Team OSM from Swagelok won first place in the Spring Health Action Council Step It Up Challenge! The team, consisting of Marleen Esperson, Joe Ptacek, Jonathan Esperson, Bella Esperson, Joe Whitthorne, Benjamin Sanda, and Gary Clapper averaged 747,167 steps and logged in 5,230,172 total steps. The winning team receives the Grand Prize: a healthy team lunch and a $300 donation to either a local school garden project or Ronald McDonald House Charity.

The challenge consisted of 804 participants and 53 teams. It encouraged daily healthy habits such as monitoring blood pressure and included a virtual scavenger hunt to start participants off on the right foot for spring!

“This challenge encouraged collaboration by team members, not only to stay healthy through physical exercise, but to participate in the weekly scavenger hunts,” said Patty Starr, President & CEO of Health Action Council. “Having fun and working together tends to establish success when committing to exercise and healthier habits.”

Second place was earned by “Spring in Our Steps” from Suter & Associates, consisting of team members, Joyce Suter, Joanna Rimmer and Joe Suter. The team averaged 670,564 steps and logged in an impressive 2,011,693 steps. The team received a healthy team lunch and a $200 donation to either a local school garden project or Ronald McDonald Charity

Third place winners were “Walking Winners” from Toledo Lucas County Public Library, consisting of Celeste Felix, Stacy Cupps-Alexander, Taina Munn, Tiana Tutu-Anokye and Santana Munn. The team had 583,777 average total steps and 2,918,885 steps; and they were awarded Step It Up swag.

“A healthy workplace combines the betterment of the company, while factoring in the physical and mental health and wellness of the employees,” said Starr. “These challenges leave employees feeling healthier, happier and with the mindset to encourage others to feel welcome and join in.”

Three individual winners from the Top 15 Steppers were entered in a drawing and randomly selected to win a new Fitbit Charge 5. These winners were:

• Vincent Lizo from Energizer Holdings – 1,028,019 total steps
• Aryeon Cunningham from Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities – 1,023,780 total steps
• Manisha Hiware from Hitachi Solutions – 935,367 total step

In addition to prizes, as a collective group we reached over 156,547,830 steps and unlocked the $500 target goal donation to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Carolinas.

The sentiment of getting fit was emphatically stated by one participant, “I enjoy this challenge because it makes me more mindful of my steps and activity. I hope to continue reaching my step goals even though the challenge is over,”

Mini Challenge Winners were:

• Celeste Felix from Toledo Lucas County Public Library won a $25 Dick’s Sporting goods gift card for participating in the favorite walking place scavenger hunt.
  Gwen Sevits from Lakeland Community College won a new Fitbit Charge 5 for participating in the spring flowers scavenger hunt.
• Madisson Adkins from Dayton Children’s Hospital won a YETI Rambler Water Bottle prize in the hydration mini challenge.
• Heidi Wilson from Energizer won a Step It Up swag pack in the 10,000 steps mini challenge.
• Lisa Alvarez from Woodruff Sawyer won a $25 Starbuck’s gift card for participating in the National Vitamin C Day scavenger hunt.
• Sara Szmania from Ashland University won a $25 Amazon gift card for participating in our eclipse scavenger hunt.
• Michelle Piercey from Lakeland Community College won a $25 Chipotle gift card for participating in our sunglasses scavenger hunt.
• Amy Antolovic from World Group Logistics won a world coffee discovery set in our coffee scavenger hunt.
• Ashley Eder from World Group Logistics won a resistance band set in our blood pressure mini challenge.
• Michelle Eusebio from Energizer won a $25 Panera gift card for participating in our letter scavenger hunt.

Gear up for our 2024 Summer Step It Up Challenge from June 10-July 7, 2024! Register here. For additional questions, please contact Noelle Reinhart at [email protected].

About Health Action Council
Health Action Council is a not-for-profit 501(c)(6) organization representing mid and large-size employers that enhances human and economic health through thought leadership, innovative services, and collaboration. It provides value to its members by facilitating projects that improve the quality and moderate the cost of healthcare purchased by its members for their employees, dependents, and retirees. Health Action Council also collaborates with key stakeholders - health plans, physicians, hospitals, and the pharmaceutical industry - to improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare in the community.