I don’t know how it is in your neck of the world; but in ours it has been consistently hot and practically devoid of moisture—except for all the sweating we’ve all been doing, that is. We had a brief tease from a 15-minute downpour this week; but otherwise it’s been nothing but dry on top of dry.

If you’re getting thirsty just reading this, then I have good news! All new Twist Top Tumblers are here and ready to cool off and refresh you and your team!

We couldn’t forecast this weather; but the increasing popularity of our existing Twist Top Tumblers did help us predict that making more would probably make everyone happy. We also thought giving you some creative ideas on how to present them would be a nice bonus.

Here are our top five ideas for you:

1. Put one at each guest’s seat at your summer picnic. Place cards are so last century! If you want to set a great table, employ Twist Top Tumblers as your ice-breaking ambassadors. Go with a traditional expression of thanks with our We Appreciate You theme, or give some high-energy props with our You Rock theme.
   
   
2. Fill them with treats and present them at your next team meeting. Want to pep up your next meeting with your team? We find that a little fuel in the snack form helps with that. Fill our The Power of Team Twist Top Tumblers with a variety of edible goodies and you’ll keep everyone alert and focused for the duration.
   
   
3. Give them out at a project kickoff event as a reminder of your goals. Whenever you have a new company initiative, you want to put energy behind it and get everyone on the same wavelength with your mission. Our One Team, One Goal theme sends a positive message of unity and cooperation that will set your project on a course for success.
   
   
4. Pair them with a cooler bag for a complete gift they’ll use every day. You don’t need a special occasion to recognize your team. Surprise each team member with a gift of our Imagine Believe Achieve Twist Top Tumbler and Cooler Bag just because. The inspiring message on these gifts will last long after the day you present them.
   
   
5. Use them as giveaways to promote a company-wide wellness program. Health and Wellness is a big topic in the workplace today. You can encourage healthier habits, like drinking the daily recommendation of water, with You Radiate Pure Awesome Twist Top Tumblers. You’ll give your team an extra incentive, while reminding them that their wellness radiates from within.

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Allison is a self-proclaimed Copywriting Diva and has the certificate to prove it! She’s been writing for Baudville for three years and has worked in a variety of business settings for more than 18 years. Before becoming a professional writer 11 years ago, Allison worked as a department manager where she used Baudville products to motivate her team. She’s what we call a true believer!  

In our Summer Team Event Ideas eBook, we have several team building ideas that are centered on community involvement and charitable giving. Volunteering, fundraising, and other community-centered activities are a great team building technique. Your team comes together for a cause that is bigger than them and focuses their attention on an organization beyond their job parameters.

We recently completed our own community-driven team event at Baudville. We partnered with Gilda’s Club of Grand Rapids, a free cancer support community, to collect books for their library. The library at Gilda’s Club provides novels that cancer patients and caregivers can take with them to appointments or to simply enjoy some quiet time. 

We created a collection space in Club Baudville, a central area in our building where employees often gather for lunch, meetings, or a friendly game of ping-pong.

Over the weeks, we watched the books pile up…

And at the completion of the drive, we had collected 528 books for Gilda’s Club! A huge accomplishment! We had so many books, in fact, that they didn’t have room for all of them! We were able to make additional donations to D.A. Blodgett-St. John’s Home, a Grand Rapids organization that provides foster care, mentoring, and adoption to local children, and the Kent District Library.

All three organizations were thrilled to receive the donation, and Baudville employees have the satisfaction of making a significant contribution to worthy local organizations. To get more community-based team building ideas, download our new Summer Team Event Ideas eBook.

What charitable giving or community involvement activities has your team done?

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.

We received so many great ideas from our customers in our Summer Team Event Contest that we wanted to share them all! We’ve compiled all your wonderful game, theme, and outing ideas into one eBook full of things to do with your team in the summer.

You can download the “Team Building: Summer Event Ideas” eBook now from our Recognition Resource Center.

Just because these team building ideas were used during the summer doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with your team year round! For more great team building ideas, download our “Team Building Ideas to Motivate, Engage, and Encourage” eBook, too.

Read past blog article, Free Employee Recognition eBooks in the Recognition Resource Center, for quick links to more ebooks!

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.

In my opinion, summer and team events go together like picnics and watermelon. Managers often take advantage of the beautiful summer weather and slower business time (depending on your industry) by having some fun with their teams.

It appears that our customers agree! When we asked them to share their favorite summer team events, we received 100 ideas! Apparently Baudville isn’t the only company that celebrates its teams in the summer!

Over the last two weeks, we’ve had the various summer team event ideas posted on our Facebook page, and the entries received 530 likes! Today, we’re excited to announce our winners and their fun team event ideas!

First Place Winner: DTA Child and Youth Services

DTA Child and Youth Services snuck up from behind for the win! Their summer team event is a Runaway Bride Wellness Challenge. Four women from the team are currently planning weddings, so they took this opportunity to inspire the entire office to get fit and healthy. Great job ladies!

Each member of their team has won a TEAM themed gift journal and tote gift set, Twist Top Tumbler, and Sweet Treats.

Second Place Winner: University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point Student Involvement and Employment Office

University offices tend to be much slower during the summer, creating an ideal time to have fun and encourage team building. The team’s favorite event is SIEO Top Chef! Every other week, the team has a themed cooking competition. The picture below shows the results from their breakfast food week. After every one enjoys the treats, they vote on the tastiest and most creative dishes. The winner gets to wear a button on their lanyard to show off their cooking skills!

Each member of their team has won a TEAM themed gift Twist Top Tumbler and Sweet Treats.

Third Place Winner: Georgia Teen Institute

The Georgia Teen Institute runs a summer leadership program for teens, and this year the staff enjoyed an “Amazing Race” competition. There was a scavenger hunt, wacky challenges and goofy pictures taken. The entire team was rewarded with ice cream and popsicles at the end!

Each member of their team has won one of our popular TEAM themed gift Twist Top Tumbler!

Congratulations to all the winners! You can read all the Summer Team Event ideas and stories  from the contest on our Facebook page or by downloading our new  Summer Team Event Ideas eBook. The eBook is a compilation of the ideas we received for the contest. It's full of events and activities your team will love!

Read Summer Team Event Social Media Contest to learn more about the contest.

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.

Last week we announced the beginning of our Summer Team Event Contest. The contest is simple: tell us about your favorite summer team event contest, send us a picture, and like your picture on Facebook. The entries to receive the most likes will each win a prize pack of TEAM-themed gifts for their entire team.

I’ve had a lot of fun collecting the entries and reading the different summer team event ideas. The creativity of the entries proves that there’s more to do with your team in the summer than picnic!

One of my favorite ideas came from Galaxy Associates, Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company decided to have an entire MONTH OF FUN to boost morale among the team when spirits were low. They had a new activity every day, and you can see them all on their monthly fun calendar on Facebook. You’ll see that not every day required a lot of planning or expense, but was as simple as “wear your favorite color shirt day.” Vote for Galaxy Associates by liking our Facebook page.

I also enjoyed the summer team event from Blood Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, who offered employees an opportunity to “Soak the Boss” with water balloons. Staff that donated blood at least three times in the previous calendar year could take their pick of boss to soak. Other employees were able to donate a small amount for the opportunity. Vote for the Blood Center by liking our Facebook page.

There are 90 great summer team event ideas on our Facebook page thanks to the contest! Visit Facebook and like our page to read all the entries and get ideas for your own summer team events. Plus, by liking our page you’ll be able to vote for your favorite summer team event and give one team a great prize pack! 

*Contest closed.

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.