TEAM EFFORT

Terry Smith and Tumbleweed Restaurants Celebrating Better Living Through Physical Fitness and a Healthier Menu

By Margaret Schauer

The pouring rain, accompanied by lightning and thunder, did little to derail their resolve. Decked out in matching uniforms, 18 members of Tumbleweeds Presidents Team were assembled and ready to go by the time Terry Smith, the 5-year CEO of the restaurant chain, met them at the corporate office on that stormy March morning. Braving the weather, the group ducked out of the building and then gathered at the starting line of the Anthem 5K Fitness Classic, ready to hit the pavement, bound not only by their enjoyment of running together but also by the tantalizing prospect of a post-race breakfast cooked by Marcia, Smiths wife of 39 years.

Smith, 60, recalls, "We were drenched to the bone: it was about as bad as it could get I had been saying to my wife, I wonder how many [teammates] looked at the weather and said no thanks? None of them". Smith smiles, thinking of their grit. That's the team. Tumbleweed's walking and running team, a familiar sight to spectators lining the roads during Louisville's Triple Crown of Running, began four years ago when Smith sent a memo to corporate employees, general managers, office and support center staff, and area directors, inviting them to join a new running team. The impetus was Smith's desire to share the benefits of physical fitness, not only for individual health, but for the health of the company. Smith explains, "We started [the team] by having 5K walk/runs twice a year. All corporate level and general manager level members could walk or run. Then we said, Let's form a team that actually does organized events." The proposal resulted in Tumbleweeds team entering the Triple Crown of Running each successive year. Because team members hail from restaurants in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, the training is done on their own. For the races, teammates form groups of similar speed and run at the pace of the slowest runner in their group. The company pays their entry fees.

Smith says,"We bought uniforms for everyone: we have summer uniforms, winter uniforms, jackets, everything. We are the only group that we know that runs in unison as a team. And we usually try to run two abreast, or have six to ten people in a file. Its a lot of fun to run together and encourage each other. We started out with five people and its grown to 22. Its really expanded".

This past year, Smith launched a second initiative to assist employees interested in exercising and losing weight. The fitness component, through the Heuser Clinic and underwritten by Tumbleweed, currently has 17 people enrolled. The initiative is still in the first phase with just office personnel, and many have signed up for the extended program. Smith plans on another group starting the program soon, with participants most likely coming from the general manager level.

The program is core fitness and nutrition, Smith says. Almost half of our office in the support center has collectively lost a huge amount of weight. The energy level has definitely increased in the office. I think its amazing to watch how they work together and encourage each other. Its six days a week, one hour a day of very intense exercise. They're very enthusiastic. Believing that an individual's mental well-being is directly tied to ones physical well-being, Smith explains his passion for helping people reach their fitness and health goals.

" Everyone feels better about themselves when they lose weight and are physically fit", he says. "If you go out and exercise for an hour a day, you will feel better that day than if you don't exercise. Your outlook on life is better. So, I think it improves a whole office environment and ambiance, just because people are a lot more physically fit. There is less illness, more energy, and people feel better about themselves. We are concerned about our employees health for their well-being, but also for the well-being of the company. It's an all around benefit for getting people healthy. We are really committed to it." Smith also lives what he espouses: when he isn't training for the Triple Crown, his regular fitness routine involves running four miles and lifting weights for at least 20 minutes every other morning of the week. The workouts help him stay physically fit for his other passions: golf and skiing. As a secondary bonus of his high level of fitness, he does not need to take any sort of medication.

"My personal view is that God gave us one body in which to go through this life and we should take as good care of this body as we can", he says. "It's in one sense a responsibility, but in another sense, its the only vehicle we have to go through life. So, whatever weve been given, we should develop it to the best of our abilities". Walking hand-in-hand with physical fitness is a healthy diet, something close to Smiths heart. Having spent 20 years living in Europe, Smith is well aware of the differences between American and European foods.

"In Europe, the food is much more natural than in the U.S.," he says. "When I came back from Europe and ate some food in the U.S., I found that it was upsetting my stomach it was the additives. I developed this saying that I've used with my team here: the four basic American food groups are fat, sugar, salt and preservatives. Determined to steer Tumbleweeds menus away from that image, Smith says, "We have transformed our menu over the past five years to be what we hope is as healthy a menu as any restaurant in our sector is capable of offering. We did that using some principles; one was that we wanted to go as natural as possible. Weve tried to eliminate Exxon crude from our menus by having as few additives as possible and as natural a product as we're able to get for our guests. His reasons for transforming the companys offerings also lean toward the personal. "I eat in our restaurants at least 10 times a week. If the food isn't good, it will kill me. And I want to be healthy. I also want food in there that works well for people who are interested in health. If they want balance, for instance, we can point directly to several items that have low fat and protein. Chopped chicken salad, for example, is chicken breast, very low fat and high in protein, and salad. So, all they have to do is wisely choose which dressing to put on it. If they really want low fat and low calorie, they can get salsa sauce on that salad. We worked very hard to make sure we bring balance in terms of nutrition and healthy choices, but also what we believe is healthy food by eliminating things that may not be as good for us, especially eliminating the additives."

As a runner, skier, golfer and Marine, discipline, like exercise and healthy eating, is a salient point in Smiths regimen, but it was not always a factor in his life. I was born with a learning disability: "I'm dyslexic," Smith says. "From first through twelfth grade, I never had a teacher that thought I was pulling my load. So, I became a rebellious student. It was the only way I could survive. I had no discipline. It was the Marine Corps that built self-confidence, as well as self-discipline, and those two things will carry you a long way down the road of life. Doing the best we can with what we have, I think, is what life is about. We have to find the ways that allow us to overcome whatever it is holding us back". Smith, who continues to integrate into his life the discipline he learned in the Marine Corps, believes that anyone in a leadership position should be a role model. "To be an effective leader," he says, "We owe it to the people that work with us to be a role model for what we expect and want them to do".

"That should be enough to motivate us to develop those disciplines and live a healthy lifestyle". He adds, "It's fun being in an organization where people catch the spirit and get excited about it. Most people on our running team have never run 5 kilometers in their lives. Running it with them, being with them when they accomplish that: I love it, its exciting to me. It teaches teamwork: when you have 10 people running together and nine of them could run faster than they're running, but theyre running at the speed of the slowest person, it says a lot about their discipline and concern for the team, being a part of the team. Its not about individual glory. We try to cross the finish line together at the same time. That's how we want to work. That's exhilarating.

Margaret Schauer swims with SwimLouisville Masters and has a B.A. in English from the University of Louisville and an M.F.A. in Writing from Spalding University. She can be reached at margaret@wordswim.com.