Celebrating Military Appreciation Month with a Donation to Wounded Warriors Family Support©.

Teambuilding climbed to new heights when VENZA unveiled their first-ever Summit Challenge! Divided into two teams employees from across the company faced off in a step challenge with high stakes — the final count not only bolstered their team’s standing, it also raised money for an important cause, the caregiver respite program within Wounded Warriors Family Support. By putting in extra steps during and after work, VENZA’s employees were able to contribute $3,500 to make sure caregivers of US Armed Forces veterans are supported, so they can keep their families intact.

So, how did it all work? Across 21 days, which is the number of days it takes an extraordinary person to form a new goal, employees used a variety of tools to track and calculate their steps and activities, challenging themselves to get up and move more throughout the day. Many of VENZA’s employees have been teleworking during the COVID epidemic, and they appreciated the encouragement to be less sedentary. The friendly competition kept things interesting, as some folks even danced or moved while they worked. In all, no one was disqualified for putting a step tracker on their dog. The teams, made up of Team J (Jeff and Josh) and Team D (Daniel and David), set a goal of reaching 85,000 steps per day. This was considered “reaching Everest,” since it takes 85,238 steps to climb mount Everest. Participants played up their competitive streak on social media using the hashtag #climbeveresteveryday. Individuals could reach personal goals, too, which aligned with VENZA’s branded products. Everest equaled 10,000 steps, while Denali was 7,500 and Matterhorn was 5,000 steps.

So how did VENZA’s employees measure up, besides raising $3,500 for the Wounded Warriors Family Support? Together, they walked, jogged, danced or participated in activities totaling to a whopping 4,798,395 steps! They far surpassed the daily goal of climbing Everest by averaging 228,495 steps per day.

Being extraordinary is one of VENZA’s core values, and was exemplified by some of our standout performers. Our Security Manager, Larry Thomas, consistently climbed Everest every day of the challenge, and logged 231,781 steps. He was closely followed by Sales Development’s Emil Dimov with 237,290 steps and Customer Success’s Olga Brunnerová with 229,170 steps. They each logged in their stats all but two days of the challenge. Customer Success’s Kevin Glubke racked up the highest personal best of the contest, with an amazing 271,975 steps. Some other employees in the over-200,000-steps club are David Christiansen, 237,290, Steven Shepler, 224,732, Alan Zaccario, 211,286, Anne Boon, 206,248 and Eileen Leisses with 204,540 steps.

“We wanted to put together a fun teambuilding event that would not only benefit our company and our employees, but also the greater community,” said Jeff Venza, Chairman and CEO of VENZA. “I think the VENZA Summit Challenge did just that. I’m looking forward to seeing what our next challenge will be.”

VENZA is committed to providing a dynamic workplace for their employees, who in turn, are committed to providing excellent customer service to VENZA’s clients.