The Wellness Connection
What’s the connection between physical well-being and the way you do your job?
By Henry A. Alvarez III
SAHA President and CEO
I’m looking for a good gym.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not one of those fitness-focused types who spend hours in the gym each day. In fact, there are days when I have a real hard time getting off the couch.
But I do believe in wellness. I learned many years ago that my overall wellness has a significant impact on the way I approach my work, my relationships and my life. Exercise is part of the wellness equation, along with diet, stress management, genetic predispositions, mental well-being and spirituality.
Wellness is a state of being. It changes as we change. Our wellness can be good or bad or somewhere in between. But it always affects our quality of life. If we’re well, we have a good quality of life. If we’re not doing so well, everything suffers.
Recently, SAHA joined the growing list of companies and organizations that believe wellness impacts the workplace. We want to give you the best tools possible to ensure your overall wellness. I want to see you take advantage of these tools and reach your peak wellness.
SAHA is offering the Wellspring Healthcare program as an important benefit in our already impressive benefits package. If you didn’t come out for the Wellspring seminars last month, contact Human Resources to make sure you get a membership package. And start working toward wellness.
In the meantime, if you know of a good gym that plays host to high-tempo, energetic pick-up basketball games, let me know.
Finding Wellness with Wellspring
SAHA’s new health benefit goes beyond traditional health plans.
SAHA has contracted with Wellspring Healthcare, Inc., to provide a comprehensive health and wellness package for agency employees and their families.
Through Wellspring, employees and family members can receive:
- Assessment of behavioral and lifestyle risk factors that could compromise health.
- Intervention to assist employees in taking action and making improvements through certified health coaches and innovative Internet programming.
- Education to optimize health and wellness.
- Access to a network of health and wellness providers and products.
The Wellspring program begins with an extensive health risk assessment and review, followed by detailed instructions for improving a variety of health risk factors and general wellness. Wellspring also offers health coaching on topics like weight management, women’s health, quitting smoking, allergies and others. Wellspring also offers telephone counseling on a variety of issues, a free 30-minute telephone consultation with an attorney for legal issues, and a host of other benefits to help improve wellness and quality of life.
To find out more about Wellspring, contact Human Resources at 477-6125.
Hearts as Big as Texas
Recognizing the contributions of fellow employees, breakfast and the return of “The Authority.” It’s the annual Employee Recognition Breakfast.
Rumor has it “The Authority,” SAHA’s own employee-only house band, is working late into the evenings to prepare for their “comeback” concert at SAHA’s annual Employee Recognition Breakfast, March 3, at the Omni Hotel on Colonnade Blvd. The band is set to entertain throughout the event, which begins at 8 a.m. and ends at 11 a.m. With the theme “Hearts as Big as Texas,” the Authority will entertain while SAHA recognizes a host of employees with longevity awards, including three employees who have reached the 30-year milestone.
Pension Committee
Take a leadership role in SAHA’s pension plan.
Wanted: Employees willing to make a difference. You can do so by participating and being an integral part of SAHA’s retirement planning.
SAHA’s Employee Pension Committee is looking for employees who would like to participate in developing pension policy. The committee is made up of 13 people, including the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial Officer, the Human Resources director and a secretary.
Members must be a pension plan participant with at least one year of service at SAHA, and can serve two consecutive four-year terms (total 8 years).
The pension committee meets quarterly where members vote on issues such as policy changes, investments, membership and other topics. The committee also selects pension fund managers.
The SAHA Board of Commissioners approves all committee memberships.
To participate, contact Human Resources at 477-6125.
SAHA International Night
Join the gathering of cultures April 7.
Mark your calendars for a celebration of the blend of cultures that gives SAHA its diverse and unique ethnic identity as the Cultural Diversity Committee hosts the first International Night at 6 p.m., April 7, in the Central Office Atrium.
Admission is free for All SAHA employees, with your employee badge. Guests are $5 each, in advance. Guest tickets are on sale now, contact Sandy Patel at 477-6128 or email her at sandy_patel@saha.org to get your tickets today! Deadline to purchase guest tickets is Friday, March 31. There will be no tickets sold at the door.
You can also help celebrate SAHA’s ethnic diversity by donating a side-dish to the event or by purchasing a Cultural Diversity T-shirt. Contact Teresa Heeney at 559-1964 for more information.
SAHA Spotlight
Veronica Guevara: Risks worth taking.
There’s no need to ask SAHA Risk Manager Veronica Guevera what her hobby is. It’s pretty obvious from the pictures all over her desk and computer that son Alek, 8, is her hobby, her life and her priority.
And while she’s all about taking care of Alek and preparing him for life in college and beyond, Veronica is not above taking a risk or two to make things better for both of them.
For example, she joined SAHA about a year ago after 18 years at USAA. Although she was well on her way to a long career with USAA, she felt something was missing. She wanted a family-oriented workplace. Her search led her to SAHA.
“At SAHA, you can’t beat the diversity of issues and situations we deal with,” the Laredo, Texas, native said. “There’s something new every day, and I like that.”
Veronica plans to make SAHA a career, get her son into college, and retire to her mother’s Zapata, Texas, ranch. In the meantime, she’s got SAHA to keep her busy and Alek to go home to each day. In her mind, her risk is well rewarded.
