2019 marked our 6th year sponsoring Tour DaVita, a creative, adventurous, and healthy way to heighten Kidney Disease awareness and raise money for DaVita Village Trust. DaVita Village Trust’s goal is to improve community health, wellness, and vitality through providing chronic kidney disease education, prevention, and treatment to patients around the world. The three-day bicycle ride is held in a different part of the country each year, and provides both riders and volunteers an incredible and truly unforgettable experience. Meridian’s riders train hard all season to prepare for the ride of a lifetime and complete over 250 miles each over the course of the three-day ride. The experience is one they have called unforgettable and most importantly, serves a meaningful cause.
This year’s riders from Team Meridian included CEO, John Pollock, Executive Vice President, Mike Conn, Senior Vice President, Dan Rosenbaum, Asset Manager, Heidi Duffy, and Project Manager Jackie Welge. I sat down with each rider to find out why this event was important to them, here’s what they had to say.
John Pollock
The “esprit de corps” that the ride generates is unmatched and really underpins our core value of community. The ride is physically challenging, but it is such a moving experience to be there with DaVita teammates, family members, service providers and even patients. It’s truly amazing. Raising money to help create a healthier world and doing it in a way that gets us outdoors and exercising is perfect.
Mike Conn
Spirit of the ride… Spirit of the ride… Spirit of the ride! Tour DaVita is a great corporate event, one of the best I’ve ever seen. I’m really glad to be part of such a great organization, the Bridge of Life Charity and an event that promotes wellness and a healthy lifestyle. This year alone the Tour raised $1.2M, that’s something to be proud of.
Dan Rosenbaum
This was my fourth year in a row. It is a unique event in that we get to really see the true corporate culture of DaVita. This is a very caring company and they express it through their actions and words. At the same time, it has become part of OUR corporate culture in many of the same ways. Getting to train with my teammates is one of the most important parts of my year, and I enjoy it very much.
Heidi Duffy
This event puts a sense of perspective on your own life. Many people have to struggle with daily obstacles related to their health and sometimes I think we take for granted being able to wake up and not think twice about feeling “normal.” As you ride many miles, sometimes in pain, you think…if those individuals can fight every day, then I can get through a ride that helps raise money to improve healthcare and give THOSE individuals a fighting chance!
Jackie Welge
This is one of the most amazing events I have been to. It’s very inspiring to see the people out there riding for something they believe in. Whether they work for DaVita, have a family member who is undergoing dialysis, or are an actual dialysis patient themselves, it’s really amazing to see them come together for this event. It really is the ride of a lifetime.
For more information on Tour DaVita, please visit: https://www.tourdavita.org
Author: Rachel Schell