Encourage your employees to join the "Walk a Mile with the Treasurer" event Wednesday, March 27, from 10-11 a.m. at the Fayetteville Street side of the Capitol building in downtown Raleigh. Treasurer Janet Cowell will join state workers for the walk to promote Step Up Carolinas, the Ready, Set, Go fitness challenge that is free to State Health Plan members, including retirees.

All walk participants will receive a free NC HealthSmart T-shirt and enter to win a Fitbit^®!

Registration for Step Up Carolinas opened March 6 and will

remain open until March 31. The eight-week, online, team-based wellness competition will begin April 1, 2013. Plan members who participate in the challenge will receive a free pedometer and have access to online tools to form teams, set goals, track progress, and motivate others.

Plan members can participate in one, two, or all three divisions within the Step Up Carolinas challenge that include pedometer  steps, exercise minutes and weight loss. In addition, top performers will receive valuable gift cards.

Encourage your employees to form teams with their co-workers. Each team can have up to 11 members. Plan members can take the following steps to register:

• Go to www.stepupcarolinas.org
• Click on "Join now"
• Enter "NC State Health Plan" as your company. "State of North Carolina Employees and Retirees (NC State Health Plan)" should appear below the text box. Click "Next"
• Members will be prompted to answer the remaining registration items that include, but are not limited to, the following information:
• Name
• Shipping address (to receive your free pedometer)
• W # (your health insurance Subscriber ID# located on the front of your health insurance card)
• Employer group (state agency, university, public school, etc.)