The Cooperative Response Center held a health, and wellness fair for its employees on Tuesday and Wednesday at its headquarters in Austin.

Employees had the opportunity to get flu shots, hearing tests, body mass index testing, giveaways, massages, and they could listen to speakers about depression in the workplace, identity theft, and much more at no cost.

“Wellness is really a major priority here at CRC,” Executive Assistant and Corporate Communications Manager for CRC in the Austin office Julie Schramek said. “This is the second time the company has done it; they feel that investing in wellness helps prevent potential disease. The more knowledge we have the better off we’ll be in the long run, so that’s an investment worth making.”

The main office for CRC is located in Austin, and there are two other locations, one in Abilene, Texas, and one in Dunlap, Tennessee.

The company has 215 employees in total, with 115 in Austin. The health and wellness fair has been put on in all three locations.

“It’s one tool to help promote wellness in the company,” Schramek said.

Nancy Morrison, the vice president of the human resources department for CRC, came up with the idea for the fair.

“I had done something similar in my past and we had a real interest in heightening our employees awareness of wellness,” she said.

Morrison said she started it with hopes to help build a healthier workforce as well as reduce the cost of health care for both employees and the company.

“More knowledge of wellness, more ownership of their own wellness,” she said.

The fair had seminars on not only physical health, but also emotional and spiritual health, and everything tied to wellness. There were demonstrations of healthy food preparation such as using a spiral cutter that turns vegetables into a substitute for pasta. The fire department spoke about smoke detectors; a dentist spoke about good dental health; the YMCA was there; and there was even an attorney talking about wills, trust and estate planning. There were four different rooms set up for activities.

Employees were able to attend at no cost and were paid for their time spent at the fair, similar to a regular workday. They have also been given opportunities to get $25 gift certificates for going to different seminars throughout the year and getting punches on punch cards.

“We run that throughout the year, so we have at least one wellness seminar a month for employees,” Morrison said.

Workers don’t have to worry about missing work, because since they have several call centers, calls can be transferred to different centers if need be.

Morrison said they plan to continue holding the health and wellness fair, with hopes to expand it each year.

“It’s a lot to pack into two days,” she said. “Next year I can see expanding it throughout the week.”

Last year the company won a Chamber Mower Refreshed Business of the Year award due to the things they have implemented for employees, and Morrison hopes to see that continue.

“I’m hoping to continue raising the bar and kind of set us apart,” she said.