September 4, 2025
Healthiest Employers® was started in 2009 as a way to celebrate companies that are putting their people first by investing in the health of their employees. In partnership with Springbuk, we are pleased to announce the 2025 Healthiest Employers of Tennessee.
Congratulations to this year’s winners! Write ups are conducted on the top winner in each category.
500 to 1,499 Employees
1st Garver
Little Rock, Arkansas (Local Office: Franklin)
1,363 Employees
Founded in 1919, Garver is an employee-owned firm providing engineering, planning, and environmental services across sectors such as aviation, transportation, buildings, federal, water, and wastewater. The company also offers surveying, advisory services, and construction engineering and inspection. With over 1,300 employees and a place in the top 100 of Engineering News-Record's Top 500 Design Firms, Garver is known for its people-first culture and innovative, client-focused service. It is consistently recognized by the Zweig Group as one of the best firms to work for.
In 2024, 97.8% of Garver employees earned their Wellness insurance premium discount, matching the rate achieved in 2023. Unlike previous years, Garver did not conduct in-house health screenings in 2024, instead encouraging employees and their spouses to engage with their primary care physicians for screenings. Additionally, average enrollment increased by 11% on a rolling 12-month basis.
Garver’s in-house Wellness Program, established over a decade ago, supports employees in pursuing personalized health goals through direct interaction with the Wellness Team. Over three years beginning in July 2021, 315 continuously enrolled members were identified as financially "at-risk" due to the potential for high healthcare costs. By June 2024, 91 of those individuals had moved to low-risk status—a 29% improvement—resulting in an estimated $625,000 in cost savings.
2nd City of Kingsport – Kingsport, Tennessee – 769 Employees
3rd PetSafe Brands – Knoxville, Tennessee – 806 Employees
4th Messer Construction Co. – Cincinnati, Ohio (Local Offices: Nashville, Knoxville) – 1,475 Employees
5th Henderson Engineers – Lenexa, Kansas (Local Office: Franklin) – 948 Employees
1,500 to 4,999 Employees
1st Higginbotham
Fort Worth, Texas (Local Office: Memphis)
3,696 Employees
Higginbotham is an employee-owned firm based in Fort Worth, Texas, offering comprehensive insurance, financial, and HR/employee benefits services. Founded in 1948, it is currently the 20th largest independent insurance brokerage in the U.S. by revenue. The firm operates nationwide, customizing solutions to meet individual client needs and supporting them through its signature Day Two Services®, which provide ongoing, proactive support throughout the life of each policy. Guided by core values, Higginbotham emphasizes a family-oriented culture for employees, accountability to clients, collaboration with carriers, and generosity toward communities.
Higginbotham has significantly expanded its mental health resources in response to strong employee interest and engagement. The firm offers a variety of live and recorded workshops on topics such as depression, anxiety, suicide awareness, sleep hygiene, and self-care. Employees have access to a traditional Employee Assistance Program (EAP) offering three visits per issue annually, as well as Papa Pals, a caregiving benefit that provides up to 10 hours per year of assistance with light housework, errands, transportation, and care for children, older adults, or pets.
In addition, Higginbotham has partnered with Lyra Health to offer all employees and their dependents, regardless of medical coverage, up to eight free sessions per year with licensed coaches or therapists. Lyra supports a wide range of mental health and work-life needs, including stress, anxiety, ADD/ADHD, sleep, and legal or financial coaching. Those on the company’s health plan can also access continued care and medication management. The program reports a 97% satisfaction rate.
2nd Faith Technologies Incorporated – Menasha, Wisconsin (Local Office: Nashville) – 3,693 Employees
3rd JE Dunn Construction – Kansas City, Missouri (Local Office: – 4,481 Employees
4th Sumner County Board of Education – Gallatin, Tennessee – 4,223 Employees
5,000 to 9,999 Employees
1st St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Memphis, Tennessee
6,854 Employees
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, founded in 1962 by entertainer Danny Thomas, is recognized as a global leader in advancing cures and prevention for childhood cancer and other serious diseases. The hospital’s research has transformed survival rates, most notably increasing acute lymphoblastic leukemia survival from 4% to over 94%. Through a collaborative model, St. Jude accelerates the translation of scientific discoveries into lifesaving treatments for children worldwide. Families receive care without financial burden, as the hospital covers treatment, travel, housing, and food. In addition to pediatric cancers, St. Jude also focuses on sickle cell disease, infectious diseases, and genetic disorders, while sharing its research globally to broaden its impact.
The program distinguishes itself through an employee-centered approach that simplifies access to coordinated services addressing physical, mental, and emotional health. At its core is the Living Well Health & Wellness Center, built on the AAAHC Patient-Centered Health Care model, which provides primary, chronic, and mental health care while streamlining coordination and closing care gaps through personalized plans. An onsite pharmacy supports this model by filling 2,700 prescriptions monthly, improving medication adherence, boosting health literacy, offering discounts on over-the-counter products, and providing proactive pharmacist guidance.
The behavioral health program has achieved record-breaking utilization—1.5 times higher than the vendor’s average—while telehealth and virtual counseling extend the same high-quality care to remote and hybrid employees. Program effectiveness is measured through analytics, claims data, engagement metrics, and employee feedback, with chronic conditions, comorbidities, adherence, care gaps, and cost trends closely monitored via a claims data warehouse and HR analytics.
In its first year, the wellness platform reached 56% enrollment and the clinic achieved 45% utilization, signaling strong, sustained engagement. The program’s strength lies in its unified ecosystem—integrating the clinic, pharmacy, behavioral health, wellness platform, and fitness center—creating a seamless, supportive culture of well-being. This holistic model redefines employee health benefits, empowering employees with continuous support and setting a new standard for workplace wellness.
2nd BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee – Chattanooga, Tennessee – 6,700 Employees
3rd CFI Westgate Resorts – Ocoee, Florida – 7,048 Employees
4th Terracon – Olathe, Kansas – 6,710 Employees
10,000+ Employees
1st U-Haul International
Phoenix, Arizona
16,477 Employees
Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers, with a network of more than 23,000 locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 offers secure access to U-Haul trucks every hour of every day through the customer dispatch option on their smartphones and our proprietary Live Verify technology. Our customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to approximately 186,000 trucks, 128,000 trailers, and 46,000 towing devices. U-Haul is the third largest self-storage operator in North America and offers 876,000 rentable storage units and 75.1 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities. U-Haul is the largest retailer of propane in the U.S., and continues to be the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry. U-Haul has been recognized repeatedly as a leading “Best for Vets” employer and was recently named one of the 15 Healthiest Workplaces in America.
U-Haul offers a unique and transformative benefit through its partnership with Virta, a clinically proven program that helps reverse Type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes, and supports significant weight loss. This science-based nutritional therapy, combined with advanced telehealth, enables Team Members to lower A1c levels, reduce or eliminate insulin use, and achieve sustainable health improvements without the risks or side effects of medications or surgery.
The program emphasizes long-term lifestyle changes, leading to lasting outcomes. Team Members have shared powerful testimonials, including relief from chronic pain and prevention of limb loss. Over the past year, participation in Virta has increased by 22.7%, and chronic condition care gaps have improved by 13.7%. Through Virta, U-Haul is empowering its workforce to live healthier, more fulfilling lives while reducing dependence on medication and healthcare costs.
