It’s hard to believe that ACF’s first wellness initiative has already concluded. After 6 weeks of competition, we celebrated the success of our participants in true ACF form. On October 5th participants from all three locations met via video conference for a live announcement of the Biggest Winners.
This was not a typical “weight loss” competition. Instead, participants used a body composition scale that indicates their percentages of body muscle and fat. The challenge was to improve those numbers. Percentages of total fat lost and muscle gained over the 6-week competition were used to determine the final scores for each participant.
Using these body measurements made the contest beneficial for all ACF employees, including those who already considered themselves to be in shape. Dean Davis, Service Sales Engineer, participated in the contest despite having said “I already work out regularly, so I didn’t expect to win. But, using the scale every week helped direct my workouts and I ended up seeing improvement for both metrics.” The idea was to drive the point that every contestant had a chance at success if they raised their personal “fit” bar. “We wanted to encourage employees to get healthier, not just skinnier,” said Catherine Romens, Wellness Committee Co-captain.
Participants were divided into Men’s and Women’s categories. The top three participants in each category won prizes. We had winners from both ACF Divisions.
3rd Place – Men’s category: Bill Hogan – IT and Marketing (Tampa)
3rd Place – Women’s category: Janet Klocek – Service Operations Specialist (Orlando)
2nd Place – Men’s category: Alan Connole – Service Technician (Orlando)
2nd Place – Women’s category: Lily Torres – Human Resources Manager (Tampa)
1st Place – Men’s category: Carlos Aceituno – Sales Manager (Orlando)
1st Place – Women’s category: Susan Wentzel – Collections Administrator/Executive Assistant (Tampa)
Each of the winners earned a gift card and the admiration of their coworkers, but the Grand Prize Winners won the opportunity to feed the hungry too! The scores of the Men’s and Women’s categories were added up, and ACF donated a pound of food for every point in the name of the Grand Prize Winners to their choice of Metropolitan Ministries or Feeding America.
Carlos Aceituno represented a 43-pound donation for the men
Susan Wentzel represented a 26-pound donation for the women
ACF’s Wellness Program has a lot to celebrate, but we are NOT ready to rest on our 1st success! Soon after the Biggest Winner wrapped up, we began our next 2 initiatives. In partnership with Tobacco Free Florida, we began our first Tobacco Cessation Program on October 18th. That initiative is accompanied by a “Biggest Winner Take 2” contest that started on October 7th. Stay connected and look out for our next wellness blog for more details on the current programs.