McGill on the Move
End of Year Wrap Up
In 2023, the Great State Trail Coalition launched the Year of the Trail to encourage all of us to recognize our role as champions of our natural resources and enjoy the benefits they support, including health, wellness, and economic development across the state. This initiative inspired McGill to develop McGill on the Move. The McGill on the Move program challenged our employees to get outdoors and enjoy our natural resources while celebrating the work McGill has done to improve trails and parks throughout North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
We were so incredibly pleased with the participation for McGill on the Move. Over a third of employees participated in the five-month challenge. The goal to get outdoors and enjoy nature was achieved by employees logging a total of 3,550 hours of outdoor activity. Our employees were able to see beautiful sites and do a variety of activities, such as biking, kayaking, and hiking.
Five Challenges
The program was composed of five challenges.
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Outdoor Activity Challenge: Employees tracked hours of walking, running, biking, kayaking, and canoeing outdoors.
27 of McGill’s employees earned this badge. Adventurers earned a badge for recording over 40 hours of outdoor activity over the 5-month period. |
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Explorer Challenge: Staff tracked the number of McGill land planning and recreation projects visited.
Nine employees earned the Explorer Badge by visiting three or more sites where McGill played a role in the development of a park, trail, or water access point. Our Explorer Challenge Winner was Wes Fleming. Wes visited 59 different sites in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. He biked, kayaked, hiked, and walked, and took advantage of the park amenities. |
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Shutterbug Challenge: Employees submitted photos from McGill projects related to parks, trails, and water access points.
Nine employees earned the Shutterbug Badge by earning six points for submitting photographs of their McGill site visits and outdoor activity. Shutterbugs earned a point for each image submitted and additional points for the inclusion of other McGill employees or for wearing McGill attire. We received nearly 800 photos that will be used in our future marketing efforts. Submitting over 440 photos, Wes Fleming was also the winner of our Shutterbug Challenge. |
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Creativity Challenge: Staff submitted creative reviews of McGill-designed parks or trails.
Six employees received this badge. We received amazing writeups about our employees’ visits to McGill sites. These reviews will be worked into our map of parks and recreation projects to give viewers a better understanding of what each park, trail, or water access has to offer. |
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Cultivator Challenge: This challenge awarded staff for encouraging each other to explore the outdoors together through employee-organized events.
Five employees received the Cultivator badge. Staff were charged with creating or identifying an event outside of work hours where McGill employees could be active together, setting the date, and hosting the event. Cultivator challenges allowed our employees to get together and enjoy nature. Kurtis Durrant scored the most points for the cultivator challenge for hosting multiple varied events. Kurtis arranged a bicycle ride on the Hickory City Walk, a kayaking event at Lake James, and a rigorous hike at Bakers Mountain. |
Overall Winner
Earning 1,054 points, our overall winner was Wes Fleming. Wes logged 1,380 minutes of outdoor activity, an average 23 hours each month. He submitted 53 creative reviews and submitted over 440 photos.
A big thank you to everyone who participated in McGill on the Move this summer. We had so much fun during our summer challenge that we have decided to make this a quarterly challenge starting again in January 2024.
Let Us Design Your Next Project
McGill’s land planning and recreation team has designed over hundreds of parks, trails, and streetscapes across our footprint. Reach out to Mike Norris, McGill Director of Land Planning and Recreation today to discuss your community’s next project at mike.norris@mcgillassociates.com.
