25 Year Anniversary Celebration Recap
I’m peelin’ out of the office this afternoon until January, but before I do, I want to highlight a cool not-so-lil’ project I had the chance to work on this year…
OST turned 25 in 2022 and we went all-in on our celebration. (I mean, c’mon! A quarter century!) We invited every teammate from around the US for a two-day celebration. Our planning team's mood board had the phrase, “spa meets camp, meets retreat” as a “vibe” and I can confidently say, we nailed it. We had the best partners and internal team working on it. So here are a few highlights of some of the activities we offered on the “choose your own adventure” experiences…
Downtown GR Scavenger Hunt (All employees participated)
Rooftop Pickleball Tournament at the Amway Grand Plaza led by Mr. George Aquino himself
Retro Arcade in “Mom’s Basement” AKA: Retro Electric Arcade in Lowell (with 90’s snacks!)
Lavender truffle and s’more making in a gorgeous venue on a lavender farm in Caledonia
Canoe cruising (w/bevs in hand, of course!) w. AAA Canoe Rental in Rockford
Brunch and pasta making classes at The Local Epicurean in Eastown
Cocktail classes at Long Road Distillers and MDRD
Ninja Warrior Course adventures at Rebounderz Grand Rapids - Jenison
A wine expert class at GRNoir Wine & Jazz
Astrology & Tarot Card Experiences w. The 12th House
Spa sessions at the JW Marriott Grand Rapids & Amway
Brewery Tours to Founders Brewing Co.& The Knickerbocker - New Holland Brewing w/GR Brewery Tours
A hike (and ice cream!) at Rosy Mound Natural Area
Fly fishing on the Rogue River w. the Orvis instructors
Coffee brewing w. Ferris Coffee & Nut Co.
Leather wallet making with Sidenaw Co.
Sunrise hot air balloon rides with Altitude Adventures
Golf Lessons with Scott Lake Golf & Practice Center
Canvas painting on the Gillette Bridge w. Brush Studio - Grand Rapids
Go Karting at Grand Rapids Grand Prix
Sunrise bridge yoga w. Nicole Hensch (+ Malamazing Juice Co. for all yogis!)
PLUS, everyone got to stay at the Amway Grand (if they wanted to!) and enjoy thoughtfully curated room snacks (lookin’ at you: Monica's Gourmet Cookies, Sweet Batches granola bars, Wells Orchards apples, Mosby's Popcorn + Boxed Water Is Better).
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! We also had an amazing dinner/party on the Gillette Bridge where we were served up w. the best beats in town from our pal Adrian Butler while enjoying delicious chow from Amway and dessert from Daddy's Dough Cookies.
BIG thanks to the incredible team who helped pull this whole thing off: Meredith Bronk, Halley Gorajec, Tori Dean, Jonathan Tyler Carbonell-Ferguson and our fearless event partner, Kim Jacobsen-Rangel. And final thanks to our pals at Ingalls Pictures (video) and The Mittentog (photo) for capturing it all. Celebrations and connections have been tougher these past few years and I’m so glad we were able to make this one happen. It was worth the work.
