Destination America Initiative

The Holmes Organisation, a Tulsa leader in insurance and benefits, is on the cutting edge of workplace health and wellness in Green Country.

The Holmes Organisation, a Tulsa leader in insurance and benefits, is on the cutting edge of workplace health and wellness in Green Country. With their new wellness coordinator, Eric Moon, they’ve introduced the Destination America initiative. In an effort to promote a lifestyle of physical activity, this program offers Holmes Organisation employees the opportunity to earn rewards by walking the distances from Tulsa to other American cities over a 10-month period. Destination America participants use pedometers to record their daily steps, and the Holmes Organisation helps them log and track their progress.

“We’re excited about the Destination America initiative,” says Moon. “It’s generated a lot of interest, and it’s something we can adapt to fit our clients. It’s something people can really get behind. For someone to be able to say, ‘I walked to Orlando,’ that really means something. And it empowers people to improve their health, their diet, their sleep, and their work camaraderie.”

T. J. Swain, the Holmes Organisation’s systems analyst, helped put this health initiative together. “The pedometer is great,” he says. “To look at it at the end of the day and see your progress is a great motivator. It’s gotten me motivated to get into the gym before work every day. I love it.”

Participation in this program can be rewarding in a more tangible way, too – walkers who make it over 900 miles will receive airfare and hotel accommodations to a city within the range walked. Walkers of shorter distances can receive hotel stays and cash rewards. Additionally, each pound a participant loses through the program means another entry into monthly prize drawings. Other rewards include reimbursements for walking and running shoes.

“To maintain motivation, we also have many short-term goal and achievement benchmark events that are in conjunction with company participation in local walks and runs. We follow them with celebrations like picnics and dances,” says Moon.

These incentives have done wonders for participation. “We’re looking at about 95 percent participation in this program,” says Moon. “Ideally, we’d have 100 percent participation, of course, but these numbers are very good. Usually a good program will generate about 50 percent participation, max.”

According to Moon, walking is the number one prescribed health improvement initiative. It can also reduce stress, tone muscles, contribute to weight loss, lower your risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and type-2 diabetes, and help improve your body image and confidence.

To find out more about workplace wellness programs, talk to your employer or contact the Holmes Organisation. You can visit the Holmes Organisation on the web at  www.theholmesorg.com.

For more information, contact

The Holmes Organisation

(918) 359-6000

www.theholmesorg.com