EMBAs dash to “St. Louis’ Biggest Office Party”

Karen Bland wrote the following for the Olin Blog.

It was dubbed the “The Biggest Office Party in St. Louis,” and Olin Executive MBAs wanted to be a part of the fun. On August 31, 4,000 people gathered downtown for the 2nd Annual Biz Dash—a 5K run through the streets of St. Louis’ business district. The EMBA program recruited a team of alumni, students, and staff for this community-building event.

Produced by the St. Louis Sports Commission, the Biz Dash brings companies together to race, mingle, and enjoy the night, with live music, food, drinks, and fun. It’s a happy hour with a healthy twist. Olin research finds that healthier employees lead to higher productivity in the workplace. And the race is all about inclusion – every level of runner and walker was encouraged to participate

There were teams from World Wide Technology, Emerson, Nestle Purina, Edward Jones, Maritz, Ameren, Boeing, and the WashU Executive MBAs, just to name a few.

The WashU EMBA team included Stephanie Russell (Sun Edison), Brandon Porter (Equifax), Patti Williams (Peabody), David Messner (St. Louis Regional Chamber), Andy Wiegert (WashU), Erik Penfield (Oracle) along with several spouses, guests, and members of the EMBA admissions and services teams including Meg Shuff, Assistant Dean of Executive MBA admissions.

It was a gorgeous night to be outside and there was fast energy all around—especially from the runners at Bryan Cave who finished first in both the male and female individual competitions.

Our executive MBAs were running to support the St. Louis Sports Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable affiliate that promotes sportsmanship and positive environments for kids to play sports. Look for next year’s growing team of WashU Executive MBAs on the run!