UMCom Christmas Party 2023 Memories

UMCOM Group Image
UMCOM Group Image

The UMCom Christmas party has become a cherished tradition that many staff look forward to each year. Of course, Helen Allen and the planning committee delivered plenty of fun games, good food and memorable times with coworkers.

Staff and retirees entered The Gaylord Springs Golf Links in Nashville and were welcomed by beautiful holiday decor. The holiday music guided everyone up the grand stairwells to where the event was held. Everyone was encouraged to enter their names for door prizes and participation in the Dirty Santa ornament game.

Get to Know You BINGO was the first game that guests played and served as an icebreaker to reacquaint everyone. Apple cider and a tasty treat table were available while mingling around the room. The singing of Feliz Navidad, followed by prayer, officially jumpstarted the event. Ryan Dunn and Laura Buchannan were the MCs who kept everyone engaged with corky holiday jokes. Random door prize drawings kept everyone entertained throughout the day.

After enjoying delicious plated lunches, it was time to bring on the first big game: Build the Best Wreath with Pam Buck, the game host. Tablemates became teammates as everyone was given 30 minutes to go into the next room, grab a wreath and craft materials and create a festive design. A Gaylord staff member selected the winning wreath. Brenda Smotherman, Andrew Schleicher, Danny Mai, Thomasiena Thomas and Angelika Woods’ silvery creation was selected as the winning entry. All of the wreaths were later available as door prizes to be taken home to enjoy.

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Next up was Name that Christmas Tune. This game was hosted by Angelika Woods and Allen Thurman (AJ). With no team help, staff had 10-15 seconds to identify the titles of popular original Christmas songs. It was worth extra points if you got the artist’s name right. Royya James won the game by getting all fourteen songs correct and guessing four artists!

Dirty Santa ornaments was the last activity of the party. Names were drawn for people to go up individually to pick an ornament off the table, hoping their coworkers would not steal the one they selected. The game became exciting and intense after about six picks in. Ornaments were getting stolen left and right. Some of the most popular steals were a set of red ornaments, a pair of white houses, a Santa and a red lighted lantern. Thankfully, an ornament could only be stolen up to two times.

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Time was also set aside to celebrate staff members who had been a part of the UMCom team for significant milemarker years of service. Honorees included:

5 Years
Sara Schork       
Patty DelliBovi    
Aileen Delgado     
CheonEui Oh      
Brenda Smotherman   
Thomas Kim       
Linda Bruner      
Paul Gomez      
Renee McNeill     
  
10 Years
Wanda Jackson

15 Years
Chuck Long
Poonam Patodia
  
25 Years
Ricky Barrow    
Danny Mai 

2023 years of service collage

The event closed with a heartfelt message from Dan Krause. He expressed his appreciation for the hard work throughout the year, wished everyone a safe holiday, and surprised everyone with a Christmas gift. The leadership team also gifted everyone with a personalized keychain engraved with an inspirational reminder: May you be proud of the work you do, the person you are, and the difference you make.

A special thanks to Helen Allen for heading the party planning efforts along with the planning committee: Ryan Dunn, Pam Buck, Laura Buchanan, Angelika Woods, Allen Thurman (AJ), Julie Dywer, Philip Brooks and Aileen Delgado. 

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