Photography by Megan Mumford
This story is part of our annual Capital Region Gives Back initiative that honors 10 locals who are making our community a better place. Read up on all of the 2026 honorees and join us on December 9 for the 8th annual Capital Region Gives Back event at Putnam Place.
Eric Taylor knows firefighters.
He’s got them in his family—his father-in-law is a firefighter, along with his wife’s uncle and her cousins—and counts them as members of Best Fitness, the chain of gyms where he serves as director of sales and operations.
Every October, Best Fitness raises money for firefighters battling cancer through various initiatives. The gym waives enrollment fees and offers specialty classes at its three Capital Region locations in Colonie, Albany, and Schenectady, allowing people to join the gym or participate in the classes for a $10 donation. Best Fitness also hosts an Oktoberfest fundraiser at Frog Alley with raffles and music, as well as a charity golf tournament at Schenectady Municipal Golf Course.
“All that money goes to the cause,” says Taylor, a Rotterdam resident. “We’ve always been a first responders-first business. They’re the ones running into danger when most people are running away from it. You can’t have a safe community without them.”
Best Fitness has been raising money to fight cancer for about 10 years. Initially, the funds went to the American Cancer Society, but four years ago the company decided to give to the Schenectady Firefighters Cancer Foundation (SFCF) and Albany Firefighters Cancer & Disability Foundation (AFCDF), which support members and retired members who are battling cancer, instead. Studies have shown that firefighters have a higher risk of dying from cancer than the general population; the Firefighter Cancer Support Network, a national nonprofit, calls cancer the most dangerous threat to firefighter health and safety.
Last year alone, Best Fitness raised more than $12,000 for the Albany and Schenectady fire departments’ cancer foundations. The gym has also supported SFCF’s Run for Your Life 5K, the Albany Ride for Missing Children, and Schenectady trainer Tommie Burch’s campaign for Blood Cancer United’s Visionary of the Year. In September, the Schenectady location hosted a back-to-school drive to collect school supplies for local teachers.
“Our members are very generous, and they rally around multiple causes that we do throughout the year,” Taylor says. “No pun intended, but we have the ‘best’ members.”
