“Toss like a boss!”
Those were the words of encouragement shouted by Andy Page, ORAU president and CEO, as two of his directors Cindy Snow and Derek Hagemeyer took to the field for the final match of the cornhole tournament. The tournament was held during the ORAU Diversity Council’s 30th birthday celebration on ORAU’s main Oak Ridge campus in October 2022. They were representing company executives in a high-stakes battle that pitted employees against executives. The winning team would have major bragging rights.
Page’s words went unanswered though, as ORAU’s Ryan Cross and Sara Beth Hensley, representing employees, took the win after a spirited contest. This marked the second loss in tournament play for the executive team, who also lost the first-ever kickball tournament held in 2019.
The celebration was the first in-person gathering of ORAU employees since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. More than 200 employees attended the event in person and online. In addition to the cornhole tournament, the birthday celebration included a giant Jenga game, an online trivia contest, a word-search puzzle, food trucks and door prize drawings.
The Diversity Council, formed in 1992, is comprised of 25 employees from across the organization and sponsors educational events throughout the year.