Park Industries has been presented the Best Special Event Award from United Way of Central Minnesota. Park’s Harvest the Giving campaign was a smashing success this past fall. The event kickoff was a Breakfast on the Farm meal, followed by a live auction, and a few outdoor games, all within an extended lunch hour.
The Breakfast on the Farm meal was set on placemats painted by young artists from the Boys and Girls Club. A live auctioneer played the crowd like a fiddle and squeezed every dollar out of all the donated auction items. A silent auction was held throughout the day too. The outdoor activities kicked off with a Crop Dusting event; associates paid to fly handcrafted paper airplanes into the barnyard to win a wonderful prize. They flew through wooden goats, cows, and pigs into hoops or the Park Barn.
We closed out the hour with a Barnyard Obstacle Course. Associates placed $1 votes for their manager of choice to compete, with the top 8 voted managers receiving a spot in the race. The course began with speed dressing into a Farmer’s outfit, a gallop across the barnyard through straw bales on stick horses while carrying an egg on a spoon, stacking straw bales, and finally milking our cow Betsey to cross the finish line.
This hour-long event raised over $3,000 and spread countless smiles. United Way has become integrated with Park Industries’ culture of giving back and connecting with the community. This past year, 90% of Park associates participated in the United Way Pledge. It is Park’s honor to accept this award from an organization as charitable as United Way.