Heaven Hill recently covered registration fees for all races included in the Virtual United Way Trifecta Series of 5K races: The Pokey Pig 5K, the Sorghum Shuffle, and the United Way Spirit 5K sponsored by Heaven Hill. While many employees competed in the races individually, several employees from different locations decided to turn the 5K series into a friendly competition. Kevin Andrew (Senior Manager of Inventory & Customer Service based in Bardstown), Jason Stone (Black Velvet Quality Services Manager based in Lethbridge), Patrick Stiff (Budgeting and Forecasting Manager based in Louisville), Danny Jackson (Information Technology Director based in Bardstown), Brian Calhoun (Vice President of Financial Planning & Analysis based in Louisville), Chris Briney (Director of New Product Development based in Bardstown), Sherry Christensen (Black Velvet Bottling Equipment Operator based in Lethbridge), and Cindy Mouser (Director of Supply Chain based in Bardstown) competed individually in each virtual race and the group tracked times to determine a winner for each 5K and an overall winner for the series.

Brian Calhoun went above and beyond with creative ways to finish his 5Ks by mapped a course that spelled out HHill, running laps around the Hanover office, and even doing a border crossing at the Big4Bridge in Downtown Louisville with his son. The group competed remotely each week with very close times for each race. In the end, Jason Stone was named the overall winner for the Heaven Hill Virtual 5K Series.​​​​​​​

“This was such a fun and motivational event and a great way for some of us to connect even when we can’t meet up in person,” Kevin Andrew said. “A little bit of friendly competition was a great way to get out, get active, and grow relationships with coworkers.”

In addition to this friendly virtual 5K competition, several Heaven Hill employees are part of the “Heaven Hill Distilleries Running Club” on the exercise tracking app Strava where they can track their progress and cheer each other on virtually:

• Sherry Christensen – Black Velvet
• Jason Stone – Black Velvet
• Brian Calhoun – Hanover
• Cindy Mouser – Bardstown
• Alex Green – Hanover
• Ryan Murley – Hanover
• Danny Jackson – Bardstown
• Will Rives – Hanover
• Patrick Stiff – Hanover
• Chris Blair – Bardstown
• Josh Eckhardt – Bardstown
• Kevin Andrew – Bardstown

Any other employee who loves to run, jog, or walk is welcome to join the group as well at this link: https://www.strava.com/clubs/HHDRunningClub

Congrats to Jason for winning the employee competition. We love to see employees finding creative, safe ways to stay connected during his time.