Norcross Company has the Drive to Succeed in Wellness and Fitness

APCO, and its EasyCare® brand, is the leading provider of vehicle service contracts, key replacement coverage and other automotive benefits.

This is the Norcross, Georgia-based company’s sixth year participating in the Kaiser Permanente Corporate Run/Walk & Fitness Program, and to date, they are 75 team members strong. 2014 marks an even more significant year for Team APCO/EasyCare®, as the company also celebrates its 30th anniversary.

“Our employees know this to be a fun event, and as a result, our team captains collectively focus on early team recruitment and the race-day experience,” explains Deanna Mills, Employee Wellness & Community Relations Manager of APCO, who leads Team APCO, along with CeCe Curinton, Patty Gorman and Tiffani Albury. “We hosted an open house in the office break room, and promoted dressing in our team’s race day shirts. It was awesome seeing so many of our EasyCare®/KP race shirts moving around the building. The performance shirt is only given to those who register, so it’s a huge incentive.”

The 5K run/walk and office party of the Kaiser Permanente Corporate Run/Walk & Fitness Program has become a highly anticipated day for the APCO team. The Team Captains order up high energy and fun at their company tent at Turner Field. A KPCRW tradition for APCO has become the sharing of team spirit prizes, ranging from “Most Improved” to “First Registered”, and from “Overall Winner” to “Mr. & Mrs. Kaiser Run/Walk” (several couples participate on the team!). They even honor age bracket winners. Previously, they have also incorporated themes such as “Cinco de Kaiser” in 2013, celebrating their fifth consecutive year as a team participant.

Driving wellness with a holistic approach for seven years, APCO offers its 250 employees an onsite fitness center, wellness coaching, community service and personal growth programming. Additionally, EasyCare has been recognized as an Atlanta Business Chronicle Healthiest Employers Award Finalist among Medium-Sized Companies for the past three years, and as an American Heart Association Fit Friendly (Gold) Worksite for the past two years.

“As a company, we are known in our industry for the focus and responsiveness we offer to provide our customers the best experience in the market; we translate those same core values in caring for our employees and their families,” continues Deanna. “We message wellness in large and small ways daily, but the 8-week fitness program and the culminating 5K give our employees a bigger ‘why’ to set a personal wellness goal, and the template to achieve it.”

Aside from Deanna’s passion for the event as a Team Captain, her personal experience is a good story. The first year the company signed up in 2009, Deanna participated as a walker. By the next year, she was determined to run the 5K, and committed to working with a trainer to help her run across the finish line. A few weeks prior to the 5K date, she didn’t feel quite ready and informed her trainer that she would be walking, not running. He would not hear of it, and convinced her stay the course. She’s been running ever since.