Unplugging and Connecting on the Slopes: WC Annual Ski Trip

For the past 18 years, Woodard & Curran employees have come together every winter for the Annual Ski Trip at Sunday River in Bethel, Maine. This mini retreat is always full of good food, drink, and company and of course—skiing. From riding the chairlift with someone from a different office, to sharing a beer with your boss, to pairing up with your colleague for a special karaoke number, our employees always come back from the ski trip with plenty of stories, new friends, and a deeper appreciation our company’s culture. This year we had over 60 employees take part in the festivities on the slopes, including some of our new West Coast colleagues. Janet Fordunski from our Irvine, California, office was one of the furthest travelers. At dinner on Thursday night, she presented the trip organizer, Jim Sturgis, with a pair of socks with the word “California” written on them, as a thank you for organizing the trip. 

 

 

Our ski trip is a highly anticipated opportunity for our employees to make connections with coworkers on a different level and get to know colleagues from different offices and departments. It’s one of the many ways we live by our mission statement to create a place that people actually enjoy working for. 

Here are some ski trip snapshots from some of our colleagues.

 After a several-year hiatus due to being pregnant or having a young baby at home, I decided to return to the ski trip to enjoy a fun evening and day of skiing with coworkers (and a night of uninterrupted sleep)! At first, I was going to attend only for the day, as I felt guilty leaving my husband home overnight with two small children. Then, I considered how many fathers of small children were going on the ski trip without a second thought, and decided it was okay to have fun with coworkers without feeling guilty. I then convinced two other mothers of young children to join me overnight. We were jokingly referred to as #momsnightout before and during the trip. 

-Joanna Wallace (Portland Office)

 

I think what impressed me the most about the ski trip (besides all the amazing work Jim did to organize it) was how wonderful everyone was in helping Janet and I get around and how much fun it was to meet such a large number of Woodard & Curran employees in a comfortable, relaxed manner. Oh, and the fish bowls were good too!
-Leslie Dumas (Sacramento Office)

 

Every year is different but every year is a blast! The Ski Trip is one of my favorite times of the year. Being able to bring employees from all over the nation to one location here in the beautiful state of Maine is a wonderful experience. We have the opportunity to build new friendships and grow old ones. The Ski Trip is a fun environment where we are all able to be ourselves with people we see and don’t see every day. I feel having that time is great to help with the building of ‘community’ between all offices. Every year I add memories to my life here at Woodard & Curran from the all the events, but every year I look forward to the ski trip to make more! Looking forward to 2018!
-Keith Nadeau (Portland Office)

I had so much fun hanging out with co-workers and meeting people from both my office and other offices. I just moved to Maine from Montana so I also really enjoyed being able to wake up to mountain views again!
-Katelyn McDonald (Portland Office, transferred from Bozeman Office)

 

Author

Kathleen Welter Vice President Human Resources

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