City of Marco Island Recognized as a Blue Zones Worksite

On June 2, 2021, The City of Marco Island was officially recognized as a Blue Zones Worksite. A brief ribbon cutting ceremony was held outside the entrance of City Hall.  Chef Laura Owen of CJ’s on the Bay and District One Collier County Commissioner, Rick LoCastro, held the banner while City Council Chair, Jared Grifoni, cut the ribbon. 

According to Casey Lucius, Assistant to the Marco Island City Manager, “within our city facilities we offer healthy choices in the workplace because we know that healthier and happier employees are more productive and incur lower healthcare costs. We are excited to be the first Blue Zones approved worksite on Marco Island and we look forward to growing awareness among our employees about Blue Zones and overall wellness.” 

Lucius added, “At the time that we were approached with this opportunity to become a Blue Zones approved worksite, we were also looking at our insurance options, benefits package and our wellness programs, so the two came together to make it a perfect opportunity for us to collaborate with Blue Zones. Some of our employees have taken the Real Age Challenge and they are talking about their real ages, which is exciting. We’ve had employees who’ve started a softball team. We are now doing our safety meetings in person and last week, we had a shared lunch and offered healthy options for our lunch. We also started a little herb garden by the entrance to City Hall.”

Megan Greer of the Blue Zones Worksite Project was excited to have the City of Marco Island join Blue Zones as an approved worksite. “Together we are making healthy choices easier for everyone and look forward to continuing this collaboration in optimizing well-being in the Marco Island community,” she said.

CJ’s on the Bay is the only restaurant that is recognized as Blue Zones Project Approved and according to Chef Laura Owen, their menu features a variety of plant-based selections. When visiting CJ’s on the Bay, look for the menu items with the Blue Check Mark. 

Early in March, the Calusa Garden Club officially became recognized as a Blue Zones Project Organization. According to Chante Pemberton of Blue Zones, this organization was a perfect fit with members already socially connected and sharing common goals and as gardeners, they meet for a common purpose.

It does look like Marco Island is quickly becoming a Blue Zones City and congratulations to the following Blue Zones Recognized Organizations:  

Calusa Garden Club 

City of Marco Island 

CJ’s on the Bay 

Denise A. Pancyrz, LLC 

EXP Realty - The Sprigg Group 

Marco Island Rotary Sunrise 

Noontime Rotary of Marco Island

Paradise Cycle Boat Cruises 

SYC Yacht Brokerage

Tommie Barfield Elementary 

YMCA of South Collier

To learn more about the Blue Zones Project, visit:  www.bluezonesproject.com.