2004 Corporate Games start next week

Factory workers playing dodgeball against insurance agents. A restaurant wait staff pitted against furniture store sales people in a friendly game of inner-tube water polo.

As far-fetched as they may sound, those visions will be fleshed out in heated reality when local businesses face off in the 2004 Corporate Games.

From Sunday to Oct. 1, the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department will hold the Olympic-style games, in which teams from area businesses and employee-based organizations will compete in 21 events for trophies, plaques and bragging rights. But win or lose, the purpose of the event is to promote a stronger bond among co-workers.

"It gets employees together outside of work," said Amy Roth of the Parks and Recreation Department. "They form relationships and have fun while they do it."

The Corporate Games will be in the second year as a reincarnation of the Corporate Challenge that was discontinued several years ago. At that time the event was sponsored by Cape Girardeau's two hospitals and according to Roth, the Corporate Challenge had grown too big and too time-consuming for them to handle. Then last year, Parks and Recreation revived the games, adding new events and making the Corporate Games more competitive and more entertaining.

In its latest embodiment, the Corporate Games has two divisions: Division I for organizations with 100 or more employees and Division II for those with 99 or fewer. Teams can pretty much have an unlimited amount of members.

Teams in both divisions will compete in a variety of events including the traditional golf, softball and basketball; the slightly less athletic horshoes, darts and billiards; the totally unathletic banner contest and trivia night; and the unusual inner-tube water polo, dodgeball and tug of war. Winners of each event will receive a plaque, and the team with the most points will take home the Corporate Cup.

Last year the Hutson Furniture team came in third in Division II. Company owner Chris Hutson said he's hoping for a better finish this year, but no matter what the result, he feels his teammates and co-workers will benefit.

"Last year it really pulled us together," Hutson said. "It requires a team effort outside of what we do every day."

trehagen@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137