(Nashville, Tenn.) Last December, Thomas Nelson President, CEO, and avid runner Michael S. Hyatt issued a challenge to his 630-person workforce to run Nashville’s Country Music Half Marathon or Dallas’ Big-D Texas Half Marathon with him. His goal was to recruit one hundred and fifty-eight employees, roughly a quarter of the workforce, to participate in one of the two races. As of last Thursday at the Thomas Nelson Half Marathon Kick-Off Meeting, one hundred and sixty Thomas Nelson employees, thirty-two spouses, and fourteen authors, agents, and vendors were registered on the Thomas Nelson team.

“I ran the Country Music Half Marathon last year with about sixty-five employees and it was an awesome experience,” said Hyatt. “I was so proud of what we accomplished during the race. Also, I witnessed extraordinary personal and professional growth in each of the runners. The experience left them with an amazing sense of empowerment. As soon as I crossed the finish line, I began planning how we could recruit more Thomas Nelson team members – this was an experience I wanted to share.”

The offer Thomas Nelson made to employees interested in running the half marathon is hard to refuse. All employees to sign up and register with the Thomas Nelson team will receive a free t-shirt to wear during the race. Upon completion, runners will be reimbursed their registration fee and given $100 VISA gift card. Also, employees will be officially recognized and celebrated for their accomplishment in front of the whole company. Employees’ spouses who participate will also receive a free t-shirt and reimbursement for registration fees upon completion.

“I am really looking forward to the running the races this year, in spite of the fact that I am struggling with a common runner’s injury, plantar fasciitis. The thought of running with so many co-workers and friends is truly inspiring,” Hyatt continued. “I know this experience will continue to transform Thomas Nelson and encourage other companies to join us.”

Contact:
Lindsey Nobles
Director of Corporate Communications
tel: (615) 902-1109
fax: (615) 902-1110
cell: (615) 476-5984
e-mail: lnobles@thomasnelson.com

This entry was posted on Monday, March 17th, 2008 at 2:24 pm and is filed under Corporate Releases, Human Resources, Milestones. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.