Scott Equipment Employees Take Walkathon a Step Further

Scott Equipment held its first St. Jude Walkathon this year to benefit the charity, and employees and their families benefitted from the effort’s focus on team building and healthy lifestyles.

The walkathon was an extension of the one held over the summer through Healthy Lives, a wellness program offered through St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe, where Scott has its corporate office. During that program, Scott Equipment employees were encouraged to wear pedometers at work and at home, seven days a week, and they ended up walking 54,587,907 steps – equalling over 27,000 miles.

To celebrate its 75th anniversary this fall, Scott took the walkathon a step further, inviting employees and their families to walk not only for their health but also to benefit others by raising money and awareness for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. For one week in mid-September, they wore pedometers and collected in support.

“Giving has always been a huge part of who we are at Scott Equipment,” said Jami Salter, marketing coordinator at Scott Equipment. This year’s walkathon was just another manifestation of the company’s charitable philosophy. “St. Jude has a place close to the hearts of many employees. They jumped at the chance to support the organization and include their families in a company initiative,” said Salter.

Around 100 employees and family members participated in Scott’s St. Jude Walkathon, but what was really notable was the level of dedication from these participants. These employees went above and beyond. They took the opportunity to walk and give as a family and recruited their husbands, wives and children. Two of the overall participant winners were a Scott employee from Baytown and her daughter.

Work “families” joined together as well. The Lafayette and Texarkana locations each had 100% employee participation. They turned the giving initiative into a team building one, choosing to raise money as a whole store and not as individuals. Winners were announced at Scott’s 75th anniversary dinner on October 10 and winning locations received team lunches and individual winners received gift cards.

To top everything off, Scott Equipment matched all contributions, dollar for dollar, and the company pledged that this will be a yearly event. So every fall going forward, Scott Equipment will celebrate its own birthday by giving the present to St. Jude.