2011 WOWIE Award Competition: Will the winners repeat?

The City of St. Charles Group with their 2010 Wowie

Will the winners repeat?  That is a common question many sports teams face immediately after winning a championship?  But in the employee wellness arena, that question is also germane to Robinson Engineering and The City of St. Charles, Ill. 

Not sure what those two progressive outfits have in common?  They were both Platinum winners of the 2010 WOWIE awards, sponsored by ILSHRM and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois. 

In 2011, the WOWIEs are back and we’ll see if both Robinson and the City of St. Charles enter, not just to see if they can repeat, but to see if another year’s worth of data on their programs bolsters the notion that employers can play a positive role in improving their employee’s health. 

The City of St. Charles Wellness Program received a Platinum Award in the “More than 200 Employees” category, in part, because it was able to incent employees to adopt healthy behaviors in exchange for lower health care premiums.

The city’s program consisted of three goals: encouraging healthy lifestyles among employees, reducing health care costs for the city and providing an opportunity for employees to decrease their health insurance premiums by achieving one or more of six health goals: 

·         blood pressure less than 130/85

·         LDL cholesterol less than 130

·         weight/BMI within normal limits based on a physician certified chart

·         cardiovascular exercise for 30 minutes at least three times a week

·         being tobacco free

·         completing the online Blue Cross and Blue Shield health risk assessment

South Holland, Ill.-based Robinson Engineering received a Platinum Award in the “200 Employees or Fewer” category with its “Robinson Employee Wellness program,” which was established in 2007.

The Robinson’s Employee Wellness Program provides a wide spectrum of health information and services, from monthly health topics to employee health fairs that all seek to improve employee health.  The program consisted of:

·         quarterly lunch and learns on health and nutrition topics

·         walking clinics

·         group activities such as ping pong and employee competitions

·         subsidizing health club memberships

·         healthy food choices at lunch meetings

·         health potluck meetings, ‘Fruit Fridays” and ”Healthy Snack Day”

·         pedometer challenges

·         CPR/first aide classes

If your company has a program that measures up to these 2010 WOWIE Winners, click here: and get your application.  Deadline for entries is June 1.  

- Dave Ryan ISC SHRM Director of Social Media