The summer heat arrived early this year. Luckily, the 4th Annual yCPD Field Day Co-Chairs Sarah and Colin Phillips moved the annual outdoor fundraiser for Community Partners of Dallas from usual late afternoon to 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Rustic on Saturday, May 12.
Almost from the arrival, the “young professionals” were transformed into campers willing to tackle any challenge.
But before the games got underway, the 20 teams of six “young professionals” quickly turned into youthful campers enjoying “cool beverages and brunch bites, such as breakfast tacos, French toast roll ups, donuts and fresh fruit.”
The accessories du jour were sunglasses, custom-made T-shirts boasting the team names like “The Young and the Breathless,” “Millennial Falcons,” “Peaked in Elementary School,” “Lightbody Llamas,” “Tenacious Turtles,” “Maybe This Year!” and “Blood, Sweat and Beers.”
Returning as Camp Counselor was red-haired Jennifer Myers, who was doing her swan song as Fox4-TV meteorologist the next day. When asked the reason for leaving the station for her new position as the Oncor Electric Communication Support Coordinator and Meteorologist, she said it was two-fold. First, the wig thing. Seems that the station preferred her wearing a wig to cover her naturally curly hair. Second, with the departure of her weekend anchor/compadre Jenny Anchondo for “Morning Dose,” it just wasn’t the same.
But on this day Jen was happily welcoming the campers and thanking the event’s sponsors including Apex Clearing as presenting sponsor and Corehealth Wellness Center as DJ booth sponsors, as well as the yCPD board and CPD staff.
CPD President/CEO Paige McDaniel then explained the purpose of yCPD — to provide funds to assist the abused and neglected children CPD serve, through its partnership with Dallas County’s Child Protective Services.
Then it was time for Jen to go over the day’s POA. There would 10 totally different games — Wheel Barrow Relay, Booty Shaker, Gatorade Flip Cup, Puzzle Relay, Face the Cookie, Noodle Toss, pin the “y” on the yCPD, Social Media station and two new additions, the Chopstick Challenge and Ring Toss.
Immediately the teams competed in the Qualifying Round with DJ McCrae providing the musical backdrop.
None of the games were as easy they sounded. For instance, “Pin the ‘y’ on the yCPD” proved good sportsmanship had been checked at the parking lot as competitors shouted the wrong directions for the blindfolded camper. “Face the Cookie” resulted in contorted expressions as campers tried to get the cookie from the forehead to the mouth. “Booty Shaking” had campers gyrating in all directions trying to get stubborn ping-pong balls out of tissue boxes. At first glance, the “Puzzle Relay” seemed so simple. Just put large rubber puzzle pieces together. But then campers found it a bit more difficult with woolly mittens on.
After the scores were tallied, Jen announced the ten top teams that qualified for the next level competition’s “all-new Leapfrog Relay.” As tough as the relay was, teams Brunswick, UNUM, Professional Brunchers, Beer Pressure and Dino-Mite made it to the Quarter Final competition’s Three-Legged Race. Crossing the line first were UNUM and Brunswick that compete in yCPD version of Musical Chairs for the “yCPD Field Day 2018 Champion title.
And the final team member claiming a chair for the championship was Team Brunswick that included Christina Trester, Thibault Paillier, Lauren Nadig, Emily Sanders, Madison Schwartz and Travis Malone, who received “a fabulous prize package of a commemorative trophy, a two-week pass, towel and water bottle from Orangetheory Fitness, a massage at CoreHealth Wellness Center and a gift card to The Gem.”
The 4th annual yCPD Field Day sponsors were:
- Presenting Sponsor ($15,000) – Apex Clearing;
- Red Ribbon Runner Up ($1,000) – Brunswick Group, Holly House Marketing LLC, Colin Philips of Longvista Consulting, Riveron, Tillotson Law and Rodney Tow PLLC;
- White Ribbon Honorable Mention ($500) – Greg Beane of Verner Brumley Mueller Parker, Callie Butterworth, Embassy Suites Dallas Park Central, Jourdan and Harry McClish, Paige McDaniel, McGuire Craddock and Strother P.C., Orangetheory Fitness, UMUM and Helen Vo; and
- DJ Sponsor – Corehealth Wellness Center.