Courtesy photo The Health and Wellness Impact Award given to SkellaFit Personal Training at the Michigan Fitness Association Conference last week. The award was presented by MFA President Bryan Reif, left, SkellaFit Owner Cristi Johnson, center, and MFA Director Elaine Economou.

Lansing– Michigan Fitness Association (MFA) held their annual conference on Wednesday. MFA President Brian Reif opened the conference by presenting Cristi Johnson of Alpena’s SkellaFit Personal Training with the Health and Wellness Impact Award.

The MFA Health and Wellness Impact Award recognizes exemplary initiatives that extend beyond business objectives to significantly enhance the health and well-being of Michiganders, especially within marginalized or underserved communities. The MFA evaluated the grant recipients on innovation, community engagement, measurable impact, sustainability, scalability, and health equity. Submissions were narrowed down to the top five and then voted on by MFA members are fitness industry professionals, gym owners and certified personal trainers.

During the presentation, Reif cited the 2023 kidnapping attempt that shook the Alpena community. This incident inspired Johnson to offer self defense programs for children, teens, and the Hope Shores Alliance sexual assault support group at no cost to the attendees.

“We have been honored to collaborate with SkellaFit in empowering survivors of domestic and sexual violence.” said Hope Shores Advocacy Services Manager, Tressa Snider, “SkellaFit’s commitment to building confidence, safety and resilience aligns with our mission and we look forward to continued partnership in supporting survivors in our community.”

“Everyone has a right to feel safe in their own community, but what many people fail to recognize is just how capable they are of protecting themselves in the event of an attack.” said Johnson “Instead of teaching complex combat techniques that are not realistic in most self defense scenarios, we choose to focus on an approach that helps people tune in to their intuition, and pair it with strategies to create space between themselves and their attacker so they can get to safety as soon as possible. This is what has made the training accessible to folks of all ages and abilities.”

SkellaFit will begin offering self defense as team building to area businesses beginning in early 2026.