The framed mementos from Iron Man competitions and marathons that line the walls in Jayme Mayo’s office at the Nabholz Wellness Center in Conway are meant to inspire, not impress, she said.
“The point is — it’s about what you can accomplish,” Mayo said. “It’s not letting excuses prevent you from achieving your goals.”
Mayo is acutely aware that she is a role model for 1,100 employees of Nabholz Construction, where she has served as director of wellness since 2007.
It was the last place she thought she’d be working.
The 40-year-old Mayo, a former volleyball player at Hendrix College, earned a degree in kinesiology. Although she thought she wanted to teach and coach, one day as a substitute teacher changed her mind. She’d been injured as a volleyball player, and after undergoing physical therapy, she was
intrigued. She went to a school in Michigan to become a physical-therapy assistant, and she spent five years traveling the United States doing therapy where she was needed.
When she met “Mr. Right,” as she called her now husband, J.J., traveling lost its luster.
She went to school in Nashville, Tennessee, to become a physician’s assistant, which was her compromise to have more responsibility for patient care yet not have the time or expense of going to medical school.
Mayo came back to Conway and interviewed for jobs, but nothing seemed like a good fit, she said. Her father, Bill Hannah, chairman of the board at Nabholz Construction, was CEO at the time. He told her the company was starting a wellness program.
Mayo said she was dubious. “I didn’t go to P.A. school to work at a construction company,” she said.
But she met with Nabholz Construction CEO Greg Williams, then chief financial officer, to talk about the position.
“He’s the mastermind behind all this fitness stuff,” she said. Mayo said she got excited about building a brand-new program.
She said the cost of health claims at the company were escalating, and health care costs were, too, so Nabholz decided to do something about it.
“Our founder, Bob Nabholz, believed in taking care of people by paying 100 percent of their premiums, and that was in jeopardy,” Mayo said. “We said, ‘Let’s put money into prevention instead of fixing the problems.’” The entire company gets screened at least once a year, and all employees and spouses who use the company’s health insurance can earn money and bonuses.
Unlike some companies, Mayo said, there is no third party involved. She and her staff hand deliver results to employees and meet with them.
“We’re in the trenches with these folks,” she said. “We go to the doctor with them; we go to their homes.”
The corporate wellness program was impressive enough that it garnered a 15-minute segment in the HBO documentary Weight of the Nation, which aired in 2012.
Mayo and her father were interviewed, and the documentary took on a life of its own, she said.
“Truth be told, it’s become more of an outreach to other companies across the country,” she said. “I’ve consulted with the Department of Defense — the Pentagon has called. They were trying to do wellness for service men and women in our country.”
Mayo also has been called by officials at The Clinton Foundation, who asked her to help them create a prototype of Nabholz’s wellness program to replicate in other communities.
“Consulting is a huge piece of this,” she said of her job.
She said the Nabholz wellness team includes a personal trainer, a dietitian and a medical assistant, who is also a phlebotomist. A supervising physician will join the team soon, she said, and employees may schedule visits for health care, a free service.
“We still save almost $750,000 a year after having my team here,” she said. “The things I’m doing are measurable. We have relationships with our people. They share with us their lives, so we know how to help them.”
One 25-year-old employee was shocked to learn last week that his cholesterol level is high — “I mean galactic,” Mayo said. She asked him to check with his parents to learn his family history.
A handful of employees aren’t interested in getting help, she said. They tell Mayo it’s their business how they live.
“They’re not wrong,” she said. Mayo said she plants the seeds and walks away. “I tell them, ‘I’m not your mama, I’m not your baby sitter, but when you’re ready, I’m all in.’”
Mayo is all in with her own fitness, too.
She started running with her husband, who has a doctorate in exercise physiology and is a registered dietitian. He’s an associate professor of nutrition at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.
Mayo said her husband is her best friend, and their interests complement each other. “We really have this great team,” she said.
She ran her first marathon and a sprint triathlon in 2003, and she said, “OK, what’s next?” She advanced to half Iron Man events in 2006. At first, she just accompanied her husband to Iron Man events to watch.
“I said, ‘I can swim, bike and run, and I’m here — why am I not doing this?’ You see the person with one leg, or the 80-year-old woman, and you’re like, ‘I have no excuses,’” she said. To date, she has participated in seven Iron Man events. It’s 140.6 total miles — 2.4 miles swimming, 112 biking and 26.2 running.
“The training is the most challenging,” Mayo said.
When she and her husband train for Iron Man competitions, it’s like a part-time job, she said — 20 to 25 hours a week.
Her most physically challenging Iron Man was in Wisconsin, she said. “It was very hilly, and it was hot — and I’m from Arkansas,” she said. It was also the most memorable because it was held on Sept. 11, 2011.
“I wore American-flag running shorts and an American-flag top, and people would chant, ‘USA, USA.’ The day was bigger than the race. It really put things in perspective,” she said.
When she’s not training for an event, her exercise routine is more normal. “An hour a day is kind of the rule,” she said. Mayo said she prefers to work out in the morning because she never knows what the day will bring.
“It’s my prayer time, my alone time, and it is sacred time, and I’m not willing to give that up,” she said.
Mayo does have a life other than fitness. Just as proudly displayed as the medals and photos from fitness competitions are her signed pictures of rock band Def Leppard.
“We follow Def Leppard,” Mayo said of herself and her husband. “I loved them; he liked them. He rekindled his love for ’80s hair bands.” She said they planned to go to a meet-and-greet for the band this weekend in Kansas.
Although she’s had opportunities to leave Nabholz for other positions, Mayo said she’s happy where she is.
“This is the group of people I choose to serve,” she said. “When someone is sick, unhealthy or injured, it’s personal to me.”
CEO Williams said Mayo’s personality is a key to the program’s success.
“She is passionate about what she does, and she is passionate about making people healthier and making them feel better,” he said. He said most of the construction company’s employees are males, and Mayo calls them “my guys.”
“She is a great communicator. She can talk with anyone, and she is very sincere, and she cares about them as individuals,” Williams said.
“One thing that impresses me so much about her is that she expects you to improve where you are. She doesn’t want to make everyone iron men or iron women; she just wants everyone to get better,” he said. “She expects you to improve where you are.”
Nabholz Construction does business in 45 states. When employees are working away from home, Mayo scouts fitness opportunities such as gyms and bicycle trails for them to use. She said she wants employees to believe they can achieve their fitness goals, and she’ll do whatever she can to help them.
She and her husband most recently ran the Frisco Railroad Run, a 50-mile race in Springfield, Missouri, and she has framed keepsakes from the event. Fresh from the frame shop and wrapped in plastic, the piece is leaning against the wall of her office, ready for hanging.
“Mentally, that was the toughest,” she said of the race. “Your body wants to quit, and your mind says, ‘You’re not at the finish line.’”
Mayo said she’s not a fast runner like her husband, but she’s tough and won’t quit.
“I’m practicing what I preach,” she said.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.