MassageLuXe Announces Deserving Winner of its Member of the Year Award
Day Spa Franchise Offers Free Monthly Membership for a Year to Faithful Missouri Woman Who Turns to Massage Therapy for Relief from the Side Effects of Grief
September 08, 2021 // Franchising.com // ROCK HILL, MISSOURI - Stacey Schultz refuses to let recent tragedies crush her spirit or diminish her faith. Her determination to find meaning in life’s difficult moments and her resilience in the face of significant hardship moved the MassageLuXe community of customers, employees, and franchisees to vote for the widowed 53-year-old from Rock Hill, MO as the MassageLuXe Member of the Year.
Stacey was moving her husband into hospice care this summer when a MassageLuXe representative called to tell her she had been chosen as Member of the Year, and her monthly membership at MassageLuXe Rock Hill would be free for 12 months. Recalling the phone call, Stacey says, “I felt like that was God’s way of saying, ‘I got you Stacey. I’m giving you this gift to help you take care of yourself.’”
Stacey has experienced unimaginable grief in the past four years. Most recently, she suffered the loss of her husband, 60-year-old Russ Schultz, in mid-July - just weeks before the couple’s 25th wedding anniversary on August 3.
At the time Stacey submitted her entry for Member of the Year in the spring, they had just learned of Russ’s diagnosis. “It was stage 4 pancreatic cancer,” Stacey says. “Russ had beat two cancers and survived a heart attack. I volunteered with cancer patients for more than a decade. Neither of us was afraid of cancer. We were hopeful down to the very last moments of his life.”
Russ’s passing was the third unexpected loss for Stacey and her family since 2017. Her mother passed away that year from a heart attack. One year later, Stacey’s 17-year-old nephew, Riley - a college-bound student at the top of his class - died in an ATV accident weeks before his high school graduation.
The weight of those losses was a heavy burden to carry. As a longtime believer in the benefits of massage and a customer of MassageLuXe for about eight years, Stacey has turned to massage therapy for relief from the side effects of grief.
“I hope sharing my story helps people understand the benefits of massage physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually,” Stacey says. “People tend to think of massage as a luxury. It’s so much more than that. It’s therapy.”
Clarence King, Stacey’s trusted massage therapist in Rock Hill for about five years, recommended she apply for MassageLuXe’s Member of the Year Award. “Stacey’s a very sweet and deserving person. Her energy is awesome,” Clarence says, explaining that it’s rewarding to work in a job dedicated to helping others. “Even on days when I’m feeling bad, I enjoy making my clients feel better - mentally, physically, spiritually. It’s like therapy for me.”
After her mother passed away in 2017, Stacey was out-of-state organizing her mom’s estate at her family’s home in Florida. Upon returning home to the St. Louis area after several months without a massage, Stacey remembers her first visit to MassageLuXe to see Clarence. “He could tell my body was worn out. I broke down crying, and he comforted me. Clarence has a real gift. He expresses care in a compassionate and personal, but very professional way.”
Clarence became a massage therapist at age 45 when he found a window of opportunity in his busy life as a father to go back to school to study massage therapy. “It was something I’ve wanted to do for a while, because I wanted my work to have a positive impact on people’s lives,” says Clarence. “Stacey and many other MassageLuXe clients come to me when life has dealt them a difficult or stressful hand. It’s rewarding as a massage therapist to ease some of the tension that can cause neck and back pain, headaches, migraines and more. They walk out of the spa with a sense of healing, and that’s special.”
Now, Stacey prays she’s at the end of what’s been a rather long and dark tunnel. The light at the end of the journey was the birth of her second grandchild in August, who is named Thomas Russell Schultz in memory of his late grandfather. Stacey knows being a “Gi-Gi” will be different without Russ by her side to corral the newborn and her 2-year-old granddaughter, Claire; but she looks forward enjoying time with them, taking care of herself as she slowly heals, and sharing her faith and joyful spirit with others.
“Russ and I loved each other, but we also liked each other. We had such a happy and fun marriage,” Stacey says, sharing this advice, “As you can, you take the trip, you buy the shoes, you go to the nice restaurant. You can’t take it with you. Live a beautiful life. Enjoy all the opportunities life affords you while you can.”
MassageLuXe is a fast-growing massage and spa franchise delivering exceptional services in the membership-based massage, facial and waxing industry.
To learn more about MassageLuXe, visit https://massageluxe.com/
For information about franchise opportunities, visit https://massageluxe.com/franchise-opportunities/
About MassageLuXe
Founded in 2008 in St. Louis, Missouri, MassageLuXe is a fast-growing franchise-based spa company with a mission to provide an unparalleled experience that supports and encourages health, wellbeing, and quality of life. MassageLuXe delivers the highest quality massage, facial, and waxing services in a comfortable, relaxing, and luxurious environment.
Massage is a service that improves health, promotes relaxation and overall wellbeing for the consumer, and has been practiced throughout the world for thousands of years. MassageLuXe currently has 70 locations across 16 states and is planning to expand to 250 locations in the next five years.
SOURCE MassageLuXe
###
Add to Request List |