Altria Clubfit Helps Employees Get Active and Prep for Corporate 4-Miler
By: Richie Bozek
For Altria Group, participating in the Connects Federal Credit Union Corporate 4-Miler is about more than just competing in a race — it’s about supporting healthy and positive activities and reconnecting with fellow colleagues.
“If more people are staying active, that leads to better physical health and translates to better mental health, hopefully making people happier and more productive as employees,” said Wendy Shields, a Corporate Citizenship Manager for Altria.
The seventh-annual running of the Corporate 4-Miler is set for Thursday, June 9, at Innsbrook Office Park. The four-mile corporate run/walk is a perfect opportunity for employers to promote the message of employee health and wellness in a fun setting, with a post-race ‘office party’ taking place immediately after the race.
Altria has about 250 employees registered for the race on June 9, but the Henrico County-based company didn’t always see this sort of turnout.
“Many years ago we were a very small group and made it a point to change that,” Shields said.
When Altria first started participating in the event, there were no more than 10 people from the company taking part.
This increase in participation that has taken place over the past few years can be attributed to Shields and the Altria Clubfit team incorporating their passion of encouraging people to lead healthy and active lifestyles into her profession. After seeing how small the first participating group was, Shields knew Altria could do better and made it her goal to raise employee participation each year. She has successfully done this through the Altria Clubfit program.
Altria Clubfit was created with the support of Altria and is one of a variety of employee interest groups. It aims to connect employees across the company to promote healthy lifestyles, diversity, and fun. Shields has found people at each Altria office location that are interested in fitness, and has connected them with each other so they can form their own formal or informal groups.
Organizing a team for the Corporate 4-Miler is one of the signature yearly events for Altria Clubfit, and they promote the race to all employees, whether they have been there for two weeks or 30 years. Shields also says that people who don’t plan to run or walk still make it a point to come out and support their colleagues who are participating in the race.
For Shields and Altria Clubfit, it’s important for employees to set goals leading up to the race, and, with the help of the Altria Clubfit Steering Committee, she encourages employees to train to meet these goals.
As a whole, participation in the Corporate 4-Miler fits into the culture that Altria strives to create on a daily basis — supporting a work/life balance as well as the communities where they live and work.
In the remaining time leading up to the 4-Miler, aside from training, Shields and Altria Clubfit will continue to promote the race as well as other fitness opportunities that her coworkers are interested in. “We have made it a priority to increase our participation in events like this,” Shields says. “We want to support this, we want to show up, and we want to win!”
The Connects Federal Credit Union Corporate 4-Miler is Thursday, June 9 at 7 p.m., at the Innsbrook Office Park.