The folks from Steam Logistics arrived Friday at Spare Time Chattanooga bowling center with, well, a head of steam.
That's because a team of Steam staffers won the Thursday night trivia contest that kicked off the inaugural Corporate Challenge Chattanooga, thereby staking the company to an early lead in its division of the three-day event.
"We're taking this very seriously," said Lisa Palmer, Steam's office manager and team co-captain. "Everybody's been super excited and talking smack about how we're going to dominate and bring this (title) home.
"We're a very competitive bunch," she added.
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Steam Logistics is one of 25 area companies taking part in the event. It began with trivia at Naked River Brewing Co., continued with bowling Friday at Spare Time, and is set to conclude with a day of field events at Finley Stadium and First Horizon Pavilion. The competition is being conducted by Birmingham, Alabama-based sports marketing/events company Knight Eady, with BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee on board as presenting sponsor.
"We're excited to sponsor this initiative that fosters company culture and promotes well-being by getting people out of the office for engaging games and challenges," BlueCross Senior Vice President Roy Vaughn said in a statement. "We're committed to creating and supporting opportunities that emphasize health and wellness for the Chattanooga community."
Summer Hall of Knight Eady, who's running point for her company this weekend, said BlueCross and Corporate Challenge "align perfectly" in terms of mission.
"Corporate Challenge is fun and exciting, a way to get employees out and active," she said, "and (BlueCross') whole mission is health and wellness in Tennessee.
The Game's Afoot
The field for the inaugural Corporate Challenge Chattanooga features three divisions:
— Division 1 (15-50 employees): Big Brothers Big Sisters of Chattanooga, Chattanooga Sports, Chattanooga Gas, Chattanooga Regional Manufacturers Association, Johnson Group, Smith and Howard, Tamien Transport
— Division 2 (50-300 employees): Avenger; Axle; CBL Properties; Cempa Community Care; Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel P.C.; Coca-Cola Bottling Co. United; KCH Transportation; Millennium Bank; Siskin Hospital; Tennessee Aquarium; Trident
— Division 3 (300 or more employees): BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Environmental Solutions Group, Erlanger, North American Credit Services/MedSrv, Steam Logistics, Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union, Unum Group
Source: corp-challenge.com
"Companies have told us that this is a great way to bring employees together and build company pride," she said, adding that the event drew about 1,500 competitors.
Hall said this weekend's event is the first of its kind Knight Eady has conducted outside Birmingham, thanks in part to Jessica Whatley, a former Birmingham resident in her sixth year as CEO at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Chattanooga. Hall added that the event also has a philanthropic bent, with competing teams able to earn additional points through support of Big Brothers Big Sisters.
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"(Whatley) sent us a message saying we needed to bring (Corporate Challenge) up here, that Chattanooga would eat it up," Hall said. "We've hired all local vendors and workers (for this weekend), and our dream is to eventually put a couple of (Knight Eady staffers) in the city. The city really sparks our interest."
An awards show is scheduled to be livestreamed at noon Tuesday on the Corporate Challenge Facebook page and YouTube channel.
Contact Bob Gary at bgary@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6731.