Wellness Finishers Earn Certificates
Wellness Finishers Earn Certificates
The overall goal was to promote wellness, but faculty and staff
participants in this summer's Wellness Competition also had a lot of
fun.
Fifty-five participants ran, walked or biked during the six-week
competition that concluded Aug. 6. Full- and part-time employees and
summer student assistants were eligible to compete in four-person teams.
"The competition was great," says John Davis, an exercise and health
science faculty member who logged 194 running miles. "The advantage is
that people who weren't previously running, walking or biking started
and hopefully will continue."
Davis, who usually runs five miles a day, seven days a week, credited
his top ranking in the running category in part to the absence of Sandy
Hulme in the competition. "Sandy is an avid runner; he has run every
day for close to 30 years," says Davis.
LouAnn Lucas from the registrar's office joined a team from the IT
department that eventually won the walking category. She was one of
four employees who logged more than 4,000 minutes.
"I was approached to be on the IT team because they had an opening and
they knew I routinely walked," says Lucas, who walks in the morning, at
noon and in the evening. "I followed my routine and upped the amount. I
was motivated because I didn't want to have the least amount of time on
my team."
Phiwa Langeni, who logged a campus-best 4,660 minutes, walked during
her lunch hours and in the evenings with her eight-year-old daughter,
Baphiwe.
"At first, I just needed to participate because I was really lazy; it
was an opportunity to get active," says Langeni. "But when we started
to see we were doing well, we kept pushing to try to win the
competition. Overall, it's a great feeling to have participated. I will
probably keep walking, though probably not as intensely as before."
Each member of the winning teams earned $25 gift certificates to MC
Sports. In addition, each participant who walked 360 minutes, ran 60
miles or biked 75 miles will receive Excellence in Wellness
certificates signed by President Saundra Tracy.
Following are results in each category:
RUNNING: The winning team of John Davis, Rob Molina, Aaron Kerr and Ben
Tidman accumulated a total of 405 miles. Earning Excellence in Wellness
certificates were Davis, 194 miles, Molina 145, Maurie Leutkemeier 123,
Cheyenne Luzynski 111, Ed Kohtala 100, Denny Griffin 100, Tony Sigmon
76 and Jim Cole 67.
WALKING: The winning team of Alan Crowley, LouAnn Lucas, Dennis Skriba
and Larry Elliott accumulated a total of 12,177 minutes walked. Earning
Excellence in Wellness certificates were Phiwa Langeni, 4,660 minutes,
Amanda Weber 4,660, Crowley 4,240, Lucas 4,100, Skriba 2,577, Liz Freed
2,120, Angie Kelleher 1,540, Elliott 1,260, Linda Collins 1,200, Terri
Freeland 1,115, Linda Hollabaugh 1,090, Alisha Collins 1,070, Nan Freed
1,010, Carol Hyble 970, Stu Bachner 970, John Leipzig 960, Saundra
Tracy 950, Skip Traynor 870, Mary Ellen Brine 870, Bob Murray 800, Sue
Cross 800, Joanna Soto 790, Brian Stratton 610, Carol Gregg 550, Kathy
Wilk 540, Aimee Bentley 540, Sharon Buchanan 530, Sue Wright 440,
Sheridan Murray 380, John Luneack 380, Nick Piccolo 370 and Ann Ritz
360.
BIKING: The winning team of Stu Bachner, John Ottenhoff, Phiwa Langeni
and Amanda Weber accumulated a total of 736 miles. Earning Excellence
in Wellness certificates were Bachner, 402 miles, Ottenhoff 290,
Cheyenne Luzynski 116 and Sue Cross 90.
The top five individuals in each category were entered into a drawing
for a $50 gift card to MC Sports. The winner was Denny Griffin from
Athletics.
The voluntary wellness competition was organized as part of "Wellness
Matters—Gratiot," a screening and education program sponsored by the
Gratiot Physicians Foundation, Gratiot Area Chamber of Commerce and
Gratiot Medical Center to assist area businesses implement wellness
programming for their respective employees. Alma College was chosen as
one of the first pilot sites.
Posted: Wed, August 30th, 2006 at 4:11PM
