Industry brand ambassador business makes an example of itself in the industry with a substantial philanthropic achievement.
(Note: This story appears in the September 2023 issue of ED Magazine)
A
dult nightclubs today have taken a giant leap forward from the days of being routinely painted as businesses without socially-redeeming value by the likes of community and religious leaders and ambitious politicians. Today, thanks to industry innovators, these businesses are becoming respected corporate citizens who actively contribute to improving their communities. This positive shift in perception didn’t happen by chance; instead, it resulted from the continuous efforts of savvy club operators to prioritize image and community support through philanthropic activities.
A classic example of this, GoBEST!’s current Las Vegas fundraising drive — partnering both with a major life-saving device supplier and manufacturer, as well as the Las Vegas Metro Police Foundation, to put life-saving AED devices in every local police car — illustrates that efforts by responsible clubs to be positive forces in their communities can go a long way to forge strong community relationships, with the added benefit of removing targets from clubs’ backs.
GoBEST! is a national one-stop-shop for hospitality and nightlife operators’ marketing, fundraising, community relations, operations, technology and purchasing through GoBEST! and GoBEST Bundles and the operator of hospitality businesses nationwide, including Las Vegas’s Hustler Club, Dick’s Last Resort Restaurant and Cat’s Meow Karaoke Bar. Taking their presence in the industry seriously, GoBEST! recently organized a charity golf tournament, raising over $100,000 for a one-day event. Their goal is to reach $400,000 this year to install AED devices in all of the 2,000+ LV Metro Police cars and City Marshal’s cars.
ED Magazine Legal Correspondent Larry Kaplan spoke with GoBEST! Founder Jason Mohney, Vice President Adia Foster and Executive Operations Director Kelly Skillen about how and why GoBEST! undertook this noble project and why giving back to their communities is fundamental to their operations.
ED: How did the AED fundraising effort come about?
Mohney: We’ve had great success with previous charity golf tournaments, and always giving back to our communities is in GoBEST!’s DNA. We saw the chance to support LVMPD and the Marshals, plus save lives in the Valley. What an excellent opportunity to do what makes our family special, help the citizens of Las Vegas and the Las Vegas police community, as well honor my father, a founder and leader in our industry.
Foster: GoBEST! undertook this effort to provide Phillips AED (automated external defibrillator) devices, which help those experiencing sudden cardiac arrest. They’re easy to use, analyze the heart’s rhythm and, if necessary, deliver an electrical shock, or defibrillation, to help the heart re-establish an effective rhythm. Few people realize that when sudden cardiac arrest occurs, you only have six minutes to defibrillate to save that life.
Our Clark County Sheriff told us that an AED saved his neighbor’s life, so he wanted the units placed in every police car. On average, the response time for an EMT is 28 minutes, far too long, but the response time for a police car is only three minutes, soon enough to save lives if the car has an AED device. We thought, what a great cause; let’s work on it. Our team sprang into action to operationalize that concept with the Sheriff’s Department and the Las Vegas Metro Police Foundation.
Mohney: We contacted Cardio Partners and the AED manufacturer, Phillips. They were instrumental in this plan by providing us a substantial discount on the AED’s, which made putting them in every police car an attainable goal.
None of the local golf courses will usually accept gentlemen’s clubs. But we reached out to the Bali Hi Golf Club, across from Hustler, and explained what we’re trying to do. They liked our plan and agreed to partner, allowing us to hold the tournament at their fabulous facility in the center of town.
Foster: For GoBEST!, the AED donations are just the beginning. We’re committed to providing continued AED training to law enforcement officers and the community over the coming years. You never know whether a civilian must operate an AED to save a life.
ED: How did you raise $100,000 with a one-day charity event? It seems pretty incredible.
Skillen: It started with the correct guest list and a good cause; people don’t mind contributing when they feel that they’re effecting actual change. Beyond that, it came down to establishing great relationships with local businesses willing to donate because they value working with us. Finally, having a solid database and social media following (which needs to be built and constantly maintained) was critical. The GoBEST! marketing team focused not only on Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club in Las Vegas but the entire national network of GoBEST! powered clubs.
Mohney: The $100,000 we raised with the golf tournament is just the kickoff to get things rolling. Our fundraising efforts will continue with mini-fundraisers at the clubs through fall, culminating with another golf tournament, this one for Halloween in Primm, on November 4 as the grand finale. Our goal for this year is $400,000.
Foster: KYCW 33 TV gave us excellent coverage of the fundraiser, and KOMP radio donated ad time. We partnered with the Las Vegas Metro Police Foundation. They were instrumental in handling all the logistics and receiving all the donations on their website.
ED: How many people did you have working on the event in advance and on the day of the event?
Skillen: It was Jason and the GoBEST! office staff, including our new executive assistant, Summer Ayala, who had just started; this was her trial by fire; our PR specialist Nick Vardakis; three amazing social media content creators; community outreach expert Andrea Woods and the Hustler Club Las Vegas’s executive management team.
ED: Can clubs and other businesses elsewhere achieve similar fundraising success, and is organizing and coordinating such events a service GoBEST! provides?
Skillen: Yes, we offer a full array of consulting services, including coaching businesses in all markets on being positive forces in their communities and developing relationships with community leaders, police, city council members and others essential to the process.
Foster: The success of these events is due to the partner relationships we’re developing. Our excellent custom products site, gearmeup.com, provided all the hats and T-shirts. Do we want to replicate events like this elsewhere? Absolutely! Because it’s about saving lives, and we have the resources and partnerships to ensure the best pricing, marketing and social reach to educate the community on how little precious time there is to save a life following a cardiac episode and on the importance of these AED’s to serve that cause and their ease of use. It’s essential to know CPR, which goes hand-in-hand with the AED; and these AEDs also coach you through the CPR portion.
ED: What kinds of hiccups occurred along the way and on the day of the event?
Foster: We discovered the day before the event that the custom-labeled lip gloss we’d ordered was never shipped. We called, and they were somehow able to overnight us blank lip balm. We’re GoBEST!, and we never fail to get things done, so we created and applied our own labels for the lip balm. The Hustler managers put the labels on while attending a legal briefing by attorney Brad Shafer.
ED: How does giving back to your communities through this tournament, the smaller club fundraisers and the second November 4 golf tournament, with a combined goal of $400,000, benefit the adult nightclub industry?
Skillen: As leaders in the adult entertainment industry, we are constantly tasked with educating the public and combating negative misconceptions. Any opportunity to create a positive narrative helps to change that perception and benefits us all.
For information on solutions for marketing, fundraising, community relations, operations, technology and purchasing through GoBEST! and GoBEST! Bundles, or to order an AED device, email elevate@gobestbiz.com and check out gobestbiz.com and gobestbundles.com
Larry Kaplan has for 23 years been the Legal Correspondent for ED Publications. In addition, Mr. Kaplan is a business broker in the sale and purchase of adult nightclubs and adult retail stores and the Executive Director of the ACE of Michigan adult nightclub state trade association. Contact Larry Kaplan: at 313-815-3311 or email larry@kaplanclubsales.com.
