Best foot forward in worker well-being
Apassion for fitness has led a former nursing teacher to carve out a career helping employees in some of Calgary’s biggest companies to lead healthier lives.
In recent years, there has been huge growth in the fitness industry with the popularity of recreation centres, health clubs, fitness classes and personal trainers. But KBA Group continues to focus on workplace wellness, designing and managing corporate facilities. It was formed in 1985 by Kendy Bentley and was initially called Kendrith Bentley and Associates.
Its first client was Shell Canada, and Bentley designed its head office fitness centre and managed it for 26 years.
She was soon attracting an impressive number of major clients such as Pan Canadian, Poco Petroleums. Gulf Canada, Nortel and Nova Chemicals.
But her career came to fruition through a somewhat circuitous route, starting in the nursing field.
After graduating with a degree in nursing from Mcgill University in Montreal, Bentley moved to Halifax to teach nursing and to develop and manage a critical care nursing program.
She heard so many hospital patients tell her: “Gosh, when I get out of here, I’m going to take better care of myself — Stop smoking, eat better, and I’m going to exercise.”
It was at that time that she realized she would love a career that would allow her to promote wellness and sought to do it in the workplace. But in the early 1970s in Halifax, no such job existed.
In 1976, she moved with her architect husband, David Lachapelle, to Calgary to seek better opportunities and took her first job here as a research assistant at the University of Calgary.
Then opportunity knocked with the invitation to run a six-month study into the benefits of replacing the traditional coffee breaks with stretch breaks at three companies.
The study opened the door to many other opportunities, including a position at Mount Royal University as an instructor in physical education and health, co-hosting a TV show called Fit To Live, a radio show, and an Active Living column in the Calgary Herald.
Bentley was hired by as a fitness consultant by an Ontario company to design, plan and manage a corporate fitness centre for Esso Resources in 1982.
Recently, Bentley was invited to share her expertise in working with Stantec to design the fitness area at the new Westjet facility at the airport.
She also manages corporate fitness facilities for GWL Realty Advisors and Jacobs Canada.
Bentley is dedicated to wellness — and is a good example herself by leading Hikes for Women, wrote a book called Hiking with Children, recently hiked the Grande Route 5 around Mount Blanc, hiked the West Coast Trail, and canoed the 116-kilometre Bowron Lake circuit.
In her spare time, Bentley serves as the president of the Mcgill Alumni Association of Calgary and supports and volunteers with the Calgary Stampede, Habitat for Humanity and the Glencoe Club’s Project Angel campaign.
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