NRPA employees accepted the friendly challenge to become healthier with their colleagues in 2013. The goal was simple: Along with healthier eating habits and exercise, staff were challenged to lose the highest percentage of body weight in a nine-week time frame. Staff who were not able to participate or not in need of losing weight were still encouraged to eat more healthily and exercise. NRPA further incentivized staff to participate by offering $1 for every pound lost to be distributed between the top three individual competitors along with a day off for the team with the largest percentage lost.

In order to compete, staff members had to join a team with at least three but no more than 10 participants. Confidential weigh-ins occurred once a week, and each person was tracked by percentage of their body weight gained or lost (no actual weights were ever revealed). 

The preliminary weigh-in happened on January 9, 2013, with a total of 5,302.5 pounds recorded across five teams. The journey concluded on March 13, by which time staff had lost 180 pounds, or roughly 3.5 percent of the starting weight. Week-by-week results were displayed in the staff kitchen for the top individual losses as well as each team’s progress. The winners were announced at an all-staff luncheon with trophies presented to the three winning individuals and teams. Congratulations to Marketing and Communications Specialist Roxanne Sutton (pictured in gray suit), who lost 8.45 percent of her body weight, and Team Thinemies, who collectively lost 4.35 percent of their team weight!

Martin Dease is NRPA's Human Resources Generalist