Fitness challenge creates good work vibe

Sparta — When you walk into the law office of Laddey, Clark and Ryan LLC. in Sparta, you may notice the staff seems to have a little pep in their step. The atmosphere is positive and the chatter around the water cooler is about who exercised the night before and who is going to run after work. The firm’s partners have set up a fitness challenge for their staff. There are five teams of four. Each participant is given a pedometer to log steps for walking or miles for jogging or bike riding. Teams log their miles each week, and the team with the most miles logged, wins a cash price. Captains are chosen to help motivate their team and give weekly updates on their team’s status. “It has been so nice to see our staff members trying to pick up miles at lunch time or being conscious enough to look down at their pedometers from time to time,” says partner Andrew Fraser, Esq. “Our staff members feel better and have lost inches in the past few months. Its been a positive experience for everyone.” The total mileage for the entire competition logged in by all teams was 6,052.52 miles in two months. That would more than double the length walking from New Jersey to Los Angeles. The winners of the fitness challenge were The Pacemakers led by team captain Timothy Dinan, Esq., Jessica Jansyn, associate, Tricia McGuire, paralegal and Kathy Gallagher, legal assistant.