Meet Tanya Barham - Covering Wellness for Benefits Buzz...

___________________________________________________________________________________

10.5 QUESTIONS WITH Tanya Barham

1.  The elevator just closed and you've got 30 seconds to pitch the random reader on who you are and why they should read your rants.  Go..

Do you like laffz?  Cuz I dooz!  No seriously, besides doing an amazing lolcats voice in the written word,  I work hard to inject a bit of fun into everything I write.  And when that doesn't work, well, I just blame it on the alien abductors who currently control my mind through radio transmissions.

2.  Now for the mundane - break down your location, title, company/firm and what you do for a living.

It's hard to be humble when you're bloggin' straight out of Portland, Oregon (that's orygun and not or-ee-gone).  I'm the founder/CEO of a company where all of our staff work like little elves at Christmastime to transform our client's workplace into a healthy, happy, productive place akin to Santa's workshop at the North Pole.  Seriously.  Now we just need Santa to hold up on the cookies and milk and we can declare that wellness program a success.

3.  One more question that everyone expects.  What's the reason you're in this game? (why do you do what you do?)

I've always been a workaholic.  Truth is, I like work more than I like going to the gym.  So there.  I embrace my inner couch potato, but I also know that being healthy can actually be easy and fun.  Unfortunately that was a discovery that I made through curiosity and self discipline and not something offered by any of my previous employers.  Yet, I saw the impact that my own wellness plan had on my and my teams' productivity and it inspired me.  Eventually the role that wellness played in my own quest toward work-life balance, as well as its potential for improving employee productivity and morale, led me to found Recess. My goal is to help employers realize lower absenteeism, greater productivity and generally a happier, healthier workforce though wellness.

4.  If you've ever been to a professional baseball game, you know batters from the home team get to pick their own theme music as they walk from the dugout to the plate.  If we ever have a convention, what theme music will you come out to to pump the crowd up and why?

OMG.  Can I tell you a funny story?  I banned my boyfriend from blaring baseball games in our house because I found it so annoying.  Now I wish I knew what the heck you were talking about, don't I?  Is punk music appropriate?  Fugazi's "Bed For The Scraping" always gets me pretty fired up.  I am not sure the baseball crowd would appreciate it, though. 

Maybe "Eye of the Tiger" for them?

Oh, wait! This is a convention.  Ok.  Wait! Wait!  I know!!!!!!

Alright, maybe that is not appropriate for mixed company, but who can resist 80's workout gear.  I mean seriously!

5.  Let's stick with the baseball theme.  If you've ever been to a pro game, you also know that the visitor doesn't get to pick their own music.  The home team picks that for them, and it's usually less than stellar as a means of attempting to crush them.  If you could pick theme music for your arch-rival to walk into a conference room to, what would it be and why?

Thanks to the Annoying Music Show on WBEZ (Midwest, represent!)  I would have so many foul tunes to choose from.  I think I am going to have to go with William Shatner's rendition of Mr. Tambourine Man.  The person who posted the video of this song on YouTube wouldn't allow anyone to embed the video, but it is worth following the link. This song gives whole new meaning to the word Shatner.

I urge you to listen until the end - even if you are crying from laughter.
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0hTtsqiFCc

6.  Finish the following sentence - "When I'm talking to someone about benefits, I can tell they have no clue what I'm talking about because ____________..."
 
they look like I do when someone is talking about sports!  

7.  Name the actor/actress that will portray you in the movie about you.  Why the heck is that a fit?

Back when my hair was blonde people said I looked like Sheryl Crow.  Does she act?  Maybe we should make my life into a musical?

8.  List three of your favorite books to pander to the educated segment of our readership...

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, by Anne Fadiman

Edison and the Electric Chair, by Mark Essig

 Do you want an HR book too? 

Change to Strange, by Daniel Cable

9.  List three of your favorite movies to connect with the segment of our readership that doesn't like to read...

Uh Oh.  Now I am in trouble.  A friend of mine once said, "Tanya, the thing that is so cute about you is that I think you genuinely enjoy watching all of those pretentious movies." Apropos….

Delicatessen

The Big Lebowski

Recently, I loved Persepolis

10.  Let's reach out to what remains of our readership.  Who's your favorite Old-School Rapper and why?

We're JJ Fad and we're here to rock!

10.5.  My first car was a <blank> and here's how it defined who I am....

My first car was an ailing Toyota Corolla whose engine would mysteriously overheat when, on a typically frigid Wisconsin evening, you turned on the heater.  Most winter days I rocked about 5 layers of clothing, hat, double fleece mittens and wool blanket.  That car never gave up and neither do I.  Dedicated.  That's me.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Comments

[Sabine]

Hi Tanya

I am contacting you on behalf of the World Heart Federation, an NGO committed to helping people achieve a longer and better life through prevention and control of heart disease and stroke, with a focus on low-and middle income countries.

I have read your blogg about offering soda drinks at work and thought that it may interest you that this year, World Heart Day 2009 (27. September) is calling on everyone to "Work With Heart" - encouraging employees and employers to include health promotion in their corporate agendas.

Let me know if you would be interestted in knowing more about that activity.

Thanks.
Sabine