Candace Hatch, our Provider Relations Manager at Advanta, finds inspiration in her children and her desire to create a better world for them and others. In her role, she desires to merge the gap between the member, the fitness facility, and Advanta to create a seamless health and wellness journey for all.
Candace has found success in multiple roles with Advanta since 2015, including at one time having two different positions. However, her journey hasn't always been direct. "My path has had many detours but remains firm in its destination to set to a legacy of greatness," Candace says.
With a career that included a two-year hiatus to grow her family, she found that re-entering the workplace in a new field was not without its challenges. Overcoming postpartum depression made her stronger. This newfound strength gave her the confidence and empathy to thrive in the health and wellness industry.
Some of the techniques Candace used to become stronger on her emotional journey to wellness are:
• Pushing past therapy taboos to get to a place of positive thinking.
• The ability to let it out, move forward and build mental strategies around journaling.
• Having resilience and strength to bounce back after taking a two-year hiatus.
• Having mental wellness checks and setting personal goals.
With her mental strength primed for success, we asked Candace to describe some of the projects she brought passion to since joining Advanta. The joy and excitement were evident in her voice as she reviewed her professional accomplishments as part of the team here.
Her involvement in identifying areas of focus in ActiveFit's implementation assisted the members who needed long-term motivation and ensured the program offered strategies focusing on commitment and benefits of exercise wellness. She also championed clarifying the benefits language that sometimes confuses members, such as the difference between in-network and out of network.
Having watched the ActiveFit success grow two years after its introduction, Candace enthusiastically participated in the introduction of Advanta's 'SmartWalking' platform. With a focus on offering all members a non-traditional way of attaining a fitness activity without an added expense of a gym. However, she admits that she was not so secretly motivated to see this succeed for all the busy moms looking for a discount. Lastly, the introduction of 'ActiveFit at Home' allowed her to create a non-traditional workout platform for home users. And as she says," Moms love worry-free non-traditional workouts."
With each different ActiveFit program development, she also implemented some personal goals to interact with and build a more personal relationship with members. She focused on becoming their advocate. She rallied for incentivizing wellness and ensured each program's mission and goal were clear, concise, and straightforward.
As she had found in her own life, she wanted to help members set personal and achievable goals to ensure further success. Another focus was working to incorporate health club memberships in the insurance plans. "I've seen in the last five years of working with Advanta that members have maintained their facility memberships longer due to this benefit being offered through their insurance. This has been a great marketing tool for Advanta to grow our network of fitness facility partners." Candace proudly states.
Her passion for her personal health and wellness journey is as varied as her participation in programs at Advanta. And her desire for achievable but challenging results is clear through her participation in conventional and unconventional workouts. She explains her success in her personal growth this way: "I've been introduced to a new way of thinking that has helped me cope with life's everyday obstacles while still staying mentally and physically fit. Now I am more aware and strive to hold myself accountable."
We asked Candace to describe some of her activities on her health and wellness journey.
"I love to dance all the time. It's my best unconventional workout. I've been dancing all my life." She responds with a happy smile and sparkle in her eye.
She has participated in musicals and dances to varied styles such as African, Tap, and Jazz to keep herself motivated. She also takes dance classes for any new type of dancing that catches her interest to give herself a new challenge.
Candace attributes her career and personal motivation to the knowledge that health and wellness are essential and relatable factors in everyone's life. Her personal health and wellness commitments have grown from being a mom and setting the rights examples for them. She enjoys her mission with Advanta to see these factors are beneficial for the member and offered by Advanta.
"As a mom, you deal with someone constantly watching you because you're their first and biggest influencer," Candace says and then continues with passion.
"My path to the next "New Normal" looks like plenty of self-love and continuous celebrations of growth. I have learned to celebrate all wins, no matter the size, and be proud and loud about that. It keeps me alive. I want to stay mentally young as long as I can and continue to seek out insight and perspectives from people I respect and believe are role models for my achievement goals. There will be more to come. Hello 2022, this educated and beautiful African American woman is coming for you."
Advanta is excited to see continued success in our members, with Candace as their advocate.
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