See you at the 8th Lopez Walk the Talk AnniversaryAnticipation has been building for the eighth anniversary celebration of Walk the Talk (WTT) after the original September 20 schedule was scrapped in the wake of tropical storm Mario.

The celebration is now scheduled for October 4, still at the First Philippine Industrial Park in Sto. Tomas, Batangas.

WTT organizing team member Dimpy Jazmines, in a September 20 Facebook message explaining the cancellation, said: “…When the extreme floods were continuing to rise, washing away property, and driving families away from their homes—and us not knowing when it will stop—your organizing team felt…that it was a necessary, critical, and timely decision to postpone our event, out of concern for everyone’s safety.”

He added that the different companies also had to look after “employees, business facilities and communities that were affected by TS Mario.”

Pool of prizes
Almost 20 companies, including 12 from the Lopez Group, contributed to the pool of prizes to be given away during the event.

All WTT 8th anniversary participants will have a chance to win regular prizes, which include Baron antennas, umbrellas, mugs, notebooks, bags and thermos bottles.

However, only regular employees will have a shot at winning the “medium” and grand prizes, such as gift certificates, bicycles, watches, power banks, Orbitrac exercise equipment, a 2,500-watt generator, Samsung DVD player and a Samsung Series 6 32” LED TV.

WTT, which gathers Lopez Group employees and their family for a morning of “walking for personal fitness,” was formally launched as a core activity of the new Lopez Lifelong Wellness program in 2006.

A year earlier, then chairman Oscar M. Lopez had laid out the rationale for the Lopez Group corporate wellness initiative, saying: “In the long term, I believe a healthier workforce can mean not only lower direct health care costs but also reduced absenteeism and higher productivity in our group of companies.”

Employee welfare and wellness was enshrined in the Lopez Credo as one of the seven Lopez Values in 2010.

The WTT is open to Lopez Group employees and their family and friends. All participants who preregistered with their HR departments had to reconfirm on or before September 30, at 12 noon.

For the Walk, wear comfortable walking shoes, shorts or jogging pants, T-shirt, cap and apply anti-mosquito lotion to ward off mosquitoes. Also, bring a towel, an extra shirt and water.

For more info, contact the WTT committee: Dimpy Jazmines at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ; TJ Isla at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ; Anthony Peñalosa at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ; and Gerbs de Castro at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . (Story by Germaine de Castro)

WALK THE TALK ANNIVERSARY 2014 RAFFLE GUIDELINES

1. The raffle is open to all attendees of the 2014 Walk the Talk Anniversary event – this includes regular employees, non-regular employees (contractual, project-hired, consultants), family, and friends

2. The registration for the raffle will take place at the registration area during the assembly/registration period upon arrival of the attendees.
Assisting the employees with their registration and raffle ticket-issuance will be their company’s respective HR partners.

3. Attendees register for the raffle by filling up color-coded raffle stubs, as follows:
a) YELLOW – for non-regular employees, family, and friends
b) LIGHT GREEN – for regular employees
c) BLUE – for regular employees who have attended at least 5 WTT sessions during this current 2013-2014 cycle

The colors of the stubs represent corresponding raffle draw waves to be held during the program. Please refer to the attached Excel for a list of prizes, as of September 23, 2014.

Each of the company’s respective HR’s will be in charge of determining which attendee should fill up a YELLOW, LIGHT GREEN, or BLUE raffle stub.

4. The prizes during this raffle are categorized in three waves, as follows:
a) REGULAR – open to YELLOW, LIGHT GREEN, and BLUE raffle stubs
b) MIDDLE – open to LIGHT GREEN and BLUE raffle stubs
c) GRAND – open to BLUE raffle stubs
In addition to the above three waves, some minor prizes have been ear-marked as EARLY BIRD prizes, and these will also be awarded to winners during the program.

5. Upon filling up their raffle stubs with the information needed – specifically, name, company, and contact number – the attendees are to drop their raffle stubs in the tambiolo.

For family and friends, their “company” is the same as their host employee’s company.

6. The last cut-off for dropping of raffle stubs at the bowl is before the walk proper of the event. The hosts will announce a “last call” for attendees to fill up and drop the raffle stubs at this point; prior reminders will also be given to the attendees to drop their raffle several times during the pre-walk program. Please note that no more late raffle stubs (“pahabols”) will be accepted when the walk proper has started.

7. During the walk, a committee team will stay behind to pre-draw all the REGULAR prizes. The winners of the REGULAR prizes will be announced during the after the walk.

8. There will be some special rules regarding BLUE raffle stubs:
• If a BLUE raffle stub is picked as a winner during the REGULAR raffle, the said BLUE stub WILL BE RETURNED again to the tambiolo, so that it will be included again in the drawing of the MEDIUM and GRAND raffle prizes
• If a BLUE raffle stub is picked as a winner during the MEDIUM raffle, the said BLUE raffle stub will NO LONGER BE RETURNED to the tambiolo, so that it will be excluded from the GRAND raffle prizes

9. Live raffle draws will be done for the MIDDLE and GRAND prizes.

10. Presence of the winners at the venue is required to win the MIDDLE and GRAND prizes. Announced winners will be given a count of fifteen to announce themselves and stake their claim on the prize; otherwise a new potential winner will be drawn for the unclaimed prize.

11. In case of disputes, the WTT committee’s decision on the matter is final.