Off to the Races! With Employer Support, Navy Federal Credit Union Team Members Sprint Toward This Fall’s Fitness Goals

By: Allison Stevens and Sean Smith

Two decades ago, Navy Federal Credit Union’s Pam Piligian celebrated a milestone birthday with a milestone of a different kind: a marathon. Her first steps on the scenic, 26-mile course looping around the nation’s capital kicked off a much loftier fitness goal—to run a marathon in every state in the nation.

Piligian completed her “marathon of marathons” in the shadow of the Teton Mountain Range in September, when she crossed the finish line of the Jackson Hole Marathon. Not one to rest on her laurels, Navy Federal’s chief marketing officer ran a victory lap in October at the iconic Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC, the race where the first leg of her decades-long journey began.

How did she celebrate? By coloring in the last blank state on a paper map of the country’s Navy Federal branch locations. “It felt really nice,” she told FFXNow—adding that she was able to accomplish the goal in part due to a supportive employer.

The credit union, she said, not only talks the fitness talk; it walks the fitness walk.

A Supportive Employer

Indeed, Navy Federal Credit Union puts a premium on employee health and wellness, says Holly Kortright, Navy Federal’s Chief Human Resources Officer, and goes above and beyond to support employee fitness goals.

A favorite program is the President’s Wellness Challenge, which rewards team members for reaching personal wellness goals, whatever they may be. Also of note are free onsite fitness centers at the credit union’s 3 main campuses in Virginia and Florida, which boast state-of-the-art equipment and free group exercise classes in yoga, cycling and more.

Team members in other locales can be reimbursed for gym memberships or equipment, and all have access to a virtual fitness app with free group exercise classes and health and fitness coaching. The credit union’s on-campus health clinics provide no-cost care, including primary care, sick visits, physical therapy, routine labs and more. Navy Federal also supports financial health and other dimensions of wellness through programs that help employees save money and connect with colleagues at social events.

“When our team members are healthy and well, our enterprise is healthy and well—and best able to provide our award-winning service to our 14 million members in the military community,” Kortright says. That philosophy has been recognized and rewarded outside Navy Federal’s walls. This year, Navy Federal won a prestigious award from the Business Group on Health and a workplace health award from a medical society in Escambia County in Florida, where Navy Federal’s Pensacola campus is located.

Sean Stidman, a Navy Federal engineer who ran this year’s Marine Corps Marathon along with Piligian and many other colleagues, called the credit union’s health and wellness support “incredible.” Onsite centers, he notes, are staffed by professional trainers and have clean showers, locker rooms, towel service and more. Community fitness events, from pickleball tournaments to golf outings, are also available.

“It really encourages you,” Stidman said.

So too do formal and informal peer groups that support runners, bikers and others with shared interests. Inspired by the Olympics, a trio of employees at Navy Federal’s Winchester, Va., campus teamed up to train for the National Senior Games. They cheered each other on during practice 50- and 100-meter dashes, sometimes at Navy Federal’s campus. All 3 qualified to participate in the national event next summer in Iowa, thanks in part to their commitment to each other. “It was super-fun,” said Member Service Representative Monique Boyd. “We were all there to support each other.”

Fitness in the Community

The credit union supports fitness in the community, too. Last year, Navy Federal unveiled a new recreation center at its Pensacola campus. The new facility houses walking paths, athletic fields and courts, a yoga lawn, gym equipment and a pavilion and is open not only to team members but also to members of the community.

In September, Navy Federal sponsored 2 Veterans in an annual 3-mile open-water swim held by The Honor Foundation in San Diego. “You guys have always been there for everything,” said Shannon Daniels, a participant and Navy Federal member since he graduated from bootcamp at age 18. “The program has personally saved my life and pulled me out of some dark spots and hard places.”

Navy Federal also sponsors the Red River Run, the storied fall event in which midshipmen carry footballs hundreds of miles—over day and night—from their college campuses in Texas and Oklahoma to the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, where their schools participate in a legendary football rivalry.

And it is known throughout the military community—and beyond—for sponsoring everything from local trots to major races like the Marine Corps and Air Force Marathons and the Army 10-Miler and the Marine Corps Historic Half.

This September, more than 1,000 people, including hundreds of employees, participated in Navy Federal’s 30th Annual Vienna 5K and 10th Annual Virtual 5K, which benefited nonprofit organizations that offer educational fellowship programs to the military community and provide service dogs to Veterans with service-connected trauma.

“I love being a small part of it,” said Ayse Alexander, a vice president at Navy Federal who “dragged” her husband, a retired Marine, along to the event. Alexander has participated in the Vienna 5K every year since moving from Okinawa in 2017—even during the Covid pandemic. “Getting my exercise in while doing good for others is extra rewarding, and I get to do it with my thousand closest friends,” she said.

Stidman echoed the sentiment, noting that Navy Federal goes “all out” at its sponsored events, pointing to event tents, food, drinks, health care and an army of volunteers—and says every bit of support counts. The first time he ran the Marine Corps Marathon, he reached a breaking point about halfway through the race. A group of Navy Federal volunteers stationed a short distance away wrapped his toes in bandages, tied his shoes correctly and gave him a “crash course” in how to finish the race.

“I don’t think I could have finished without them,” he said.

To learn more about Navy Federal’s health and wellness programs and other employee benefits, visit Navy Federal’s employee benefits page.