Tom Genessey, senior vice president and chief information officer at The Golden 1 Credit Union, had an epiphany a couple of months ago during an early morning bicycle workout.
"My wife and I would ride toward my office, then turn around and head home, so I could eat breakfast, get ready and drive to work," he said. "I realized if I kept going, I could just bike to work."
Sacramento, home to the $7.5 billion credit union, has extensive bicycle and hiking trails throughout the city, Genessey said. Thanks to the city's bike-friendly infrastructure, the vice president has been commuting to work via bike trail and light rail every day since early May. He hasn't driven to work one day since, even riding in the rain this spring.
His commute begins with a 12-mile trail ride on his bike, which takes about an hour. The trail feeds into a light rail station, where he boards a train and rides another 10 miles to a station close to The Golden 1′s headquarters building.
"Normally, it would take me about 30 to 40 minutes to drive, so my commute is a bit longer in the morning," he said. "But I'm getting two workouts a day. And, more importantly, I'm not contributing pollution to the environment," he said.
Genessey said he rarely drives his car during the week, only using it on the weekends, which has saved him a couple hundred dollars a month on fuel. The Golden 1 reimburses 80% of fares for employees who commute via public transportation, so he only pays $20 out-of-pocket each month for train fare. And, because he no longer uses his car for commuting, his auto insurance rate dropped about $400 per year.
The credit union provides large bicycle lockers in the parking lot, where Genessey drops off his bike each morning and exchanges it for the day's work clothes, which are freshly cleaned and pressed thanks to a dry cleaning pick up and drop off service available to employees of California's largest credit union. The Golden 1 also provides showers as part of its in-house exercise facility.
"By personally embracing the self-improvement movement at Golden 1, Tom has inspired all of us through his actions and delivered a powerful message that good health truly matters and can be achieved through deliberate lifestyle changes," said President/CEO Terry Halleck.
Genessey has already lost 25 pounds and said he feels more energetic at work despite the physical effort required to get there. His wife, Kristy, meets him at the train station each evening, and the two bike home together.
"Managing IT can be stressful, so it's nice to have that physical outlet at the end of the day," he said. "It's also nice having time alone with my wife to talk and unwind without the stress of traffic."
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