'Health Matters' Celebrates 5 Years of Improving Employee Fitness

‘Health Matters’ Has Come a Long Way Since its Humble Beginnings

Before I tell the tale of how ‘Health Matters’ became a companywide initiative offering PWT employees a guide to a healthier lifestyle, allow me a moment to you tell you a bit about myself. My name is Penny Gousios, I am an Executive Assistant at Diversified Transportation, and I have always had a keen interest in fitness. I’ve participated in fitness activities throughout my life - particularly when my kids were growing up. As a family, we always took to the outdoors at every opportunity. When my kids got older, I found myself with extra time on my hands, so I decided to pursue more formal training in something that I loved to do.

I became canfitpro certified as a Fitness Instructor Specialist in 2017 and in 2019 I became an Associate PRO TRAINER with canfitpro. I already held several licenses and certifications prior to 2017 and had been teaching fitness classes prior to becoming certified with canfitpro.

Being canfitpro certified means you have formally trained in leadership, motivation, practical training in class design, cueing, coaching, and multi-level teaching to music. Being a PRO TRAINER means I am qualified to deliver the courses to those who wish to become fitness instructors themselves.

I found that once I started receiving formal education in the fitness world, I knew there was a lot more out there to learn. I felt that my education had just begun. I became certified in High Intensity Interval Training, Indoor Cycling, Barre, and TRX just to name just a few.

Health Matters Had its Roots at Diversified

I recall attending a client meeting in 2017 where the talk around the table was about a particular weight loss challenge that they were all participating in. During the meeting, a comment was made by our side:

“We should really do something like that at Diversified.”

Well, be careful what you wish for. In June of 2017, the wheels were put in motion and a plan was hatched. I knew that if we were going to do something like this, I wanted it to be something long term and something that could grow.

A Master Plan Was Developed

·???????Presentation of the initiative would be made to targeted employee groups – it was rolled out in a succession of townhall and driver meetings.

·???????We started with the presentations in August 2017 to familiarize everyone about the program.

·???????We were going to be targeting physical activity/diet and rest.

·???????The end goal was to reduce the burden to the company by a reduction of sick days and create a happier more engaged workplace.

At this point, there was still a great deal of homework to get done. I reached out to the local health office in Fort McMurray and was able to secure six hours of free sessions with a local dietician. I wanted to make sure we had a few activities lined up to ensure we made the initiative as robust as possible.

It was decided that the first challenge to kick things off had to be something that we could get the majority of our employees involved in. So, we decided it would be a step challenge: 10,000 steps per day. We started signing up people for the challenge at our roll out sessions with the challenge starting on September 1st of 2017.?For our initial challenge, we were giving away small heart-shaped pedometers and we had a total of 167 people sign up.?

After that initial challenge, we then started up the dietician sessions. We had people sign up for them, but they were only moderately attended. Because this activity was cutting into our driving force’s rest time, we decided that the best way of communicating this information was by other means of distribution.

Health Matters Had a Bumpy Start

Our challenges continued monthly, but this was something foreign to everyone and getting buy-in was hard. It would take a serious change of mindset which had to be done collectively. It was an uphill battle, but it was definitely going to be worth the effort.

I did not give up and continued with the messaging on our TV monitors, Facebook page, emails and message boards - but at times it seemed like a futile effort. However, I’d often hear employee comments made in passing about how people found the information useful and how it prompted them to make changes to their lifestyle. Knowing that, I continued with my messaging campaign and pushed through.?

In the summer of 2018, I created a STRAVA group called Diversified Fitness Group as a way of encouraging and motivating each other. STRAVA is?a fitness-tracking and social media app designed for runners and cyclists?with three main features: tracking, connecting, and competing. I had mentioned on our Facebook page about different apps people can use as a way of staying accountable, and this one worked very well.

The following year, there was a group of 14 of us who signed up for the 5K walk/run in the Fort McMurray Marathon in September of 2019.

New Management at DTL Went ALL IN With Supporting Health and Wellness

There was a paradigm shift in late 2018/early 2019 when there was a more focused approach to health and wellness. We started up a lunch time walking/running group that made two rounds at a nearby industrial park in Fort McMurray. That loop was the equivalent of 6.4 kms. The group ranged anywhere from five to seven people and on some days, we had an even larger number.

With the onset of the pandemic (and the world literally changing in the blink of an eye) an idea was brought forward by Dan Finley and Pamela Deadmarsh about expanding my program. The proposal to extend DTL Health Matters to become a companywide initiative is how PWT Health Matters was born.

PWT Health Matters Launched in 2020

With almost everyone working remotely, the idea was that PWT Health Matters would become a great way to stay engaged with our employees. We started moving forward with plans of launching challenges every second month in order to be able to manage the larger audience.

Wellness Wednesdays were implemented, and as the challenges began, we started combining them with a healthy eating challenge as well.

In August 2020, we decided to hold our own fundraising run. We started planning for the event, but because the pandemic was still looming, we made sure to take the proper measures. When we finally got a break in the restrictions, we were able to move ahead. The first run was a big success, so we decided to carry on the tradition and do the same in 2021.

We partnered with the Stollery Children’s hospital in Edmonton and decided the run would be to raise funds for the hospital. This time, we had 26 runners participate and once again the weather didn’t really hold up for us. However, that didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits and we managed to raise $5,400 for the Stollery.

At the end of September 2021, my husband retired, and I moved back to Edmonton. Despite the change in my address, I wanted to continue what we had started in Fort McMurray. So, I implemented another lunch time walking group at DTL Edmonton that featured a daily 4.3km loop. We started off slowly, but the group has now grown to between four to six people.

This year, we did not plan a run but there are a few of us who participated in the 10K run in the Fort McMurray Marathon held on September 25th.

PWT Health Matters is Important… Because HEALTH MATTERS!

We have also implemented changes to our snacks in the office, and our coffee break sessions now include healthier options. It’s a small change, but when it comes to encouraging a healthier lifestyle, I feel every little bit helps.

Over these past five years, I’m confident that we have introduced a program that encourages PWT employees to look at their overall health and make better choices. I feel we have changed things for the better, which is why I love to hear testimonials about how our Health Matters fitness challenges have made a real difference.

"I enjoyed it and found it very helpful while I was dealing with a family health emergency. It allowed me to look forward to something that helped me feel energized and able to deal with the stress."?

“Thank you for the weekly wellness email. It is nice to receive different ideas for creating an exercise routine. Now that we are back at work, it will be nice to get back into a regular routine.”

“Well, this was my first wellness challenge and while it was a pain and a challenge, there were benefits. Thank you for the program. By the way, my dietician loved the program and encouraged me to commit to two days a week for each of the modalities in this program.”

“Thank you again for another fantastic challenge. It was fun and really motivating!”

“It's a great thing you are doing by encouraging employees to stay active, it changes everything in your life for the positive! Good job!"

I’d like to thank everyone who has participated in any way during these first five years of Health Matters. Here’s hoping we can all stay on track and continue our path to a healthier lifestyle for another five years… and beyond!

Penny Gousios

Published by