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MINDING YOUR
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| BUBBA
AND THE THREE FAT CHICKS By Mike Ashley |
Question: What does
an 800-pound, hot-pink gorilla do to improve the
bottom line? Answer: Anything he wants to. But AB&C Corp.'s furry pink gorilla is
improving derrieres, not profit pictures. |
 artwork by Michael Goodman |
"Wally
Wellness" is the company's nutrition and
well-being mascot. He's part of a program to
promote good health among employees. AB&C, a McLean-based direct-marketing services firm, provides innovative wellness programs, including the "New Year, New You Team Weight Loss Contest," an in-house competition begun last year. Teams of four employees may enter the
competition. The novelty is that the team gets
weighed together on big industrial scales. Weight
loss is measured as a team, not by individual
losses. |
| "That way no one has to
know your actual weight," says Lori Stiles,
AB&C's communications specialist and a
participant in the annual downsizing. "Your
whole team gets on the scales at the same time.
It's a lot of fun." Last year's winners, who named themselves "Many Happy Returns," lost 13 percent of their mass between the first weigh-in in January and the final one in April. The 250 AB&C employees competing last year lost a total of 908 pounds. Chairman Michael O'Hara, who founded the company in 1972, is a firm believer in physical fitness and wellness. He first ponied up $400 for the winning team, but when the sign-up response was so large, the prizes got even fatter. This year's winners took home $800. Second place was $400, and third was $200. More importantly, the AB&C got leaner and meaner. According to Stiles, one member of the winning team, who had never heeded doctors' advice to lose weight, finally got motivated as part of a team. Soon after shedding the weight, he was able to stop some medications for diabetes and high blood pressure. Wally Wellness also motivates staff, often appearing at workstations to hand out bananas or fliers about good health. Employees also enjoy discounts at local health centers and attend fitness seminars during business hours. "It's a fun place to work," Stiles says. "If you can, imagine sitting at your desk and being accosted by a fuzzy, pink gorilla, trying to give you a banana and telling you to lose weight." Competitive co-workers aren't quite as helpful. "Other team members are always offering you candy or doughnuts or brownies.
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