OSHKOSH, Wisconsin (April 10, 2019) — Julie Ortman, wellness director for Verve, a Credit Union, earned one of seven spots on the Wellness Council of Wisconsin’s (WCWI) Champions of Employee Wellbeing Leaderboard. Ortman earned the recognition for her commitment to enhancing Verve team member wellbeing, and she will be honored at the 29th Annual Employee Wellbeing Conference on Sept. 12, 2019, at Kalahari Resorts & Conventions in Wisconsin Dells.
WCWI is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping employers develop wellness programs to maximize the health and productivity of their most valuable asset: their employees. The nonprofit provides resources, awards and an annual conference for its more than 700 members from 500 organizations of varying industries and sizes.
Ortman’s recognition builds on Verve’s commitment to wellness with its designation as a 2018 Well Workplace.
“We are so excited to have our wellness director honored as one of Wisconsin’s top workplace wellness advocates,” Sarah Fecht, Verve’s vice president of talent management, said. “Julie is a driving force in the culture of wellness we are building at Verve. Her leadership is truly creating an environment where team members can confidently take that first step towards a healthier lifestyle.”
Ortman leads Verve’s wellness program, which focuses on physical, mental, emotional and financial wellbeing through onsite fitness facilities at two branches, friendly workplace challenges, wellness lunches, educational workshops and more.
“I’m so grateful for this recognition,” Ortman said. “The selection means the program we’ve worked so hard to build has achieved our goals of changing lives for the better, and we’re also known as a top wellness employer in the state.”
Ortman guides Verve’s vision of building a culture of wellness where wellness activities are a natural and habitual part of team members’ daily lives at work.
“I believe the wellbeing movement is headed in the right direction by recognizing the needs of the whole person—physical, mental, financial, even spiritual and social,” Ortman said. “Our goal at Verve is to provide activities and lifestyle enhancements to meet those needs where our team members are in their individual wellness journeys.”
Verve provides its team members a variety of options to get healthy, including an interactive wellness fair, free financial coaching, wellness resources on the intranet, morning stretching gatherings, quiet spaces for nursing mothers, opportunities to take mindful breaks and more.
“We’re faced with real health issues in our country, and in offering a robust Wellness Program and taking care of ourselves, we take better care of our communities,” Ortman said. “Being a visible leader in the corporate wellness community gives other organizations a realistic look at what a robust employee wellness program can be. As Verve’s wellness program earns recognition, we hope other organizations are inspired by our efforts and become confident they can do it too.”
Founded in 1937, Verve, a Credit Union, is a member-owned, not-for-profit financial cooperative with more than $936 million in assets and serves more than 59,400 members at 15 locations. Membership is open to anyone who lives, works or worships in 23 counties throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota and to employees of Kimberly-Clark Corp., Fox River Paper Co., the medical services industry and the immediate family of any current member. Federally insured by NCUA.
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