Florida Beer Distributor Receives Great Press Coverage for Employee Wellness Program

Pepin Distributing Company in Tampa, Florida, is making headlines in the Florida media for its commitment to healthy employees through its Employee Wellness Program.  The Tampa Bay Business Journal selected the beer distributorship as a 2010 Healthiest Employer. The Healthiest Employers Award recognizes companies that make wellness a reality for their employees and bottom lines. Pepin spends over $2 million annually on health care for its more than 300 employees, and company leaders believe healthy and happy employees are well worth the cost.

“Pepin Distributors is committed to its team and understands the value of investing in their overall health and well being,” said Natalie Mealey, Employee Relations Manager at Pepin Distributors.  “We share our successes as often as we can in an attempt to promote corporate responsibility and to advocate for our employees.”

Additionally, local television station CBS-10 highlighted the company’s weight loss program, which was introduced to help its employees shed excess pounds and prevent or reduce complications of obesity such as heart disease and diabetes. The program enables employees to work out in the on-site company gym and offers the participants access to medical supervision. The program is offered free to employees and dependents in the health insurance plan if they keep the weight off for a year. The program’s 80 participants have achieved at least 3,000 pounds in combined weight loss.

The St. Petersburg Times has also featured the company’s wellness program in its newspaper. Pepin Distributors employee B.J. Earley, who works out at the company gym an hour a day and lost 80 pounds through the weight-loss program, was quoted saying, “I always knew how to lose weight, but I didn’t have the motivation to do it until this program.”

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