LAS VEGAS - EM Nevada Program staff and contractors prove that personal health and fitness - through healthy eating, marathons, triathlons, martial arts, pickleball, and other activities - are important for a successful workforce.
Geochemistry Manager Irene Farnham, with environmental programs services contractor Navarro, realized a dream this year when she completed the Boston Marathon.
“Running Boston was one of the most exciting weekends of my life," Farnham said. “I’m not a gifted runner. I just have a lot of determination and perseverance."
Another endurance athlete, Tiffany Lantow, long-term monitoring lead with the EM Nevada Program, completed a marathon in Las Vegas last year.
EM Nevada Program Operations Manager Rob Boehlecke accompanied his son on a quest to earn a Boy Scouts merit badge in bicycling in April, biking 50 miles around the Las Vegas valley.
In May, Navarro Environmental Safety, Health and Quality Manager Tom Bastian accomplished a half-Ironman-distance triathlon in St. George, Utah. He swam 1.2 miles, biked 56 miles, and ran 13.1 miles. In September, Bastian will bike 206 miles from Logan, Utah to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Some employees enlist the help of health and fitness experts. Sergio Mendoza and Dawn Siekerman used a local company’s whole foods-based nutrition plan combined with a physical training program.
Mendoza, a programmer with Navarro’s information technology department, lost 30 pounds over the past two years and gained strength and stamina allowing him to resume playing softball.
Siekerman, a Navarro environmental scientist, saw her cholesterol levels drop within healthy limits for the first time in over a decade.
EM Nevada Program Strategic Communications Manager Kelly Snyder adheres to the ketogenic diet, which calls for consuming a minimum amount of carbohydrates. Since adopting this lifestyle in 2016, she and her husband together have lost more than 200 pounds.
Others stay fit through healthy hobbies. Juvencio “JC" Castro, senior technician with Navarro Radiological Services, is a second-degree black belt in Song-Moo-Kwon, a non-traditional style of Tai-Kwan-Do. Castro also teaches this style of martial arts, which includes choreographed aerobic sequences known as katas.
Christy Morris of Navarro’s Strategic Communications team is paying the fitness journey forward. Morris participates in a 200-hour yoga teacher-training program at a local studio. She will graduate this winter as a certified yoga teacher, and plans to help others improve mental and physical health.
Stephen McHenry, a chemical data validator with Leidos, a subcontractor to Navarro, takes part in pickleball. The sport combines elements of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong. McHenry won two silver medals so far this year in doubles tournaments.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
