Stacey Halsall-Peart’s running start

STACEY Halsall-Peart hardly wears a frown, and inspires others to do things they once thought were impossible.

“One of my purposes is to let people realise their potential,” she told All Woman.

Born and raised in Kingston, Halsall-Peart, 44, explained that one of the best way she does this is through her running club — Pacers, which she uses to impart a feeling of ease, peace of mind, to motivate people to push beyond their limits, and to have fun.

Also the chief operating officer at Advanced Integrated Systems, she said although she was not always into health and wellness, the wake-up call came when some of her staff members who were once vibrant and full of enthusiasm began to get sick and to show low energy.

“We had a lot of young staff who would come to us very energetic and very full of ideas and after a period of time you get comfortable, and become a part of the family, because we see our staff as family. Then they gained weight, became lethargic, had low energy, and couldn’t be relied on to get the tasks done,” she said.

“We saw that almost everybody who came in with us was like that. When we did the survey, nobody really exercised or paid attention to nutrition, and people were in the lunch room eating patties and doughnuts for breakfast. I wasn’t really into health and wellness, but I knew we had a problem. So we signed up for Sigma and built a big hype around it and people came out, had a good time and requested to have it again.”

As a result, Halsall-Peart said she saw a change as people got motivated, made plans to practise together, and after the scores from races were posted, the buzz around the issue was unbelievable.

Subsequently, she brought in a nutritionist, provided breakfast, and invited her team members to learn more about a healthy lifestyle. This led to the installation of a gym, more integration of staff members, fewer sick people, and instead of an office party at the end of the year she has organised for all the staff members to go down for the weekend to Reggae Marathon.

Halsall-Peart, who has a first degree in marketing from the University of Tampa and a master’s in telecoms and finance from the University of Miami, is set to compete in the Marine Corps and Philadelphia marathons in the United States.

“Last year I started running with a lady who wanted to do a marathon and I thought, ‘That’s crazy, who would want to do it — a whole marathon!’ Anyway I started training with her, then I realised this is not so hard, it’s attainable. When we did it, it was one of the most empowering things we could have ever done… to the point where we felt we could conquer everything. So we took that into all aspects of life. I came from thinking it wasn’t something I could do to getting up each morning at 5:00 and training with the help of our security that monitors us on the road, and feeling that sense of empowerment, sense that I can conquer anything. It was surreal,” she said.

As the president of Pacers, Halsall-Peart explained that the proceeds from their runs are given to charities, particularly the Jamaica Council for Disabilities.

“Their mandate is to find a way of helping people with disabilities to become self-sufficient, so it’s not a matter of just giving a wheelchair or giving some money. It’s to set up a business or help parents set up a business so that they can take care of their medical expenses. I believe that’s how you should give — the sort of ‘teach a man how to fish’ mentality, because they’ll outgrow the wheelchair and spend the money. What happens after that? Do you continue giving, or do you enable them to be able to take care of themselves?

“As runners we have two functioning legs, two functioning arms, and we tend to take for granted the things we can do. We have to remind ourselves that we are blessed. Some of these people can’t walk or talk properly. So we saw this as a good thing. One young man we helped last year had cerebral palsy and we helped his mom set up a business so she could earn money to provide for her family and pay his bills,” she said.

Additionally, Halsall-Peart shared that through Advanced Integrated Systems, scholarships are given each year to individuals who are in need and are studying some form of medicine.

“It started with one young lady whose circumstances were so challenging, and we were blown away that this young lady with such terrible things happening to her family was now in medical school struggling financially but not struggling in terms of her passion and drive. Because we are so heavily involved in health care we felt we are part of that niche, and to give back to that niche we chose this scholarship,” she said.

Halsall-Peart, who is a married mother of three, also enjoys swimming, family time and art, which she describes as a long-standing passion of hers.

“I wasn’t always into running. I attended Immaculate Preparatory and High Schools and did what the prissy girls did — swimming. I’ve recently taken that up again. When I was younger I was into art and thought I’d be an advertising executive. I had put pieces together over a period of time and had my artwork in a garbage bag I had folded into an envelope and had under my bed. I came home one day from school, saw all my artwork crushed up and stuffed down into the garbage container. I sort of gave up on it after that,” she said.

Halsall-Peart subscribes to the philosophy to “get it done”.

“When you find you have so many different hats — you’re a mother, wife, chief operating officer, lots of things are expected of you. It makes no sense whining. Accept that these are the things you need to get done and just get them done,” she declared.