Workers gear up for annual events

Events commences Friday with more than 1,500 participants.
By MATT BIXENSTINE
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- It happens toward the end of every summer.
They emerge from cubicles and office buildings having exchanged ties and briefcases for athletic wear and competitive spirits.
More than 1,500 employees from 19 local companies and organizations will participate in the 2003 Community Cup, organized by Youngstown YMCA as a 14-event corporate athletic challenge.
"It's like a mini-Olympics for us," said Debbie Frease, executive assistant for MS Consultants Inc. "We have a lot of fun with this every year."
The cup kicks off its first of two weekends at 6 p.m. Friday with opening ceremonies in the Youngstown YMCA Community Gym. It continues the weekend of Sept. 6 and 7.
Having paid a $600 entrance fee and trained this summer at YMCA facilities, the teams will vie for trophies and plaques while competing at basketball, tug-o-war and other measures of teamwork and skill.
However, all participants in Community Cup gain something more important than material prizes, said Cup director Lisa Petzinger.
"It really builds camaraderie internally by pulling people together from all parts of the organization," she said. "You have maintenance [employees] and CEOs that get involved."
How it began
Youngstown YMCA created Community Cup in 1990, modeling it after similar programs in Akron and Canton, said Tom Grantonic, former Cup director and current branch director for D.D. and Velma Davis Family YMCA in Boardman.
Today it remains the single largest event the Youngstown YMCA operates.
Grantonic said sponsorship from Forum Health, Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Humility of Mary Health Partners helps defray the cost put upon other participants.
"I've had companies say they spend thousands for a Christmas party and not nearly get the bang for their buck they get [at Community Cup]," Grantonic said.
The team members have the option to include their spouses in the competitions, and other family members often participate as spectators.
Katrina Love, bookkeeper at the Youngstown Municipal Courts, said Youngstown city workers have been participating in Community Cup since its first year.
"Most of us spend more time with our co-workers than with our families," she said. "This is where your two families get to meet each other."
mbixenstine@vindy.com