A Journey of 9 Million Steps

 
Our journey of 4,000 miles began with a single step.

At the beginning of April, 15 members of our CAS family made a ten-week commitment to enhance their personal wellness. In the spirit of the Blue Zones Project’s concept of moai walking groups, our Naples office formed two teams – “FUNDamentals” and “Let’s Get Fiscal”. Each team walked together once per week for 20-30 minutes.

During the ten-week period, our walking groups took more than nine million steps, which is approximately 4,000 miles. To put our strides into context, the distance we covered is the equivalent of walking from Naples to Denver – and then walking back.

Danielle Lynch, the captain of team FUNDamentals, led the way with almost one million steps. In addition to increasing her own level of physical activity, she continuously challenged her team to get more steps – through motivational emails, verbal encouragement and competitions on the FitBit app.

“This ten-week challenge was very inspiring to me, to get moving on losing some weight,” Danielle said. “Walking weekly really helped me get back on track for exercising.”

Jessica Barton, the captain of Let’s Get Fiscal, focused on “motivating our team by example” – which was exemplified through her participation in several 5k races. She also utilized the FitBit app to offer positive encouragement and motivation for her teammates.

“Over the 10 weeks, the general morale of the office was very high,” Jessica said. “The healthy competition contributed to a more positive workplace.”

Danielle said she experienced noticeable benefits to her physical health, but added that her favorite aspect of the walking group was developing personal relationships with her teammates.

“It was great getting to have some quality time with a few people in the office to chit-chat about their lives, getting to really know someone outside of work,” Danielle said. “And we enjoyed a few laughs along the way!”

“I always learned something new about several of my co-workers on each of our walks,” Jessica added.

Logan Curti, a member of team FUNDamentals, joined the CAS family shortly before we started the walking groups. He said the experience played an important role in helping him adjust to his new job.

“Having the opportunity to connect with my new co-workers on a personal level – and establish those connections right away – was invaluable to me,” Logan said.

Although our walking groups have already logged nine million steps, our collective journey towards lifelong wellness is just beginning.

Team FUNDamentals – Danielle, Logan, Kim, Jill, Theresa, Jasen, Josh

Team Let’s Get Fiscal – Susan H, Denise, Susan B, Rosey, Jessica, Kay

Not pictured: Jason, Kathy