HR Council chair Cedie Lopez Vargas leads the warm-upA mammoth crowd, numbering 426 Lopez Group employees and family members, flocked to the Walk the Talk (WTT) event at La Mesa Ecopark, Quezon City on February 16, 2013. Indeed, it was a show of love for wellness.

The program proper started with a film showing on the La Mesa Watershed history which highlighted the conservation and protection programs spearheaded by ABS-CBN Foundation Inc.’s Gina Lopez. It was followed by another film titled “Thirst,” which talked about the value of water and what we should do to help conserve it.

EDC President Ricky Tantoco delivers the welcome remarks In his welcome remarks, Energy Development Corporation (EDC) president and COO Ricky Tantoco enjoined the participants to just enjoy the walk and go at their own pace.

Cedie Lopez Vargas, chair of the Lopez Group HR Council and executive director of Lopez Group Foundation Inc., delivered the inspirational message. “It is so heartwarming to see thegrowing number of participants comprised of employees and also some of your family members,” she said.

After trudging through the forest for about two hours, the participants were greeted with sumptuous refreshments, courtesy of EDC.

To cap the activity, representatives from the participating companies discussed their experience during the WTT participant engagement session.

“This WTT event really makes us feel that we are a ‘kapamilya’ and that we belong to a bigger Lopez Group of companies,” said Atty. Mariano Paps, HR supervisor for EDC Bacman Geothermal Business Unit. He expressed his desire to have the WTT replicated in the provinces, particularly in Bacman in the Bicol region.

L-R: EDC’s JP Tiglao and FPH’s Ross Hamo; and Lopez Inc.’s Lilet Deananeas, INAEC’s Glenn Perez, Dexter Ampong, Edsel Sanchez, Lucy Landayan, Mabelle Ramos and Pia AmoresRepresenting INAEC, which joined the WTT as a company for the first time, was Commercial and Admin head Dexter Ampong. He said the walk provided a good venue not only for exercise, but also for bonding with and getting to know colleagues from other Lopez Group companies.