Keeping Our Spirits Up

This week is GBMC Spirit Week! On Tuesday, I enjoyed our annual Ice Cream Social that we adapted this year to include masks and social distancing. Another Spirit Week event that I have really come to love is our annual Employee BBQ. Enjoying the summer weather, the food, the games, and seeing people having a good time under the tent has reaffirmed my belief that GBMC is one big family. We cannot reach our vision without a fully engaged workforce, and we can’t have a fully engaged workforce unless people feel appreciated. So, celebrating is important. Our fourth Aim, More Joy, requires that we take time to have some fun during our hectic work lives.

Unfortunately, the Employee BBQ was another victim of COVID-19.

Because the pandemic has halted large in-person gatherings, our event planners had to create new ways of having fun. The barbecue turned into catered meals delivered to our units and departments and a "Where am I at GBMC?" virtual photo scavenger hunt. Congratulations to the winners who correctly identified all ten locations.

We are also holding Virtual Bingo, which follows traditional bingo rules and allows you to draw random numbers like they do in bingo halls.

I am really looking forward to next year’s Spirit Week! I am hoping that the pandemic will be in the rearview mirror and we will be able to gather as we have in the past. I must thank our Human Resources Team, led by Anna-Maria Palmer, our Vice President of Human Resources/Organizational Development and Chief Human Resources Officer, and her executive assistant, Richelle Tighe, as well as Cristie Nickel, our Community Relations and Events Specialist, and Kim Davenport, our Director of Communications and Event Management Strategy, for their hard work on this year’s events.

Thank you to all my GBMC colleagues and happy Spirit Week!