Shape Up Cape wellness initiative will return in 2018

Shape Up Cape is gearing up for a return in 2018, said Shad Burner, vice president of business development for the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce.

The program, a communitywide wellness initiative, started in 2002. It was discontinued in 2010, Burner said.

"It was becoming very difficult to administer, considering the level," Burner said.

Nearly 100 businesses and between 400 and 500 participants were involved at one point, he said.

"But since 2010, technology has come a long way," he said.

The chamber's Health and Human Services Committee explored the possibility of bringing back the program, Burner said, and thought it was doable without adding too much burden to the staff.

Previously, one employee at the chamber was the program administrator, Burner said, and that employee was responsible for ensuring all data was entered correctly.

That will change, Burner said.

Google Sheets, a spreadsheet program accessible online to users with a Google account, will be used.

That way, each team's form will be customized, Burner said. The team captain will collect information from members and enter the numbers into the form, which automatically feeds into the main sheet at the chamber. Calculations will be automatic.

"We won't have to touch it," Burner said.

People will be able to see their results, standings and averages in real time, he said.

Previously, competition was heated, Burner said. The emphasis was on winning first place, but Burner said in the new version, the focus will be on meeting a particular threshold, then being entered into a drawing for a percentage of the prize money.

Because the focus will be on meeting goals rather than beating others, Burner said, he hopes to see the chamber and the Health and Human Services Committee move into a role of encouraging rather than policing participants.

By reducing some of the competitive elements, "we're also removing some of the policing," Burner said.

"We're basically saying, 'Hey, you are adults. Just try to be honest and don't do anything you wouldn't do in your own business.' We're leaving it at that," Burner said.

Besides, this program will be about motivating. While competition can be fun, that isn't the point, Burner said.

And in an age when health insurance costs are soaring, "this is a piece that can be beneficial to businesses," Burner said. "We just want to give an opportunity for people to get active and for businesses to highlight wellness and health."

The committee has representation from across the health community in Cape Girardeau, Burner said, "and they've really developed some great ideas."

Burner said he relies heavily on the volunteers to give recommended guidelines for safe, healthy, activity levels.

"We're certainly not experts in these areas [at the chamber]," Burner said. "We're about figuring out ways to implement ideas."

Burner said the program will be tested in spring 2018 and be ready for a full launch in the summer.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address:

220 N. Fountain St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.