National Wellness Month Employee Spotlight

KATLYNN SMITH

August is National Wellness Month. This month, we will highlight some of the wellness initiatives that GPI offers through our parent company, GPV!  

As wellness coordinator at Great Plains Ventures, Katlynn Smith is in constant pursuit of new avenues of health for employees at GPV subsidiaries, including GPI. Joining the team in 2023 as an intern, she officially transitioned to full-time in October after having a baby boy in June. 

Katlynn’s job entails designing, implementing, and managing a comprehensive wellness program to enhance the health and well-being of employees at GPV and subsidiaries. She assesses the health needs of the workforce, coordinates activities such as fitness challenges, lunch and learns, organizes health screenings and coordinates with external vendors and healthcare professionals. Additionally, she tracks the effectiveness of these programs through metrics and employee feedback. Through all of these practices, GPV is striving to have the happiest, healthiest and most productive employees. In her time at the company, her job has evolved due to advancements in technology. Digital platforms have enabled her to reach employees far more effectively. 

Katlynn has always lived a healthy, active lifestyle, but it wasn’t until halfway through college that she realized she wanted it to be a part of her career.  Originally majoring in nursing, she switched to athletic training, where she had an amazing professor who was more on the wellness side. This class and professor changed everything for Katlynn, and she immediately changed her major to Health and Human Performance. 

When it comes to the Wellness program at GPV, Katlynn believes that alone is unique. She points out that not many companies invest in their employees’ health the way GPV does. In addition, the management at all levels not only allow their employees to participate, they encourage it! GPV also provides a lot of on-site preventive screenings, making these as accessible as possible for all employees. 

In her personal life, Katlynn maintains a balanced lifestyle that includes regular physical activity, a nutritional diet and placing importance on her mental health. In her free time, she enjoys spending time outside with her son, reading a good book or going for an early morning walk with her dogs. 

Katlynn’s view on the importance of wellness is influenced by her experiences and observations of the impact that a healthy lifestyle or unhealthy lifestyle can have on your overall quality of life. Additionally, staying up to date with the latest research in health and wellness motivates her to promote and incorporate effective strategies both personally and professionally. Her biggest tip for starting to improve your health and wellness is to focus on what you are putting into your body and how you care for your body, then set realistic goals to clean everything up! 

We’re so grateful to have Katlynn as part of our team – and we look forward to her Wellness Wednesday e-mails every week!