It was so cool that they’re going to do it again! The Center for Growing Talent’s May-June Virtual Wellness Walk/Run Challenge saw more than 500 participants take on one or more of the three disciplines – a 5K walk/run, a 1-mile walk and the 30-mile cumulative walk/run challenge. There were also generous donors who supported athletes and the industry.
That first event ran from mid-May to June 21. And the second event will begin in August, with details to come via Center for Growing Talent.
In a release following the June 21 end, CGT announced, “Over 500 participants crossed the finish line for Center for Growing Talent’s first Virtual Wellness Walk/run challenge on June 21. The Wellness event, which contributes to Center for Growing Talent efforts to attract and develop the next generation of talent on behalf of the produce and floral industries, was the first of its kind.”
And, it said, “The Center for Growing Talent’s Wellness events are a fun way to give back to our industry, while providing a wellness-inspired networking and team-building experience at a time when we simply cannot gather in person.”
While contending with COVID-19, CGT “has not slowed down in its efforts connect with emerging talent,” the organization said. “In fact, Center for Growing Talent has been working harder than ever to scale up its outreach to students. So much so that, in just the past five months they’ve engaged and educated 500 students about the meaningful career opportunities in our industry, a four-fold increase over 2019.”
More information on the event is available at https://runsignup.com/Race/DE/YourHometownCity/VirtualWellnessWalkRunChallengehostedbyCenterforGrowingTalent, but OnionBusiness.com does need just a minute to toot its own horn here. Kathleen Thomas Gaspar, intrepid septuagenarian as of this year, finished 17th out of a total field of 287 participants in the 30-mile cumulative walk/run with 172.7 miles logged over the event course. (Please hold your applause until the end of the presentation…”
Of course, there are other names of note: Sun World International had the largest team, followed by Naturipe Farms and Frieda’s Specialty Produce. Capespan North America had the highest donations from their teams, which the company matched, followed by Emerald Packaging and Nature Fresh Farms who also matched their teams’ funds. And the most spirited team was Family Tree Farms who created team t-shirts and demonstrated how the event could serve as a fantastic team bonding event, especially while we all social distance.
