Orcas Power & Light Cooperative is a member-owned, member-operated electric utility that cares about its co-op family.
OPALCO’s commitment to a healthy workplace includes a wellness program that encourages – and rewards – healthy habits. OPALCO gets up to a six percent discount on its insurance rates in exchange for hosting a wellness program. It is then required to spend that savings on employee wellness activities and incentives. This year, OPALCO hosted a 16-week weight loss program: the Move It! & Lose It! Challenge. More than 50 percent of OPALCO employees participated in the challenge and the 22 participants who finished the challenge lost a combined 451.7 pounds.
The challenge was open to all employees, spouses, and retirees who are enrolled in OPALCO’s insurance program. Participants formed teams with names like “Slim Chance” and “Transformers,” and competed to earn participation points and lose weight, measured in percentage loss. The program included weekly challenges that addressed personal growth, nutrition, fitness and team work that helped participants to learn and practice new skills and build healthy habits. Challenge activities included journaling, calorie counting and nutrition education, replacing leisure time with physical activity, trying out new exercise modalities, team meals and team hikes.
“This was the most successful, fun and productive wellness program we’ve run—we really saw the results,” said General Manager Randy Cornelius. “I’m very proud of the award winners — and everyone who participated in the challenge. I hope we can continue the program, and that we can all keep the weight off!”
Prizes were awarded monthly at company-wide “Smoothie Happy Hour” events (non-alcoholic) to the team with the most participation points and to the individual with the most improved percentage weight loss. The grand prizes awarded cash to the team and the individual with the greatest percentage weight loss, and the team with the most participation points.
The top team prize went to “Thin Sin City” of Friday Harbor with a combined weight loss of 12.11 percent. The team includes Beth Anderson (Manager of Technical and Energy Services and Island Network), Kerry Anderson (General Foreman), Lindsey Pritchard (Software Specialist) and Elisa Scott-Howard (Member Services Representative – now Energy Services Specialist). The biggest individual loser was John Olson (spouse of Communication Specialist Suzanne Olson) of “The Shrinking Violets” of Eastsound with a super-human loss of 19.05 percent. Team “Ctrl-Alt-Del” won the top participation prize, completing every single weekly challenge and every possible bonus challenge. Team members include Nancy Loomis (Assistant Manager of Finance and Member Services), Kevin Loomis (spouse of Nancy), Michelle Beal (Accountant) with support from Sylva Edwards (Michelle’s mom).
More than half of all 22 finishers lost more than 10 percent of their body weight. As the seven teams gave their final presentations on June 23, it was clear that the Challenge had more than met its goals.
The Challenge culminated in a field day and awards ceremony at Cascade Lake in Moran State Park where teams competed in a pentathlon of quirky (and physically challenging) events, including pedal boat races, a green smoothie eating contest, scavenger hunt/nature hike, water balloon toss and puzzle solving contest. The meal was a potluck, and organizers say there was a distinct absence of desserts on the picnic tables.
Plans are already underway for another season of Move It! & Lose It! in 2011.
