Plenty of participation, giving and fun at Staff Council Fall Festival

Autumn harvests can be a time of plenty, and at this year’s Staff Council Fall Festival, there was an abundance of employee participation, generosity and camaraderie.

Approximately 700 individuals attended this traditional event that offered food, fun, prizes and contests. It also was a time for community engagement, as University employees contributed items to benefit Joyful Hearts, an organization where people of any age can volunteer and serve the special needs community.

“Donations for Joyful Hearts were overflowing; our staff really showed their support for this amazing charity,” said Jim Kay, chair of the Staff Council.

For this year’s festival, the Staff Council sponsored a number of competitions. In the photo contest, winners were selected in three categories. Tatiana Beregovski from ITS won in the “animal” category. For images featuring people, Samantha Mello, Student Union, took first place; Brian Kugler, facilities management, and Erin Hege, financial aid, placed second and third, respectively. In the landscape category, the winners were Rex Mangiaracina, Office of Field Experiences; Debbie Hamby, Student Union; and Catherine Forbes, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

Ashley Soublet, human resources, captured the baking competition, and pumpkin decorating contest winners were Erin Hege, financial aid (unique category); Isaac Cowles, Student Union, activities and recreation (scary category); and Amber Branton, financial aid (funny category).

The Gold Diggers team, comprised of Sara Ekis, Rebecca Behner, Paulette Russell, Rachel Pierson-Bonin and Rebecca Evans from the Human Resources Department, won the scavenger hunt.

Photos from Tuesday’s Fall Festival will be posted to the Staff Council website.