Funworld August 2009

Dr. FEC

With medicine and fun, Bruce Taylor, MD, reaches out to the community
by Mike Bederka

SPLITTING HIS DAYS BETWEEN A SURPRISING MIX of careers, Bruce Taylor, MD, doesn’t have much down time. The 37-year-old sees patients as a general internist and runs a family entertainment center.

Taylor, born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, attended undergraduate, graduate, and medical school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He moved two hours south to Selma in September 2003 after being recruited by a hospital down there.

Not content with just helping people manage their high blood pressure, diabetes, and arthritis, Taylor explored the idea of building an FEC in 2007. Some of his medical colleagues scoffed at the notion of diverting his attention from a successful practice, but he knew he had a winning idea. The area had lacked an FEC for more than a decade, and Selma’s residents needed a safe, clean place to have fun.

Taylorville Family Entertainment Center opened this past April. The impact of the 18,200-square-foot facility already has been felt.

He hired 50 people to start and more for the summer, putting a dent in the local unemployment rate. Plus, along with the inflatables, video and redemption games, and black light miniature golf, Taylorville tweaks another FEC staple. With “Laser Tag 101,” staff members teach groups the science behind the game after they play a round.

Between calls from the hospital, Taylor talks to FUNWORLD.

FUNWORLD: Tell readers a little bit about Selma and why you opened up an FEC there?
Bruce Taylor: In general, it is a socioeconomic depressed area. Most of the jobs here are manual labor and manufacturing. Selma is known for its civil rights history, but economically, it has been left behind a little bit. I came here because there’s a disparity in health care providers, and we decided to open a family entertainment center to fill another need in the city. People always talked about not having anything to do. With Taylorville, we want people to forget about the day-to-day details of life. Just come in and have fun. We want to make it as purely positive as we can.

FW: How did you achieve your strong relationship with the people of Selma?
BT: Part of that relationship building comes through several community service projects we have during the year. This morning, I spent some time at a local high school doing athletic physicals. That takes the burden off the coaches and the students. We also hold a big free annual health fair with doctors on hand. It draws a thousand people. That may not sound like a lot, but the population here is only about 20,000.

FW: Being in a lower socioeconomic area, how are you addressing pricing with your FEC?
BT: Our food will be at a price point where we make a profit, but it is very competitive with local fast food restaurants. In most cases, we’re less than those folks. And we try to make it perfectly clear: It’s free to come in. You pay per game or attraction. We want to develop ourselves as the hangout for the area.

FW: What lessons learned from your medical experience can you carry over to the FEC world?
BT: Get a good product out there from the beginning, and at same time, do the best you can to control costs through efficient staffing. We are cross-training our staff to run any part of the family entertainment center.

FW: Do you ever see your patients at your FEC?
BT: All the time. One of the reasons why I think we’re getting off to such a great start is I have such a loyal patient base. We give every patient a flyer with upcoming Taylorville information.

FW: What is the best advice you have received in running an FEC?
BT: Do continual marketing and never take your market for granted.

FW: Why did you start the Laser Tag 101 program?
BT: In our area, laser tag is not widely known. We want to educate people about laser tag. It will help from a science perspective, and it will help to raise awareness of the family entertainment center to generate business.

FW: Do you have any big projects in the works?
BT: We’re going to build upon what we have. For example, we’re working on an outside picnic area so we can hold family reunions. We want Taylorville to be the focal point of the community.

Learn more about F.I.R.S.T. For details about the IAAPA-sponsored FEC insurance program, visit www.amerspec.com, or call +1 800/245-2744.