Vitamix Wins "Healthy Ohio Healthy Worksite" Award

Company Honored for Programs to Promote Employee Health and Wellness

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Jan 29, 2015, 05:42 ET

CLEVELAND, Jan. 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Vitamix^®, a manufacturer of high-performance blending equipment for home and commercial use, was presented with a Healthy Ohio Healthy Worksite Award by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) and the Healthy Ohio Business Council. The 11^th annual award ceremony was held as part of the Health Action Council 2015 Annual Conference featuring national experts on health reform, health care systems and health benefits.

Vitamix, a manufacturer of high-performance blending equipment for home and commercial use, was presented with a Healthy Ohio Healthy Worksite Award by the Ohio Department of Health and the Healthy Ohio Business Council on January 29, 2015. Pictured from left to right: Andy Sonntag, recruiting coordinator, Vitamix; Heather Hennekes, director, global compensation and benefits, Vitamix; Sharon Skiba, manager, benefits, Vitamix.

The Healthy Ohio Healthy Worksite Awards recognize Ohio employers who demonstrate a commitment to employee wellness through comprehensive worksite health promotion and wellness programs. Applicants were scored on the extent to which their wellness programs facilitate and encourage employee health, enhance productivity and ensure a healthy work environment. Applicants were eligible to receive one of three levels of achievement: Gold, Silver or Bronze. Vitamix was awarded a Gold Award in the medium-sized business category (301-1000 employees).

"Our comprehensive employee wellness program is an extension of the Vitamix vision, which is to improve the vitality of people's lives and liberate the world from conventional food and beverage preparation boundaries," said Jodi Berg, president and CEO, Vitamix. "From nutrition to education to exercise, we provide a wide variety of incentives and options to help our employees reach their personal health and fitness goals, and we're delighted to be recognized for this by the state of Ohio." Berg added that every employee, shortly after joining the company, receives a free Vitamix blender—a powerful tool to help them improve their health by making it easy and delicious to prepare a wide variety of dishes using healthy whole foods.

The Ohio Department of Health says that a comprehensive approach to preventive health and wellness at worksites is essential to improving the health of Ohioans and the overall success of the state. "Healthy Ohio Healthy Worksite Award winners are leading the way in this effort by making a healthy work environment a priority for their employees," said Dr. Andrew Wapner, Chief of the Bureau of Healthy Ohio at ODH.

According to the Healthy Ohio Business Council, employee health and wellness efforts result in major benefits for both the employer and their employees. "Positive returns on investment are realized in employees who improve their health, resulting in decreased rates of absenteeism and increased productivity," said Helene Szczerba, chair of HOBC. "Employers also realize reductions in health care costs and an overall increase in productivity and job satisfaction."

About Vitamix
The Vitamix family of companies is privately held and family-owned and -operated. Founded in 1921, Vitamix manufactures high-performance blending equipment for home and commercial use. Its commercial customer list reads like a "Who's Who" of major restaurant chains, and gourmet chefs say their Vitamix machines are as important to them as their knives. A recognized leader in marketing and product innovation, Vitamix founder William G. "Papa" Barnard created one of the first infomercials in 1949 to demonstrate how the Vitamix blender could help people improve their health with whole foods, and the company developed the first true commercial blender in the early 1990s, which ignited the smoothie movement. Vitamix, whose products are known worldwide for their performance, durability, and reliability, continues to win awards for product innovation and is a recipient of the president's prestigious "E Star" Award for Exports. Headquartered in Olmsted Township, Ohio, 19 miles from Cleveland, Vitamix products are engineered and assembled in Northeast Ohio and sold in approximately 100 countries. For more information, please visit www.vitamix.com.

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SOURCE Vitamix