Summer Days, Drifting Away
Posted on Fri, Aug 27, 2010 @ 07:55 AM
Who can watch the summer carnival scenes in Grease and not recall memories of fun in the sun? Carnivals, church festivals and company picnics are great examples of people joining together to play cheesy games, eat tasty food and interact with their friends and family.
But where do the summer days go? It seems like only yesterday we were looking forward to kicking off our summer fun at MCPc by planning a Memorial Day cookout during lunch. Now, we’re up to our eyeballs in back-to-school commercials on TV and ads in the papers. Well, before we get too close to the first snowflakes of winter, let’s remember all the fun things we did at MCPc this year to celebrate the summer.
Holiday Cookouts
In addition to the aforementioned cookout on Memorial Day, we also had one to kick-off the July 4th holiday weekend. As usual, we were blessed with volunteer grillers to cook our main course. This time, we initiated a whole new batch of them, and what a contrast they were — from Frank who arrived complete with apron, gloves and hand sanitizer; to Jason who was armed with seven pounds of freshly marinated asparagus; to Kevin who showed up looking like he just walked out of a J.Crew catalog.
It was a festival of burgers, hot dogs and the occasional veggie burger for the non-carnivores among us. Our lunchroom gradually became packed with associates sharing stories and enjoying some downtime together. It’s great to see people interacting outside of meetings or hurried conversations while refilling coffee mugs.
Ice Cream Social
Who could forget our annual Ice Cream Social where we put to test the sundae-making skills Genese taught us last year? First, you put the toppings in your bowl, then you add your favorite ice cream flavor, and then you add more toppings — that way when you get to the end of your feast, you haven’t run out of toppings yet. Brilliant!
Company Picnic
This past weekend, 120 associates and their families enjoyed our annual Company Picnic at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, despite the 90-degree heat and high humidity. I can’t explain it, but there is something fun about seeing your co-workers out of their usual business attire and sweating with them in the shade.
In addition, it doesn’t get any better than when the wife of a new associate comes up to you and says, “My husband’s former employer never invited spouses, let alone kids, to these events. Thank you so much for including us and putting on such a nice event.” Yes!
Charity Car Wash
We also had another highly successful car wash to benefit the Providence House this summer. Unfortunately, it wasn’t sunny and 90 degrees like last year — instead it we had torrential downpours during a portion of the event. However, despite the weather, associates got in the spirit of things and contributed to the great cause anyway. We raised 33% more than we did last year! MCPc associates never cease to amaze me with their generosity, even in difficult economic times like these.
Isn’t that symbolic of what people at great companies like MCPc do? They celebrate the sunny days and work even harder during the gloomier ones to make sure we still come out on top.
Your Ideas?
How do your companies enjoy summer fun together? We’re always looking for new ideas.
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Beth Stec is VP of Corporate Communications and Human Resources at MCPc, and is responsible for the development and management of personnel programs and policies. Connect with Beth on LinkedIn.
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