95 Miles of Hope: How A Four-Day Hike Across Eastern Iowa Spread A Lot Of Hope

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done? Would you do it again? For Van Meter employee-owners, Paul Stephens and Rich Woods, it’s probably the 95-mile Hope Hike they completed in one weekend this May. They left Van Meter’s Davenport branch Friday morning and arrived at Van Meter’s Cedar Rapids headquarters at noon on Monday. Crazy? Yes. Would they do it again? Absolutely. Here’s why they did it, what they learned and how a simple idea spread a lot of hope.

HOW THE HOPE HIKE IDEA WAS BORN

“Are you crazy?” That was the reaction Stephens got from his wife when he brought up the idea of walking 95 miles in one weekend. See, Stephens and Woods are not fitness fanatics or gym gurus, and you probably won’t find them running half marathons on weekends.

“I usually drive circles around the Walmart parking lot to find a closer spot,” joked Woods.

So, where did they get the idea of a 95-mile hike? 2023 is Van Meter’s 95th anniversary in business, and as part of its health and wellness program, Van Meter is incentivizing its employee-owners to walk 95 miles…for the year.

Stephens, a regional customer service manager, and Woods, a delivery driver, were looking at updates from other employee-owners who were starting their 95 miles and thought, what if we just did this in one shot? They started mapping out mileage and routes, and what started as a hypothetical comment turned into an idea and then a plan.

“It evolved quickly. We were messing around at first,” said Woods. “Then we got the HOPE Fund involved, and it was like, ‘wait, we actually have to do this!”

WHY THE HOPE HIKE WAS IMPORTANT TO THEM

Health and wellness incentives are great, but Stephens and Woods had three greater objectives. The first was to raise money for Van Meter’s HOPE Fund, which supports employee-owners going through hard times. The other two were raising awareness for veterans and mental health issues.

Supporting veterans is personal for Stephens. His father and maternal grandfather served in the Army, his paternal grandfather served in the Navy and his brother-in-law is currently on deployment in the Air Force.

“I don’t think our veterans always get the care and recognition they deserve, so this was an opportunity to bring more awareness to that,” said Stephens.

May is Mental Health Awareness month. Woods recently joined his local fire department in Donahue, Iowa, and in training learned about the mental health issues first responders often struggle with. According to the CDC, first responders are at an elevated risk of anxiety, depression, PTSD and suicide because of the day-to-day stress of the job and the horrible situations they often encounter.

“We see all this stuff, and we need to talk about it,” said Woods. “It’s not something we can stow away because if we do, they fester and get worse.”

WHAT INSPIRED THEM TO KEEP GOING

The month before the hike, Stephens and Woods walked 5 to 8 miles almost every day and on weekends walked 10 to 20 miles back-to-back days to prepare. Still, they had never done back-to-back 30-mile days, let alone three of them in a row. On the second day of the hike, Woods developed a shooting pain in his left knee, and neither of them were sure he was going to make it the rest of the way. What kept them going? It took some ice at their mid-day break, but more importantly, it was the support they gave each other.

“I couldn’t have done it without him, and I wouldn’t have chosen anyone else to do it with,” said Stephens. “We both picked each other up and kept going because we were doing something bigger than ourselves.”

Stephens and Woods were not alone on their journey though. Their wives and kids followed along (in the van) with food, water and supplies. They drove ahead to set up camp and make food each night, and the kids provided support by painting the van windows and making motivational posters.

Woods and Stephens agreed that there was no way they could have done it without the sacrifices their families made, not just during the walk, but the months before when they would be gone for eight hours walking on a Saturday morning.

It wasn’t only family that helped them on the trip though. They received inspiration from some unexpected sources as well. On day two, they met Leo, an Army veteran who served four tours overseas. He came back home and didn’t know what to do with his life, so he got on his bike in New Jersey and is riding across the country. Leo, Stephens and Woods crossed paths halfway through the Hope Hike and over 1000 miles into Leo’s journey.

As they were passing through small towns, people started to hear about what they were doing. People waved, honked, stopped to say hello and even donated money to support them. They said social media comments, emails and phone calls were huge for their morale.

They even had a few Van Meter guests meet them along the trip like Army Sergeant and Delivery Driver, Jeremy Smith, Local Construction Coordinator Devin Dodd, President and CEO, Lura McBride and Community Impact Specialist, Danielle Monthei.

Even though Stephens and Woods were the only ones completing the journey, they were far from alone, and every wave or honk made the trip a little easier.

HOW IT FELT TO COMPLETE THE JOURNEY

All the inspiration in the world can’t eliminate the toll on the human body though. How did it feel to walk 95 miles?

“After your legs start to hurt a certain amount, they don’t really get any worse,” said Woods. “It’s just a mental game at that point.”

The first day was actually the hardest, as they walked 30 miles into a 25 mile-per-hour wind. By the time they reached the finish line on Monday, they felt like they could walk another 95 miles.

“I don’t want to say it was easy, but it was way less difficult than we imagined,” said Woods.

Stephens agreed. “We were riding on a high. To accomplish the 95 was awesome, but I could have walked another 95 because of the support that kept us going.”

Their hike finished outside of Van Meter’s headquarters with a crowd of fellow employee-owners cheering them on and news crews documenting the finish. Woods carried an American flag across the makeshift finish line, and Stephens carried an ESOP flag representing Van Meter’s employee-ownership.

WHAT LESSONS AND MEMORIES THEY WILL TAKE AWAY

Now that they’ve had time to recover and reflect, what will Stephens and Woods remember the most? For them, it’s the laughs they shared along the way and the bond they now share.

“It was fun because we laughed about a lot of dumb things that most people wouldn’t laugh about. It was a great trip, and there’s a ton of fun memories,” said Woods.

Stephens explained that they were good friends at work, but this trip has given them a bond neither of them will ever forget. They even learned a few lessons along the way. Lesson number one? Don’t talk yourself out of anything.

“There’s nothing you can’t accomplish if you put your mind, heart and soul into it,” said Stephens. “If we hadn’t gotten the HOPE fund involved, I probably would have talked myself out of it, but don’t ever sell yourself short.”

It was also a reminder to go out and appreciate the world and country we live in.

“If you’re having a rough day, go outside and take a walk,” said Woods. “It’s extremely peaceful, and you get to know yourself again.”

WHAT’S NEXT

Will they top this with 100 miles five years from now for Van Meter’s 100th Anniversary? It’s a very tentative we’ll see for now. It’s not that they won’t do it or can’t do it, but would it have the same spontaneity and uniqueness that made it a fun story to follow? One thing is for sure—whether it’s them or someone else, they’ll be there to offer the same support they were shown and continue spreading hope.