THE COMPANY PARTY: DRAB EVENTS A THING OF THE PAST; NEW PARTIES ATTRACTING EMPLOYEES

The Fun Co. from St. Louis supplied the rides and games for the Picnic. Members of the First Baptist Church volunteered to run the booths and games.

Electronic skeet shooting was a popular attraction at the picnic.

Charles Kohler Jr., left, and his father, Charles Kohler, enjoyed cotton candy during the daylong event. About 1,200 people attended the picnic.

The company party used to be one of those unavoidable social occasions, like a visit from fussy old Aunt Hilda and her five flea-bitten cats -- grin and (at lease try to) bear it.

The "Aunt Hilda" parties are now a thing of the past for most companies that embrace the company party concept as a way -- often a lavish one -- of expressing appreciation to employees for their loyalty and productivity.

Instead of a day at the city park with late arrivals and early departures, intermingled with the annual softball game, employers are turning to well-planned family events, providing entertainment, food and activities with "something for everyone."

If times flies when you're having fun, the clock was spinning during a couple of company events in Cape Girardeau County last weekend -- at Black Forest north of Cape Girardeau and at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.

"People were having fun," agree Clara Urhahn, employee relations representative in the Human Resource Department at Lee Rowan Co. in Jackson and Rob Welge, personnel director for Gilster-Mary Lee, headquartered at Chester, Ill.

Lee Rowan, a manufacturer of closet organizer items at Jackson, employs from 1,200 to 1,350 people. The firm held a giant party at Black Forest, which was attended by more than 1,200 people despite rainy weather.

Gilster-Mary Lee, which manufactures and packages cake mixes, stuffing mixes, hot cocoa drink mix and popcorn at Perryville and McBride in Missouri and Chester and Steeleville in Illinois, treated its employees to an evening at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau, featuring the music of John Conlee and Sammy Kershaw.

More than 3,000 employees and their families attended the event.

"Employees don't always get a thank you for a job well done," said Urhahn. "We want them to know that they are vital to our operations."

This year, Urhahn worked with the Fun Co. of St. Louis in planning a one-day event for Lee Rowan employees.

"The Fun Company specializes in providing employee relations events to mid-to-large-size corporations," said Urhahn. "This was the first time we tried a major undertaking like this, but it was worth it."

Even with a rainy Saturday, more than 1,200 people (employees and families) showed up for the fun day, said Urhahn.

"And it was great," she added. "People didn't want to leave. Our volleyball games turned into mud volleyball, and the tug-of-war games were hilarious."

Also on hand at Black Forest were a number of area crafters demonstrating their arts.

Gilster-Mary Lee, which used to send all its employees to Six Flags every year, has been going "inside" the past four years.

"We rent the Show Me Center each year now, and bring in top country-western singers," said Welge. Employees from all four sites attended the concert."

Over the past four years, Gilster-Mary Lee employees have had an opportunity to hear entertainers Kershaw, Ricky Van Shelton, Charlie Daniels and Sawyer Brown.

Companies like the Fun Co. and Lefton Promotions Inc. of St. Louis make it a full-time business providing for "fun-time" parties for companies between April and June.

The Fun Co., headquartered at Atlanta, serves groups of 200 to 20,000.

"Our largest company party was for 28,000 people," said Rob Maxwell, a native Cape Girardean who works out of the St. Louis branch. "Our average crowd is about 1,500, but we do a lot of parties for groups of 150 to 250."

The Fun Co., founded in 1963 as a catering company for school carnivals, now provides entertainment and catering services to companies in 42 states.

"We do about 600 events a year," said Maxwell. "We run about 120 events out of the St. Louis offices."

The Fun Co. was the planner for parties at the St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau and Noranda Aluminum Inc. of Marston.

"Our big employee event was conducted on a Saturday following Hospital Week," said Mike Simmons of the St. Francis Medical Center public relations department.

More than 1,000 people attended the daylong event.

"Everybody enjoyed the party," said Simmons. "They came early and stayed late, and are already looking forward to the next one. In past years, at employee parties at the park, people ate, played a little softball and went home."

Lefton Promotions Inc., founded in the late 1960s, started as a magician act for schools.

"We now provide entertainment, participatory games, and catering to groups from 200 to as many as 10,000," said Hunt Niedringhaus, sales manager. "We still provide magicians, clowns and other entertainment, but we do so many other things."

Lefton includes a number of "theme" parties.

A popular theme this year is the Olympics, said Niedringhaus. Employees divide into teams and compete in a number of events, including the Slam Dunk Obstacle Course, the Mountain Climb, Looney Lympics, Bungee Run and Triple Volley.

The "party fun business" has grown in recent years, say officials of Lefton Promotions and the Fun Co.

"We keep plenty busy during the summer and fall," said Niedringhaus. "We conduct parties in almost every state ... as many as 800 events a year."

The entire thrust, added Niedringhaus, is adventure and novelty events, along with entertainment geared toward the entire family.

Both companies provide such events as the 28-foot mountain climb, moonwalks, tunnel mazes, giant slides, miniature golf, batting cages and bungee runs, along with magicians, jugglers, clowns and other entertainment, including karaoke.

Menus include everything from hot dogs and hamburgers to chicken breast and barbecue ham.

The fun companies work with company representatives to customize a day's fun that employees will hopefully remember all year.