Just before his son, Marshall, was born, Pearce Fleming ’96 weighed almost 300 pounds.
“With my son’s birth, I lost 115 pounds and, through diet and exercise, have kept it off for 16 years,” says Fleming, who calls himself an “adult onset athlete.” He fell in love with endurance sports and now competes in marathons, cycling races and Ironman competitions around the globe.
The active lifestyle pairs perfectly with his work as president of Staywell, a patient education and employee wellbeing company that helps employers contain health care costs by helping employees manage lifestyle risks.
“I’m very passionate about my work because I understand the power of having a greater understanding of one’s health and wellbeing,” says Fleming. “Doing health screenings or investing in a wellness platform isn’t enough. We help organizations build and maintain a culture of wellbeing.”
According to Fleming, workplace wellness is a $40 billion industry that’s growing. “At the end of the day, everyone wants to recruit and retain the best and brightest employees,” Fleming says. “The best employers see their employees as people first. Investing in the health and wellness of their people engages employees and ultimately reduces health care costs.”
After graduating from Wofford, Fleming moved to Charleston, S.C., to begin a master’s degree in health administration at the Medical University of South Carolina. He enrolled at Wofford intending to become an attorney like his father, but an experience visiting his grandfather at a hospital made him consider a different future. “Overall, he received great care, but that’s not what I remember,” says Fleming. “I remember the time he was cheated of his dignity. I wanted to go into long-term care, but I realized that if I was going to inflect policy, I needed to be in hospitals, the political center of the health care world. I guess I really got into the field as a way to help take care of the greatest generation.”
Fleming’s career in hospital administration took him from running hospitals to The Advisory Board Company before joining the Staywell team. He’s also the proprietor of Commonhouse Aleworks in the Park Circle neighborhood of North Charleston, S.C.
“My business partner, Hank Hanna, and I have a passion for beer, but, more importantly, we have a passion for community building,” says Fleming. “Commonhouse celebrates the things we all share in common — family, friends, a hard day’s work.”
Fleming remains an active part of the Wofford community as well. He’s a supporter of The Wofford Fund and has joined Wofford’s myMentor platform to serve as a resource for Wofford students considering careers in health care administration.
“The Wofford community is an indelible part of me,” he says. “I really blossomed at Wofford. It was the first community I belonged to as an independent young adult. At Wofford I developed a love of learning that drives an insatiable curiosity. Even now, people and community are of the utmost importance to me because of my Wofford experience.”
By Jo Ann Mitchell Brasington ’89