Cotton States Insurance rewards employee fitness

The Olympics in Beijing have drawn to a close, but Katrina Jenkins is still going for the gold.

The Lithonia resident has amassed nine gold “medals” during her employer’s exercise challenge, and she plans to win a few more.

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Cotton States insurance

Barbara Jackson (in green) leads employees of Cotton States Insurance on a walk around the building during one of several wellness programs at the company.

COTTON STATES INSURANCE

• Reason nominated: Live Well Work Well program
• Who benefits: Participating employees
• Lesson that can be learned: Incentives create Olympic-size effort

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• TOPIC Atlanta corporate fitness
• Back to Health news

For 31 days, employees at Cotton States Insurance are competing for Olympic-style honors based on their duration of physical activity. Employees earn bronze for 30-44 minutes, silver for 45-59 minutes and gold for 60-plus minutes of daily exertion.

“Hopefully, by the time the next eight weeks is up, I will notice a big difference,” said Jenkins, who has lost 5 pounds toward her goal of losing 30. She walks four days a week and works out in the gym, and she even discovered that an hour of playing tennis on her Wii game system generates between 6,000 and 9,000 steps.

Participants track their daily progress on the company’s intranet site, and everyone who earns medals 20 of the 31 days will be entered into a drawing to win a $50 gift card or one of the grand prizes such as a video game system.

“The goal is to get you moving,” said human resources specialist Leslie Frohman of the monthlong competition that attracted half the staff (about 150 people) to participate. The company wanted to offer an individual program that fit into employees’ busy summer schedules, she said.

“We also know that many employees enjoy watching the Olympics and would hopefully be motivated to go for the gold themselves,” Frohman said.

Cotton States recently concluded a program that encouraged employees to walk 25,000 steps per week by providing them with virtual destinations such as Las Vegas. Each week, 32 teams were e-mailed the number of steps between hotels and other “Sin City” locations so they could then walk an equivalent amount of steps in Atlanta. On Wednesdays, staffers also walked around the company’s Dunwoody headquarters in the morning and during lunch.

Both programs inspired Greg Stewart to intensify his exercise routine.

“If I can reach a goal, even if it’s not real, it gives me something to look forward to,” said Stewart, who pounded 568,000 steps during the walking program. He walks during lunch, rides his bike and plays football with his 6-year-old son after work. “Whether I win or not, it doesn’t matter; it’s really for my health and for my family.”

WHO DESERVES A CARROT?

Fortune 500 companies are not the only ones bringing people together to promote health and fitness. Neighborhood groups, offices, schools and churches also are finding ways to get people moving and to encourage a healthier lifestyle. In this regular feature, Better Health recognizes those organized efforts, large and small, that might inspire other groups to initiate their own programs. And we want to hear about them. Submit your Golden Carrot nominations to betterhealth@ajc.com.