Piedmont Natural Gas Recognized as an American Heart Association Start! Fit-Friendly Company

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Feb 22, 2010, 10:41 ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Piedmont Natural Gas has been recognized as a Platinum-Level Start! Fit-Friendly Company by the American Heart Association (AHA). The Platinum-Level award is the highest level of recognition for a company involved in the AHA's Start! program and Piedmont is the only Charlotte-area company to have received the award.

Commenting on the award, Piedmont's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas E. Skains said, "We are honored and excited to be recognized by the American Heart Association's Start! movement as a Platinum-Level Start! Fit-Friendly Company. Physical activity and employee wellness are important priorities at Piedmont Natural Gas and are cornerstones of our wellness program. We're committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace for all of our employees and this program helps us to do that while also producing positive results for our company as a whole."

Companies that are recognized at the Platinum-level:

Offer employees physical activity options in the workplace
Increase healthy eating options at the worksite
Promote a wellness culture in the workplace
Implement at least nine criteria outlined by the AHA in the areas of physical activity, nutrition and culture
Demonstrate measurable outcomes related to workplace wellness

Piedmont's wellness program, now in its third year, offers many benefits to employees. Through its health management vendor, Piedmont offers employees free annual on-site biometric screenings and health risk assessments. Employees participating in the health risk assessments or the biometric screenings also have access to a health coach free of charge for up to 12 months to assist them with their health goals. This past year, more than 80 percent of all Piedmont employees participated in the health screenings. Piedmont's wellness program also features an on-site wellness coordinator, a reimbursement program for fitness centers, tobacco cessation programs and weight watchers, numerous learning opportunities for employees around health concerns and options, and a quarterly newsletter covering a variety of health topics that include the benefits of physical activity. Piedmont has also negotiated discounted rates for its employees with several large fitness chains and sponsors several fitness and nutritional challenges in the workplace each year.

About Piedmont Natural Gas

Piedmont Natural Gas is an energy services company primarily engaged in the distribution of natural gas to more than 1 million residential, commercial and industrial utility customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, including 61,000 customers served by municipalities who are wholesale customers. Our subsidiaries are invested in joint venture, energy-related businesses, including unregulated retail natural gas marketing, interstate natural gas storage and intrastate natural gas transportation. More information about Piedmont Natural Gas is available at www.piedmontng.com.

About the American Heart Association

Founded in 1924, we're the nation's oldest and largest voluntary health organization dedicated to building healthier lives, free of heart disease and stroke. To help prevent, treat and defeat these diseases - America's No. 1 and No. 3 killers - we fund cutting-edge research, conduct lifesaving public and professional educational programs, and advocate to protect public health. To learn more or join us in helping all Americans, call 1-800-AHA-USA1 or visit americanheart.org.

SOURCE Piedmont Natural Gas