Brookshire's 'Runs' Wellness Campaign
As part of the company’s continued focus on improving health and wellness opportunities for its employees, Brookshire Grocery Co. recently celebrated a wellness campaign that brought together more than 200 employees to run or walk 13.1 miles at the Tyler Run for Autism.
Last year, the company announced it would fund registration fees for anyone interested in participating in the Tyler Rose Half-Marathon, which was held October 2012. Based on the positive feedback from the first race, which had more than 100 company participants, BGC decided to continue the effort by funding employee participation for a second half-marathon in April.
Trent Brookshire, a fourth generation family member and avid runner and cyclist, saw this as an opportunity to help employees make better lifestyle decisions and become more active. “The half-marathon distance is unique in that you have to invest the training in order to finish the race,” Brookshire said. “We want our employees to be successful in these events, so we provide them with the knowledge they need to train for and complete the race. After training for several months and completing such an impressive goal, many have found a new interest in nutrition and fitness, and have taken drastic measures to improve their health.”
At the Tyler Run for Autism race, BGC employees comprised the majority of half-marathon participants, and 32 employees placed in the top five of their age divisions. BGC plans to fund employee participation for three upcoming half-marathons located in other operating areas throughout Louisiana and Arkansas.
“When we first issued the challenge to run or walk a half-marathon, we expected maybe 20 or 30 employees to express interest, but we received a tremendous response, and have now had more than 200 employees reach this goal,” said Brookshire.
In addition to the half-marathons, BGC promotes monthly health challenges, which offer incentives for taking on small lifestyle changes such as drinking more water or eating fruits and vegetables. At the Tyler, Texas-based corporate office, a Weight Watchers representative provides weekly meetings on-site for members, and the company recently began serving fresh fruit during break times through an effort called “Fresh Fruit Fridays.”
“BGC is going to great lengths to ensure our employees have opportunities to stay fit,” said BGC president and CEO Rick Rayford. “With the rising onset of Type 2 diabetes and other preventable diseases, we want to help our employees make healthy decisions that can prevent future health problems. We also believe that healthy employees are more productive, have better relationships with their coworkers and provide better service to our valued customers.”