Champion of the Month: Army Navy Country Club

The Army Navy Country Club (ANCC) is one of this year’s new Champions and they started off on solid footing at the bronze tier. ANCC’s dedicated HR manager, Thomasa, originally reached out to ATP because she noticed their transit kiosk was out of stock and its map was out of date. Thomasa thought ATP might be able to assist. After getting ANCC set up with a free brochure ordering account and taking measurements for a brand new transit map for the kiosk in the cafeteria, I sat down with Thomasa to see what else ATP could do to help the company promote transportation options to its staff. 

The Army Navy Country Club is located between Pentagon City, Shirlington, and Columbia Pike so there is not Metro access nearby but there are still plenty of great transit services for employees to use. During our meeting, Thomasa explained how busy she was hiring the season’s grounds keeping staff and that bilingual materials were of utmost importance to her. She also mentioned that due to the country club’s somewhat removed location, some workers can have a difficult time getting to work so anything ATP could do to improve transit awareness would be great. Fortunately, ATP translates nearly all of its materials into Spanish (and even Amharic when needed) so ANCC staff was able to take full advantage of the information we had to share.

Thomasa did not want to settle as a bronze Champion though. After assessing the Champions tiers and deciding upon what was achievable during this year’s program, Thomasa and I drafted a plan on how to get the company into the silver tier. With Bike to Work Day just around the corner, Thomasa made a big push with English and Spanish language materials to let staff know about BTWD on May 15 and the free showers employees can use to clean up after an active commute. Later in the summer, ATP attended ANCC’s health and benefits fair to answer any employees’ questions about their transit options. The final push to complete ANCC’s silver level Champions requirements came when the company decided to adopt the ART 87 bus stop outside the entrance to the country club. Numerous employees use that bus route to get to work so Thomasa worked with staff to find volunteers who would be willing to help maintain these stops. Needless to say, Thomasa’s efforts paid off – numerous teams of staff volunteers now take turns cleaning up the bus stop each week. Employees have enjoyed the volunteer work and a few have even acknowledged that they weren’t even aware that they could take a bus right from work to the Pentagon City Metro to Shirlington Transit Center. With a new Capital Bikeshare station installed just down Army Navy Drive near Pentagon City, ANCC management is considering the possibility of establishing a corporate membership bikeshare account to offer discounted annual memberships to employees as a wellness benefit.

The Army Navy Country Club is a shining example of how a little bit of effort can go a long way in promoting the transit options that are available to employees and colleagues throughout the county.