Gym patrons rallying for fire victim owner

For many people, Galaxy Gym was a real source of strength.

“A lot of us have competed all over the state, all over New England,” said Lloyd Myles, owner of Power Sports Plus, a snowmobile/motorsports shop on Route 106. “The gym had a lot of accomplishments and most people didn’t even know about it unless you were part of the weightlifting world. There were several state record holders who worked out there, even a couple of people who were once world record holders.”

However gym owner Wayne McClay of Moultonboro helped his nearly 200 customers gain physical strength, now they’re using their spiritual and emotional strength to support McClay and the other people who lost their businesses in the six-alarm fire that destroyed a commercial building in the Major Brands Shopping Plaza Tuesday night.

Less than 24 hours after the fire was doused, friends and supporters of McClay and the owners of the other five local businesses were busy hatching plans to help the families get back on their feet and get their businesses reopened.

McClay and Mike Denning of Laconia, who owned the Egg-Cellent Restaurant — whose business was also lost in the fire —, said they had no fire insurance. McClay said he’d be surprised if any of the other four businesses there — including Read All About It, Nails 2000, Country Tyme Antiques and Studio Lighting — had any as well.

For Karen Feltham, a developer with the White Mountain Land Co. in Laconia, helping McClay and his family began Wednesday, the day after the fire. That’s when she and another gym client rented an excavator and dug through the rubble at the gym trying to find salvageable items.

“We found some equipment, some dumbbells, weight plates, some machines that could be salvaged. We found his stapler and some pencils,” Feltham said. “And Wayne’s parents were killed in an accident in Tuftonboro. He had a plaque up, which said that the business was in their memory. We found that too.

“We moved it all to one of the guy’s barns,” she added. “Then (Thursday), we went to look for a new space to set him up.”

The owner of Galaxy Gym could be one of the more blessed owners of the demolished businesses. Myles of Power Sports Plus said that McClay might be able to move into an open space in the original Baron’s building, right next door to his old space.

Meanwhile, Denning of the Egg-Cellent Restaurant, has not been as fortunate.

“I would like to reopen and people have suggested where Frenchy’s restaurant was at the Belknap Mall but the rent is a lot, the mall rent is very expensive,” he said. “But a lot of my customers are looking for me. The phone’s been ringing off the hook. And it’s nice, people are really sincere and we made a lot of friends in the 12 years we were there. So they’re out looking for a place to put me in.”

One person who could help Denning, McClay and the other business owners is Alan Beetle, one of the owners of Patrick’s Pub & Eatery in Gilford. Several people said Beetle was interested in hosting some kind of fundraising event.

Feltham of White Mountain Land said several local athletic clubs and gymnasiums were donating their space to Galaxy Gym members and at least one local club was considering holding a fundraising event.

Others have discussed opening benefit accounts at local banks.

Myles of Power Sports Plus is organizing an auction that will allow other business owners to contribute items that can then be used to raise funds for the fire victims.

Some Galaxy Gym members are considering repaying their annual dues and one has even made up a shirt with the business’s logo and the words “Feel the Burn,” selling it as a fundraising device, according to Feltham.

Galaxy Gym clients and supporters are gathering at the Top of the Town Restaurant on Ladd Hill Road at 1 p.m. today (Saturday) to discuss fundraising plans, she added.