Alan Kohll believes in honesty and authenticity. In his personal life... "I run tri-athlons, like the Iron Man in Hawaii. I have to be brutally honest with myself about my abilities and my training." And in his business life... "How else can you look people in the eye and tell them your services are better than your competitor's? You have to be able to back up the claim. I can honestly do that."

When asked, Kohll explains how training for and competing in tri-athlons helps deliver better products and services to his corporate clients this way. "We deliver a higher quality service because we live what we preach. It starts with my strong belief in personal good health. I work to make myself a better, healthier person and the best athlete I can be. And I'm not alone. Kim Elsberry plays competitive tennis and there are many others.

"It's not much of a stretch to carry that value of personal good health over to the employees of our clients. We're able to measure and record the positive impact our events have on the health of thousands of employees every year. There's a big payoff for the employees and for our corporate clients, which is even better. To run a business that thrives by helping companies benefit from employees taking better care of themselves? For me, that's very satisfying."

Training as a tri-athlete helps in another important way. Explains Kohll, "Three things: planning, coordination and follow-through. Because I'm training for three very different events, my training regimen has to be planned and adjusted when necessary, the parts of that regimen -- food, rest, drills, etc. -- have to be coordinated and monitored constantly and, finally, I have to follow that regimen to the letter or I won't deliver my best on race day. It's the same with setting up and successfully executing a health fair or vaccination event. Good planning, communication and coordination and effective follow-through. That's what's made us successful."

Alan Kohll: Founder and CEO, tri-athlete and believer in honesty and authenticity.

Contact Information:
Email: Alan Kohll
Phone: 888-434-4358 ext.102

"Whenever there's a client event," she explains, "I'm the person who makes sure the nursing professionals, meds, materials and supplies are in all the right places at the right time and in the right quantities. I'm also the 'go-to' person when there are last-minute issues -- that's when I'm most likely to interact directly with our clients. But my real job is to do everything possible to avoid those last-minute panic calls all-together."

When asked to cite the single most important element in successfully completing a corporate event, Elsberry doesn't hesitate. "Enough time," she says emphatically.

"These are complex events with many moving parts. Our internal operations are automated and optimized for efficiency, accuracy and flexibility. When a contract comes in, it is immediately entered into our IT system. Our on-site nursing coordinators... the people who will run the event... are notified and scheduled, work calls to local nursing staff are sent electronically and their acceptances confirmed by phone and email and logged into our system. Quantities of meds and supplies are reserved. The process is largely automated, though we monitor it constantly. All that said, it takes time to get it right and getting it right is what we work so hard to do. Put all this into a short time frame and you're asking for errors and, ultimately, failure."

Like many at HFA / VSA, Elsberry wears many hats. She handles special projects for Founder and CEO Alan Kohll. As National Account Executive, she handles special needs and arrangements for large clients. "How do you put 1,100 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. workers on five campuses through a seven-hour, multi-site event that starts before their shift and ends in the middle of it?" And she plays competitive tennis. "I play both singles and doubles on a team that competes in a USTA-sanctioned league. We're pretty good and have gone to (Regionals Twice). I'm lucky to be working for a company that supports my competitive athletics, along with the healthy lifestyle activities of lots of our people."

Kim Elsberry: National Account Executive, competitive tennis player and behind-the-scenes administrator extraordinaire'.

Contact Information:
Email: Kim Elsberry
Phone: 888-434-4358 ext.116

Never one to use fancy language or embellish, Dudney says his real job is, "...to be on site before an event, make sure nurses are in place and trained and that everything --meds, personnel, testing equipment and supplies -- all of it is in place and ready to deliver a top-level event. If something is missing, I know what to do. I'm usually around during the event, too, in case something unexpected comes up. I consider it my job to take the stress out of the event."

To some it might sound a little "manufactured," but Dudney takes great satisfaction from giving to others. "I grew up a missionary kid. I traveled with my folks to a lot of far-flung places administering aid to some very poor and disadvantaged people. Even as a kid it was rewarding. That where the 'getting from giving' part of me comes from. Earlier this year I travelled with my parents to Central America to do missionary work. I'll do it as long as I can," he predicts.

One of the themes you hear echo throughout the halls of HFA / VSA is the authenticity of living personally what you do professionally. "Alan, our founder, runs tri-athlons. Kim Elsberry plays competitive tennis. With me," notes Dudney, "it's the whole idea of giving. I do it personally. I do it in my professional life every time we put on a successful event and I see employees commit to making positive changes in his or her lifestyle. The look on their faces when they finally accept the fact they have to make changes is hard to describe. I know there's a huge payoff for them and their company down the road. How does going to work each morning get any better?"

Keith Dudney: Field Operations Manager, self-styled missionary and stress reliever.

Contact Information:
Email: Keith Dudney
Phone: 888-434-4358 ext.105

What does 24 years in high technology have to do with corporate health and wellness events? "Logistics," he explains, is the management and timely delivery, often of products, parts and supplies. In this case, the term includes professional, trained nurses and what they need to do their part in a successful wellness event. "It might be somebody else's job to order it," Knudson explains, "but it's my job to actually get what they order to the right place at the right time and in the correct quantities. Among other things, that involves exact timing and there are lots of things that can get in the way."

Communication is the key to successful event coordination, according to Knudson. "We've spent a lot of time and money on our IT infrastructure. Much of our communication with, for example, our field nurses is automated and we're constantly tweaking and improving it. We use redundant communications, usually email and cell phone contact, to ensure people get their messages as quickly as possible." That same infrastructure, says Knudson, is what enables him to interact with those planning and ordering for an event, those responsible for staffing it, typically V.P. and Director of Nursing, Kate Parnell, and Field Operations Manager Keith Dudney. "It all gets down to timing."

Like his fellow professionals, Knudson believes in what he does for a living. "Once I was fully exposed to our program and what it can do in terms of personal health for employees and, therefore, our corporate clients," he explains, "I became a believer. I began taking better care of myself. I love going to the "Y" and getting in a solid cardio workout. And our company supports that kind of healthy lifestyle; not just in theory but in fact and action. That makes me happy to be here."

Ron Knudson : Logistics Manager, workout warrior and champion of good timing.

Contact Information:
Email: Ron Knudson
Phone: 888-434-4358 ext.109