MC Assembly Helps Students with “Run for the Shade” 5K Race

MC Assembly recently participated in the 5K “Run for the Shade” Run Event to help local school children at Sherwood Elementary School in Melbourne to purchase awnings to shade the school’s playground.

“Teamwork is one of the six core values for MC Assembly and nothing beats coming together at a 5K and watching everyone cross that finish line,” said Brian Kingston, Director of Human Resources for MC Assembly.

Seventy employees from MC Assembly participated in the 5K run. MC Assembly also donated $1,500 towards the cause to help the school reach its fundraising goal and was a corporate sponsor of the event.

Test Engineer Matthew Kemmerer was the first MC Assembly runner to cross the finish line. He had an interesting personal story behind his participation in this run.

“I appreciate the opportunity the company provides by sponsoring these events and encouraging employee participation,” Kemmerer said. “Since being injured in a car accident, this race was the first where I have been able to push through non-stop, so it is a major milestone in my own personal recovery.”

For Kemmerer the cause of this 5K run, helping school kids in the community, was another important aspect of his participation.

“I’ve been involved in helping kids through volunteer activities, such as coaching soccer, in the past, so being able to run and help raise funds for Sherwood Elementary simultaneously was a win-win for me and the school kids,” Kemmerer said.

This is the second 5K race event MC Assembly has participated in. It was selected by MC Assembly’s Wellness Team, which promotes health and wellness as part of the company’s culture by choosing a fitness event for the company to participate in each quarter. The wellness team also coordinates annual wellness checks, quarterly blood drives and annual flu shots.

“The wellness team was created to make fitness initiatives fun and bring our team together outside of the plant,” Kingston said. “Events like these allow for us to strengthen our company culture and internal relationships.”

Kemmerer agrees, pointing out that the wellness events gives everyone a chance to interact with people they normally work with and those in different departments.

“Events like this provide an opportunity to build relationships with colleagues you don’t even get a chance to say hello to in rush of day to day activities,” Kemmerer said. “I have thoroughly enjoyed myself at each event so far and plan to continue on into the future.”