“Step Into Fall” from Westfield Insurance earned first place in the Health Action Council Fall Step It Up Challenge.  Team members Jennifer Hamula, Nancy Rudolph, Susan Hooper, and Denise Rodak won a healthy lunch up to $350 and a $300 donation to either a local school garden project or Ronald McDonald House Charity, averaging 626,346 steps.

The Fall Employer Step It Up Challenge, powered by Health Action Council, is a national no-cost, four-week step program that promotes overall health and well-being for employers and their employees. The program builds team comradery and a “culture of wellness,” all while earning prizes and staying heathy!

“Employees make up the most integral part of any business, so looking after their health should always be priority number 1,” said Patty Starr, President & CEO of Health Action Council. “The Step It Up Challenge is such an important part of what we do because it allows us to help businesses promote better habits and build chemistry at the same time. We always look forward to hosting each challenge, and we’re already preparing for the next one in early 2025.”

The challenge not only serves to keep employees active during the four-week run time, but it also builds habits that can last a lifetime. By encouraging healthy competition, the challenge serves as a great team-building experience as well, improving the mental and physical health of employees.

The challenge attracted 656 participants from 56 teams, achieving a collective step goal, and having over 125,205,128 total steps, which unlocked a $500 donation to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of South Louisiana.

Second place winners were, “Melissa’s Milers” from City of Toledo, with 397,636 average total steps.  The team, consisting of Don Czerniak, Daniel Gerken, and Melissa Masztak won a healthy lunch up to $150 and a $200 donation in their name to either a local school garden project or Ronald McDonald House Charity.

Third place went to “Walk It Out” from OCLC, with 355,811 average total steps.  Their team consisted of Laurie Soller, Denis Snyder, RImi Ritch, Luis Alicea, Ryan Martino, Steve Driscoll, David Sadler, and Solomon Liang, winning swag for their team.

“We’re very pleased that the participants were able to go above and beyond the total step goal,” said Starr. “It goes to show how much each team was willing to get active and win money for charity.”

The Individual Winner with the highest step total was Priyanka Patil from Hitachi Solutions with 1,250,420 steps. Nancy Rudolph from Westfield Insurance came in second with 721,641 steps and Chad Draper from Ashland University finished in third with 711,489 steps.

“While all of the participants did a fantastic job of staying active during the competition, we hope that the habits created during the four-week program can last each team for many years to come,” said Starr.

Mini Challenge Winners:

• 10/16: Kimi Hille from Richmond Heights Elementary was selected to win an Owala Water Bottle for posting a colorful or unique fall leaf in the challenge chat.
• Nick Alcantar from Richmond Heights was selected to win a $20 Dick’s Sporting Goods gift card for answering our basketball sports trivia question.
• 10/22: Ryan Dunlap from Bluffton Elementary School won a $25 Cabela’s gift card for submitting his heart health numbers in the challenge chat.
• 10/24- Rachel Young from Boulder Valley School District answered our football sports trivia question and won a $15 Chipotle gift card.
• 10/28: Crystal Martinez from Boulder Valley School District participated in our fall spooky mini challenge and won an essential oil diffuser.
• 10/30: Maggie Heaton from Seymour Jr. High School answered our football sport trivia question and won a $25 Amazon gift card.
• 11/1: Amy Dasinger from Perry Middle School was selected to win a $20 Dick’s Sporting Goods gift card for posting a photo of her getting her steps in for our Halloween mini challenge.
• 11/5 Elias Coss from Perry Local Schools won a $25 Amazon gift card for participating in our basketball sports trivia.
• 11/7: Kellie Costello from Edison Schools was selected to win a $15 Panera gift card in our Stress Awareness Day mini challenge.
• 11/11: Alison Flowers from Lancaster City Schools won a $15 Barnes & Noble gift card for participating in our fall cooking mini challenge.

Registration for the Spring 2025 Employee Step It Up Challenge is now available. To register a team, click here.

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.