Employee Appreciation Day at UNC - a nice experience and a special treat

So today UNC had its annual employee appreciation event. My fear had been that with all the budget cuts and layoffs the event would be somewhat depressing. Also the person that used to head the event is no longer at UNC, so I was curious about the outcome. I had volunteered in the past with the set up of the games and it was always a good way to meet new people and be involved in the UNC community. This year I really did not have time to volunteer, so I was only a visitor.
I got there early, but the line for lunch had already formed and so I joined and loaded my plate with hamburger, some really good pork BBQ, chips and pasta salad. They also had cookies or brownies for dessert as well as fresh fruit and soda.
I managed to find a table with a person from the south side of campus and soon we were talking shop since we work in somewhat related areas. Three other people from the South Campus joined us and we discussed this event compared to earlier years and agreed that the event turned out better than we had anticipated in light of the tight budgets. The food was very good and after we finished eating, we split up to see about the games and booths they had. After picking up my required samples of pencils, post it notes and pens, I actually was brave enough to participate in the games and ended up winning on the first two.
The waterbottle and backpack will be added to my North Carolina Tarheel collection and a couple of the refrigerator magnets will be given to some of my friends who are UNC alumni, but work at other places. Since they are still ardent UNC fans (and actually end up going to more football and basketball games than me), I know they love anything that is unique and UNC.
Overall, it was a well organized, successful event that everyone I talked to enjoyed. Thanks UNC HR!

water bottle and backpack that I won at the UNC Employee Appreciation Event!