Maplewood Rec walks its way through ‘sweets season’

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — It seems that from Halloween through the New Year, physical activity reduces and high-calorie and sugary food intake increases. The township of Maplewood held an employee ‘Walk to Win’ contest for the month of August, and the winners — with 2,744,772 steps — was the Recreation Department-based “Rec-ing Crew,” comprised of Ronnie Quacquarini, Nick Walz, Eddie Starzynski, Melissa Mancuso and Laura Palmerezzi, who was the team topper and motivator, with days of 30,000 steps not being uncommon.

The contest kept the township employees moving and also somewhat competitive, as FitBits were purchased and challenges were posed to co-workers. Township administrator Joseph Manning announced the winners at the employee picnic and awarded the winning team a $150 gift card.

“We had group texts and kept each other motivated and accountable. If I was exhausted, I was scared to show up with bad numbers and hear from my teammates,” Recreation Director Melissa Mancuso said. “It was our first-time win, and was a challenge for sure. I’m proud of this squad!”

  Maplewood Recreation