For the first time, TVS joined with other local businesses to help sponsor the Brevard Rotary Club 5K events this year including the White Squirrel, Firecracker, and Flight of the Vampire. TVS was also selected as the ‘Team of the Year’ from the Brevard Rotary Club for having the largest turnout and for participating in all three races.

Dubbed the ‘Caped Crusaders’ for participating in the most recent Flight of the Vampire 5K with TVS bat logo capes, TVS participants left an honorable impression.

Not only were the races a no-pressure way to have fun, the sponsorship also supported comradery and wellness within the TVS team. “It was a way to build a healthier company,” said Life Skills Supervisor Suzanne Byers. “Not only is it physical health, but it is also beneficial to a person’s mental health by being around others and feeling included.”

While the sponsorship fee entitled them to a certain number of event entries, TVS also generously covered the entry fees for any participants – employee or family, over that amount. TVS also hosted training days for the first event of the year, the White Squirrel.

Team TVS had participants in each event; The White Squirrel had a total of 42 employees and family members sign up and the Firecracker had 32. The last event of the year, the Flight of the Vampire, had the largest TVS participation, with a total of 65 employees and family signed up.

As a way to help TVS team members take part, incentive prizes were offered. The prizes included a TVS water bottle, yoga mats, bandanas, a paid class at the Brevard Health and Racquet Club, and a $20 Food Matters gift card. The prizes were dependent on how many races a person participated in throughout the year.

As an added bonus, employees received a second prize if their time between each race improved by a minute or more.

From the White Squirrel to the Firecracker, four employees improved their times; Laura Newton, Ann Buchman, Sam Snider, and Ashleigh Alquiza.

From the Firecracker to the Flight of the Vampire, another four employees improved their race times; Tye Hoffman, Megan Pilley, Jonathon McCall, and Emily Owens.

Sam King was the VIP from the TVS team, he improved his time by one minute or more in each of the three races.

With the sponsorship, TVS also donated Mountain Maid Bakery Mix and Mountain Maid Almonds to fill goody bags for the first two races.

“Being a sponsor of the Brevard Rotary Club races this year offered TVS a fantastic opportunity to share our enthusiasm for our community, with our community. Not only did participants enjoy a fun time with other folks from town, we also got to share some of the products we make for our Federal Government customers,” said Ann Buchman, VP of Marketing & Growth. “It was a lovely way to spread the word about what happens at TVS.”

The sponsorship was not only a benefit in the support of wellness, but also a way to open more opportunities and to meet new people in the community. “It is a good way to encourage folks to be involved,” Byers said. “I hope we will be able to do it again.”

Byers and Buchman are credited with organizing the incentive prizes and unification of the TVS Team.

The races are organized through the Brevard Rotary Club. They are an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world.

The main objective of Rotary is service – in the community, in the workplace, and throughout the world. Rotarians develop community service projects that address many of today’s most critical issues, such as children at risk, poverty, and hunger, the environment, illiteracy, and violence.

You can learn more at http://www.brevardrotary.org/.

Written by Jenifer Welch