Ugly sweaters, bowling, and Secret Santa

Recently, our staff took a day to go offsite for some planning and teambuilding.  First, we reviewed the 2015 goals we set as a staff.  I’m happy to report that most of our goals were achieved, with a few more in progress.   We also shared thoughts on some 2016 goals, as it is always our intent to continuously improve as individuals, as a team, and most importantly as an organization.  We will finalize our 2016 goals in the next few weeks, and we look forward to building on our 2015 success to have another terrific year in 2016.

After we met, we had lunch together and exchanged Secret Santa gifts.  Christina was my Secret Santa, and she gave me an AWESOME pair of Florida Gators (my alma mater) pajama pants.   I can’t wait to wear them.   Everyone enjoyed both giving and receiving gifts.

Then, we went bowling.   Team Tiffany took on Team Hal.  Tiffany’s team, with Jana (who brought her own ball!), Becca and Christina won the first game.  Hal’s team, with Sam, Shelley and Sara, won the second game.  Tiffany’s team is claiming victory based on total score for both games.  Hal’s team prefers to call it a draw, since we both were victors in one game.   We made a few strikes and spares, but we all seemed to really excel in gutter balls.  More than anything, we had a lot of fun and laughs – I don’t think any of us will become pro bowlers in the future.

But, perhaps the highlight of the day was our ugly Christmas sweater contest.  I was very impressed with the creativity of our staff (admittedly, I had help from my family on mine).  We wore the sweaters all day and received more than a few funny lucks.  I think the best way to describe all of our sweaters is “gaudy”.

Our time together reminded me once again of the terrific team we have on staff, all committed to providing the best possible “home away from home” for families of seriously ill children.   My thanks to all of our staff for their hard work in 2015 – you do a wonderful job of keeping families close.

~Hal