Get Fit

In response to last year’s employee survey, Northwood University implemented a wellness initiative called Get Fit.  The idea is to provide employees options for improved overall health in mind and body, and at the same time add a little healthy competition and rewards for motivation to stay with the program.

Last February employees were surveyed through my.northwood about their interest in physical well being.  After the survey, a pilot group was formed to develop a sense of what employees would want from a wellness program.  The pilot program involved 75 employees and featured general wellness by providing health risk assessments, fitness classes and information on healthy living with the motivation of “Get Fit and Win” contests.  Overall, employees stated they enjoyed the pilot program, fitness options and reward motivation.

This year the Get Fit wellness initiative is a 10-week program running from February 17 through April 28 and focuses on team competition to lose weight and get fit.  While it is understood getting fit is not just about losing weight, it does make for good competition!  Currently, 27 four-person teams (108 employees) across all operating units have registered and weighed in.  We even have four-person teams consisting of MI/TX, FL/MI, ADP/MI and ME/MI employees - making Get Fit a true One Northwood endeavor.  The names of teams are proof the members are already putting a “serious”’ effort into this competition:

• 24 PACKS
• 3 Fit-tles and A Fat-tle
• 3 Phat Brodz and a Dude
• A Wii and A Prayer
• The Administ-Weighters
• The Beach Body Wannabes
• DE-feat DE-fat
• From Wii FAT to Wii FIT
• FAB(ulous) Four
• Florida Melt Aways
• Florida’s Bunch of Losers
• "Mini Me's"
• Move It and Lose It
• Northwood Plump Dumpers
• Northwood’s Yankee-Southern Coalition for the Elimination of the Badunkadunk
• NU Dimensions
• Quarter Pounders
• Resize Recruiter
• SLOAN TIGERS
• Team DEBU (Debu means chunky in Japanese)
• The Celery Stalkers
• The Smallest Winners
• U Knighted for Fitness
• Victorious Secret
• Weapons of Mass Reduction
• Wii Fit “One at a time please”
• Pop-drinking, Pizza-eating NUAC Trolls

With Vice President John Young serving as both judge and jury, the Weapons of Mass Reduction were awarded first place winner for team name, with The Celery Stalkers receiving honorable mention.  The Weapons of Mass Reduction team members - Brenda Fitak, Erin Poltorak, Jo Ann Jolliffe, and Sarah Krueger - received $25 gift cards as their prize.

Each team received a Get Fit t-shirt and goodie bag and will have their team picture posted on the HR Org page.  All employees may access the HR Org page for healthy living tips over the course of the next 10 weeks as well as view the status of the competing teams.  We invite you to keep track of your colleagues and see their transformations.  Rewards are based on the highest percentage of team total weight loss at mid-point (March 24) and at the end of the program (April 28). The grand prize will be a Wii, Wii Fit or Wii Fit accessories for each winning team member (their choice).

While getting fit has different connotations for each person, our goal is to provide a fun and unique wellness program to motivate employees toward a healthier lifestyle by reducing stress and other health risks, and to continue receiving a healthcare rebate - certainly a motivator for us all!

Recognizing the value of a fit and healthy workplace to Northwood University and our employees, the Human Resources (HR) Department strives to provide all employees with information to help lead a healthy lifestyle and to foster a healthy workplace culture.  Tapping into employee expertise and partnering with multiple campus health services, HR offers resources and programs to support employees seeking a healthy balance in their professional and personal lives.  Their aim is to help Northwood employees be more productive, more satisfied and more engaged in their work environment - sustaining our highly-qualified workforce and enhancing the quality of our work-life experience.

Meanwhile as we here on our campuses work on our fitness, one of our own, alumnus Jon Montgomery, BBA ’01 Texas, has set a fitness example that, while we may not be able to emulate, we certainly can enjoy watching.   Montgomery, from Manitoba, Canada, is competing TODAY in the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.  His sport is the Skeleton and you’ll want to be watching at 7:50 PM PST (estimated start time) when the medal heat is run.
Skeleton, a thrilling sport for the audience, is even more so for the participants as speeds on the track reach over 70 miles per hour.  The sport is said to have started in Europe in 1887, a combination of tobogganing and bobsledding, and the name comes from the aerodynamically designed, lightweight sled nicknamed the “skeleton.”  The competition first appeared in the 1928 Olympics, surfaced again in 1948, but then took a long hiatus before returning to the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.
We wish Jon the best of luck today and regardless of where he finishes, we are very proud he is one of Northwood’s own!

Have a great weekend!

Keith A. Pretty, J.D.
President and CEO
Northwood University
4000 Whiting Drive
Midland, MI 48640
989.837.4203 (phone)
989.832.9590 (fax)

pretty@northwood.edu