Leaving the Office Behind at the 17th Annual Ski Trip

Every year for the past 17 of them, more than 50 Woodard & Curran employees get together at Sunday River in Bethel, Maine for two full days of skiing along with plenty of good food, drink, and company. Colleagues have come together from our offices in Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York, and everyone comes back with plenty of stories and excitement about the next year’s ski trip. This is just one of the ways we walk the talk of our mission statement, which prioritizes providing a place that people enjoy working for. Here’s what some of this year’s ski trippers had to say about the Sunday River ski weekend that took place just a couple weeks ago:

 

“This was my second year attending the ski trip, and I’ve already saved the date for next year’s trip. The greatest thing about the ski trip for me is spending time with coworkers outside of the office, especially coworkers from other offices that I haven’t met or I interact with mostly through phone or email. Everyone seems to let loose and have a great time. These relationships carry over to project work and help create the culture of W&C. And I can’t forget the skiing – the last two years we’ve had great conditions!” –Lauren Pepe, Engineer

“I’m really happy that I went on the ski trip this year.  I got to finally meet a lot of the people that I’ve been working with remotely through the year as well as other people from our offices from Portland to Pittsburgh.  Many of these people are in other service lines, so if it wasn’t for the ski trip, I may never have met them.  My favorite part of the trip was meeting Frank Woodard & Al Curran.  After skiing for the day, they told many of us stories about how W&C started and how it came to be what it is today. There is a great camaraderie among the people who have been coming on the ski trip over the years, and it was really fun to be a part of that.  As for next year, I will definitely be going back!”—Jaclyn Lemieux, Engineer

“The ski trip is great for several reasons. It gives us a chance to catch up with folks from the other offices in the flesh, and we’re afforded a rare opportunity to get to know each other on a more personal level. On the ski trip we have the luxury of time and the small confines of a chairlift to really listen to each other and hear about what’s going on outside of work. I’ve really enjoyed meeting new employees who make the effort to join the ski trip. What a great atmosphere to introduce yourself as a new hire—when spirits are high and the formalities of job title and general professionalism are long forgotten. We’re all very lucky to have this event be a part of our culture.”—Jedd Steinglass, Project Manager

 

“This year the weather was cold but sunny both days, and the conditions were surprisingly good given the poor snow winter we’ve had. It was great to have both Frank and Al this year – giving many new and old employees a chance to spend time with them. It’s really cool to see a new employee having a chance to talk with Frank or Al or share a chair lift ride – it gives them more perspective on how the company was founded. That dynamic is one thing that makes this trip very unique.

After 17 years, this has truly become a Woodard & Curran tradition. To many, it is kind of a brief annual “escape” for everyone from their usual responsibilities and stress, whether it be work, home, children, or whatever.  It’s nice to come on this trip, have some fun, get some exercise, and just have the freedom to enjoy the outdoors and bond with coworkers for a couple days. You meet many people on this trip that you would probably never work with otherwise.  There have been many times where I met people on the trip first and then end up working with them on some project later, so I feel like I know them already. To see so many people come year after year and to look around and see everyone smiling, laughing, and enjoying themselves – that makes all the planning worth it.  The great people at this company are what makes the trip what it is. In a strange way, I think of it as a form of corporate charity – and like many charitable things, I feel I get back more than I give.”—Jim Sturgis, Senior Technical Manager and Founding Father of the Woodard & Curran Ski Trip

“The Jim Sturgis ski trip represents the quintessential culture of friendship, comradery, fun, mutual respect, and leadership that we all cherish about the W&C culture. It is just fabulous to see it continue to grow stronger with new generations. I look forward to joining the group as long as I will be skiing.”—Al Curran, Woodard & Curran Co-Founder

Author

Brent Bridges

View All Posts

Tags Company
Scroll back to top of the page