the last EP," said Tim Nelson.
But with retirement around the corner, he said, "When Bailey approached us we took it as a sign to take action."
Slaby started bootcamp classes this past fall within the Exercise Place, re-starting an option that ended when the basement under O So Good flooded, wrecking the open gym concept that had been shared by different groups until the spring of 2019.
Tim has been full-time at the Garretson School District as the Bus Superintendent since the summer of 2017. He once owned facilities in Garretson, Volga, Estelline, Edgerton, and Hendricks. He first sold the Estelline facility, then sold Volga to a local chiropractor in the early 2010's. After he sold Hendricks, he was left with Edgerton and Garretson. This helped reduce the amount of time he had to spend traveling, visiting each facility to register new members, ensure equipment was maintained, and facilities were clean.
Edgerton's location was unable to be sold due to the loss of space, and relocation options were unavailable. While the Nelsons were saddened to leave the community, they shut down operations there in 2019.
With one location remaining, they were ecstatic to have Slaby and Tempel step up. Slaby and Tempel state they have a very passionate attitude toward health and fitness.
"I used to run Bootcamp classes and also CrossFit classes at Black Widow Academy in Watertown SD and loved every moment," Slaby said. "We are very excited in this new path in our lives and cannot wait to give it all we got!"
She understands that questions and concerns may arise, and encourages past, current, and future EP members to contact her.
Her email is and the phone number for the EP is 594-3131.
"We would like to assure you that we have, and will always have, our members BEST interest at heart," Slaby wrote in a message to members. "Please never hesitate to reach out and express your concerns and questions, we are happy to help.
"Tim and Shar Nelson have been nothing short of amazing through this time of change and knowing how much they love the great community of Garretson and the EP makes it even more honoring to be entrusted as the new owners. We cannot thank them enough for this opportunity."
