Heading into the final round of the third annual La Porte Economic Advancement Partnership (LEAP) Olympics, things looked uncertain for defending the champions – The City of La Porte. They hadn’t won any of the previous rounds, but had performed consistently and put themselves in a strong – but not unassailable – position to win the friendly competition between 15 local businesses and organizations.
The margins were thin. Howmet Aerospace had turned in a steady effort across the previous rounds, including a second place finish in the bowling competition, and looked poised to potentially steal the championship. The City of La Porte team buckled down and turned out a strong second place finish in the cornhole tournament. Their effort brought their point total to 12, two points over Howmet – just enough to earn the City a second straight championship.
“Anything we do, we’re about moving the needle – we love to win,” said Tom Dermody, La Porte mayor. “Every day, this entire team works to make life better for our residents. We think it’s important to compete every day, and this was an opportunity to do that and have fun with the businesses that are so important to our community.”
The effort was a little less dominant than last year’s, when the City of La Porte claimed first or second in every event but kickball, but the team was proud to go back-to-back – especially when it meant denying their friendly rivals, the inaugural champions at Horizon Bank, a chance to reclaim the trophy.
The event is all in the spirit of friendliness, designed by LEAP as a chance for team members to bond with each other and their neighbors outside of the office.
“It’s just a good way to bring people from our business community together,” said Erik Nelson, workforce development coordinator for LEAP. “It’s an after-hours opportunity to have fun and mingle. It’s light-hearted and a bit goofy, but some of the events really draw out people’s competitive nature, making for a fun week.”
The Olympic calendar of events included trivia, euchre, dodgeball, bowling, cornhole. Kickball was on the schedule as well before a rainout. Teams were made up of employees, board members, and immediate family members aged 15 and up – offering a chance for members of the business community to meet each other’s families.
“Participation has steadily grown each year,” Nelson noted. “We’d like to keep adding more business and community members, and we’re excited to keep this going for years to come.”
It’s hard to beat the feeling of victory, but Dermody said that his favorite part of the whole Olympic experience was seeing La Porte come together.
“We have people from all our different departments on the team, and they all believe in the culture we’re building here in the city,” Dermody said. “To see all the other community members participate is a neat thing. We’re thankful. La Porte’s special, and this is just another example. We’re going to compete to be the best no matter what we do.”
To learn more about LEAP, visit laportepartnership.com.