Time Capsule:
ForeFront Day, Our Annual Team Celebration!
At ForeFront, our Team culture is everything. That’s why each year we make sure to dedicate a whole day to celebration & fun – called ForeFront Day!
Each year’s ForeFront Day involves a different (and always memorable) set of activities. Whether you find us indulging in food, skee-ball battling, volunteering, or simply reminiscing, it’s all about bringing the whole Team together to bond and give back. The result is an undeniable, recharged feeling of camaraderie that carries us through the rest of the year. Read on as we recap memories of ForeFront Days passed…
ForeFront Day ’20: House of ForeFront
Hosted virtually, 2020’s event theme reflected a sense of togetherness in light of adversity and change. The day started with thanking the Team for our client successes while recognizing the collaboration challenges with remote work.
Our guest speaker was Brien Dunphy, NJ President of the International Coach Federation. Appropriately, Brien talked about “Resilience Everywhere, Every Time” and his message resonated with the Team on both personal and professional levels – “Where we set our sails is where we are going to arrive”.
Next it was time to dress-up for our annual Halloween Costume Contest! Prizes were given towards the day’s highly anticipated Grand Prize (“Your Dream Day made into Reality”!). Joining ForeFront’s contest were a Minion, a Banana, a Canadian Hockey Player, and a Cloud Clipper… to name a few. Afterwards, the Team was divided into groups to escape a virtual reality, the “Grimm Escape” – featuring fantastical storylines, strategic thinking, and tricky riddles. We then hosted an Uber-Eats Team lunch with gourmet enjoyment via Zoom!
Closing out the day, a “Canstruction” challenge for each group involved creating complex structures out of canned goods – one with more than 150 cans! Our Team donated all the items to local communities’ food banks like Lunch Break.
ForeFront Day ’19: Welcome to the Carnival
For 2019’s celebration, ForeFront’s campus transformed into a carnival complete with games, food, prizes, and carnies galore.
Our Team first shared in a pep rally to support our DRIVEN values along with lessons learned in the year so far, and our goals for the rest. The session was capped with ForeFront Trivia, where all buzzed in answers that would remind us how far we’ve come and spark fond memories.
Feeling inspired to spread the love, we engaged in some volunteering stations to help people in need. Kits of various supplies & snacks were put together for the Surfrider Foundation towards Bahamas Hurricane Relief and to help the homeless in New York City. We also connected with a local school to ship letters we wrote to our military men and women overseas.
Everyone then gathered on our campus grounds eager to display some Team spirit. In four groups we entered the red-and-white-striped tent arena, each having prepared a routine sure to put the audience on the edge of their seat. Our most-spirited Team featured lion taming, bearded ladies, and a dinosaur, among other circus characters. Round after round of carnival games ensued from here. Our 4 Teams engaged in competitive duck shooting, balloon popping, and potato sack racing to collect tickets with each win – in hopes of earning the top prize! Only the most daring would step into Bobbing for Apples – a large bounce platform holding “apples” in its center, with a bungee-corded vest attached at each end.
To wind down the day, the Team and their families enjoyed continued camaraderie, a delicious barbecue, pig roast, beer tasting, the highly anticipated prize raffle, and rejuvenating ice-cream treats.
ForeFront Day ’18: Camp ForeFront
An Opening Ceremony filled with Team flags and spirit paved the way for ForeFront Day 2018, where the Team gathered from all offices to claim the “DRIVEN” Title at Camp ForeFront festivities at the local Victory Park.
The Team was fully engaged the first portion of the day in a series of first half of the year reflections, future planning, and “Around the Org” Round-table discussions.
Employees were then instantly brought back to their summers as a kid, splitting into their color-decorated teams to battle it out in the park through a series of both physical and strategic activities. Noodleball proved to ignite competitive spirits, while the Nutstacker competition tested patience and precision. The Egg Drop Relay, ForeFront Jeopardy, Mallow Drop and Puzzle Against the Clock rounded out the additional activities.
As a sweet ending to the day, the team and their families joined together at ForeFront headquarters for a backyard BBQ that included a pig roast, lawn games, and a surprise Ice Cream Truck ending!
ForeFront is also a proud sponsor of the annual Fair Haven Day, a day that celebrates our community success in building an Esprit de Corps, a strong feeling of belonging and pride. The next day, the team and their families gathered together again for the day for some kids’ fun, delicious local food, live music and fireworks.
ForeFront Day ’17: Summer Clam Bake
Overlooking the picturesque Navesink River in Red Bank, NJ, Team ForeFront traveled from all around the country to gather with a 2017 Summer Kick-Off Clam Bake at the historical Molly Pitcher Inn.
Endless plates of clams and seafood, delicious BBQ and tropical cocktails allowed the Team to reflect back on accomplishments made since NYKO’17, our New Year Kick-Off meeting. Spread across the promenade, all would be found chatting about our last two-day ForeFront strategy business growth sessions. Some also found the time to play, battling the “minute-to-win-it challenges.”
ForeFront Day ’16: Arcade Free-for-All
Laser beams, high speed chases and intense concentration lead the way as the ForeFront Team from across the globe gathered together to refine their team-building skills for ForeFront Day 2016 at iPlay America, New Jersey’s Premier Indoor Theme Park.
The inner “kid” was instantly activated and two teams were formed for a set of activities that included: Laser Tag competition (best of three!), Go Kart racing, a Skee-ball accuracy contest and Speed of Light coordination duels. Tying up the competition, teams then were brought together by a panel of judges to battle it out and think outside of the box (cheering squads and sweet serenades included!) on how the meaning of being DRIVEN helps the organization work together and build success.
Even in times against the speed of light and the pedal, the DRIVEN model remains at the focus of our daily decisions, behaviors and challenges, motivating the team to strive for the best, win over and learn from the challenges we face. As an end to the activities, “Fun Fact” trivia allowed the Team to get to know each other on a more social level, prompting many “wow” moments and laughs along the way.
