About a month ago we shared with you our new goals for the #RunWithRainier program and introduced you to our running program brand ambassador Dave McGillivray. What’s more exciting is that we just celebrated the kickoff of our new program right here in Selah, WA, at our office and in our orchards.
We started off the morning right with our first ever orchard fun run and walk. And seriously, there is no better experience than a morning run through the orchards as the sun rises, the clouds float past and Mount Adams rises up to meet you. Especially after a pep talk from the running legend himself Dave McGillivray! And despite that hill on the finish, we did hear, “we should do this again next year!” If I dare say so, this will become an annual event.
Since Dave is a man who has ran over 100 marathons, he’s not one to let grass grow under his feet so we took advantage of this beautiful fall day and kept him busy touring orchards and packingsheds and visiting with employees throughout the company. Dave asked lots of questions about the growing process and was amazed by all the details that go into getting apples from the orchards to the store and related the experience to his as a race director explaining it like this: “I thought apples just fell from the tree and you picked them up, but now I know how complicated it is, and how many people and steps it takes behind the scenes to get the great fruit we eat to the store. It’s just like what I do when planning a race. Lots of planning and preparation go into the details that make a great event so the athletes just get to show up, run and achieve their goals.”
It was a day of sharing similar experiences and providing inspiration. It was goals, it was running stories, it was overcoming obstacles and Dave did not disappoint as he shared his personal stories and motivation to our teams over lunch and in two presentations for staff. Thanks to Dave’s motivation, one of our very own, Sam Gaenz got some training tips for his Boston Marathon training and at least two other staff members committed to running their very first 5K’s. We can’t wait to follow along and we’ll be sharing their stories here on the blog.
And no day would be complete without some time in our community, and the best place we could think of to share Dave’s motivational message and our #RunWithRainier program was with our cross country team at the local high school. More than 50 kids got to hear from Dave as he encouraged them to choose their own path and make their own rules for success. And his inspiration must have worked because they took first place in their invitational meet the next day. Way to go Vikings!
It’s always been rewarding to be part of a business that produces healthy food, but today all of us at Rainier can say we continue to be inspired to be part of a business that focuses on what it means to be #WholesomeToTheCore.