RCI employees win by loosing

Employees of RCI did more than send families on dream vacations in recent weeks. Many of them lost a combined total of more than 1,800 pounds in the Carmel office’s 12-week wellness contest, an initiative designed to encourage RCI employees to live a healthier lifestyle by incorporating fitness and a proper diet into their daily routines. Impressed with their efforts, Bill Germanakos, season four winner of NBC’s hit series “The Biggest Loser,” visited the site to celebrate participants’ success.

As an added motivation to participate in the program, every pound shed by an associate will equate to a pound of food donated by RCI to Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana, Inc., a not-for-profit organization that strives to secure, store and redistribute donated food to more than 400 charities. All food will be donated in time for the Christmas holiday.

“This contest has created a tremendously positive buzz among our associates,” said Gordon Gurnik, president of RCI North America. “What started out as a fun idea among a few associates quickly grew to a contest involving more than 270 associates looking to incorporate healthier activities into their day-to-day lives. Because of the fantastic response, we’re planning to roll it out at other RCI offices in 2010.”

Each week, teams consisting of RCI associates with similar fitness levels and health histories participate in a weigh-in. At the end of the contest on December 11, the person on each team that lost the greatest percentage of body weight will receive $500 and the person who lost the greatest percentage of body weight overall will receive $1,000. Throughout the 12-week contest, participants have been awarded fitness-functional gifts courtesy of ProMotion Fitness, the professional health-fitness management team coordinating the weigh-ins and providing coaching sessions, fitness classes, nutritional guidance, personal training and psychological assistance to participants.

Source: Group RCI.