WELCOA | Wellness Councils of America

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Founder and President

Our Founder — William Kizer, Sr.

William Kizer, Sr., Chairman of Central States Indemnity, has devoted his life to promoting health in the workplace. By giving generously of both his time and resources, Mr. Kizer has worked tirelessly to enhance the health and well being of the nation's workforce.

As the chairman and founder of Central States Indemnity, now a Berkshire Hathaway company, Mr. Kizer recognized early the value and competitive advantage of a healthy company. Driven by the vision of creating a "well" workplace in the 1970's, Mr. Kizer soon experienced firsthand the frustration of not having a credible resource from which to draw information and expertise. As a result he formed the Wellness Councils of America in the mid 1980's. His vision was to establish a national resource that could easily be accessed by organizations of all types including large corporations, healthcare agencies, government organizations, small businesses and institutes of higher learning. By engaging some of the sharpest minds from business and health communities, Mr. Kizer was able to ignite a national movement now known as workplace wellness.

Our President — David Hunnicutt, PhD

In 1995, Mr. Kizer passed the torch to David Hunnicutt, PhD., President of WELCOA. Under Dr. Hunnicutt's guidance, Mr. Kizer's dream of a national wellness resource continues to thrive. WELCOA routinely distributes millions of publications each year to its corporate membership of over 2,500 companies, and over 700 Well Workplaces. These publications are designed to increase quality of life, enhance employee productivity and improve personal health, and well-being.

Known for his pragmatic approach and strong background in organizational development and corporate leadership, Dr. Hunnicutt is widely recognized as a national wellness advocate. By dedicating his professional energies to advancing the cause of corporate wellness, Dr. Hunnicutt consults with hundreds of organizations each year including Merrill Lynch, Caterpillar, and the United Nations to help them link health promotion objectives to business outcomes. Widely published, Dr. Hunnicutt is completing his second book entitled The Competitive Advantage of Healthy Companies.