(Melissa, Louise, Stephanie, Kristen, & Dan)
Last weekend, five On Time team members participated in the Running With The Devils 5K Run and Family Fun Walk in West Orange, NJ. The event was sponsored by the New Jersey Devils and RWJBarnabas Health to benefit the programs and services at its 11 hospital facilities, hospice initiatives, the Behavioral Health Network, and the Children's Specialized Hospital.
The 5K brought together participants from all over the state to promote healthy lifestyles and improve public healthcare. After participating in the event, our team also made time to visit some furry friends nearby at the Turtle Back Zoo.
We caught up with Dispatch Manager, Dan Tammaro to find out more about running, team building, obstacle courses, and On Time's participation in these types of events.
Dispatch Manager, Dan Tammaro (right)
What was your favorite part in Running With The Devils 5k?
Being with a group of coworkers. That always makes it more fun. And actually the scenery. It was fall and all the leaves were changing, it was absolutely beautiful out. It was a little crisp but it was good.
And you got a chance to see the animals afterwards too?
Oh yeah. One of the bonuses of this event was free admission to the Turtle Back Zoo. It was right there and everybody enjoyed looking at the animals. Stephanie in particular, she absolutely loved petting every single animal that she could get her hands on. It was a lot of fun.
We know you also encouraged your coworkers to participate in the Rugged Maniac over the summer. What makes you want to organize company participation in 5Ks, fun runs, and physical challenges with your team?
I like running, it’s a hobby of mine and it’s a great stress relief for me. And they’re great opportunities for team building. More so with the Rugged Maniac over this run, you really need to rely on your teammates to get through the obstacles. It’s a great way to advocate how we are as a team; how we do things together and work together.
In my role as a Dispatch Manager, there’s a sometimes little bit of friction between my department and the field staff. That’s just the nature of our industry.
So to be out there helping everybody, I think it shows that we do care. It builds better relationships with our staff and communication is greatly increased, and it’s a nice dialogue that opens up between people.
Melissa actually organized the Running With The Devils Run, she's the one who hooked me into it. I was helping her out with promoting it and convincing people to sign up. I literally wrote their names on the sign up sheet. But they were happy and excited to be there and to do it. But definitely a shout out to Melissa to organizing that one.
Do you have any physical challenge events planned for the future with On Time?
Yes. We are doing the Rugged Maniac again in 2019. We’re trying to fill that up to be a bigger event and get a corporate tent, like a team tent for everybody. So everyone needs to start training now for the 2019 Rugged Maniac. I expect to see a bigger team. We're aiming for a team of 50.
I’m sure there will be smaller runs and 5Ks too.
