There’s something in the air these days at Bayside--and it smells a lot like sweat. Employees have recently banded together to combat the effects of office work by forming a company health club. Their mission: to Get Moving.

“The company has been very supportive of our club. The first thing they did was buy a company FitBit for anyone who joined,” explained Bayside’s Marketing Coordinator, Mayra Flores-Beltran. “We earn the right to keep them by reaching our fitness goals, which we set as a club. People are fired up!”

Since the introduction of the FitBits to the office, competition for most daily steps has been fierce. “People are taking the stairs! We’re on the sixteenth floor so that’s a big deal,” said Dave Feller from IT. Challenges are being issued and the taunts and cheers are flowing freely in the club’s online FitBit group, where members keep up with their progress as well as that of their team mates.

Another perk of the club is race sponsorship. Every month the club selects a 5K to train for and Bayside covers the entry fee for any member that wants to run the race.

“Nothing motivates me like having a race to train for,” said Gena Pond, of Technical Services at Bayside. “And it’s a lot of fun training with a team. A few of us meet up at a nearby park several times a week to get some practice in during lunch.”

“This is a competitive bunch, but they’re also very supportive of each other. When they came to me with the idea of forming a fitness club and asked if the company would support it, I didn’t hesitate to say yes. It’s really exciting to see so many people at Bayside participating. And, while those FitBits are not the reason people are joining the club, they certainly are a great motivator!” said Deb Musikar, Senior Vice President at Bayside.