Winning Engagement

While being an adult has its perks, it also has its setbacks. For example, when was the last time someone asked you how fast you could run in your new shoes? At Toth and Associates, though, you will find that level of interest but also a chance to show off your speed. In 2025, a simple inter-office challenge launched a long-percolating idea, and Toth Olympics was born.

Director of Marketing Kevin Grinder had first considered the idea when he started at the company nearly eight years ago, after seeing Office Olympics competitions during his time working in Las Vegas.

"I had an idea of doing a field day for the company," Grinder says. "That had been tabled for a long time, but I added ideas to a notebook over the years."

A Microsoft Teams inner-office channel called "Ping-Pong Chat" finally put the plan in motion.

"It was a channel to see if anyone wanted to play a quick round of ping-pong," Grinder explains. "Then it turned into 'Ping-Pong Chat and Random Throwdowns,' and one day, one of our civil engineers, Derek Estell, said, 'I can run faster than all of you.'"

The challenge turned into a 100-meter dash, and with Estell's challenge, plus encouragement from President Adam Toth, Grinder's years of notebook ideas began to take shape.

"We thought it would be kind of fun to have a competition between different departments, in what we call the Toth Olympics," Grinder says. "We knew not everyone is into sports or might not be able to compete physically, so we created a mix of events for individuals and teams, for people who like athletics and those who don't."

The contests in the first year were numerous, ranging from the 4x400 Meter Relay Race around the building to a tissue pull and from a team puzzle-building contest to an office chair relay, all in the span of a single day.

Grinder led the inaugural event, designing the games, flow and logistics with help from colleagues. Organized in just a few weeks to include summer interns, the first Olympics laid the groundwork for what Toth plans to expand in Year Two, with a committee forming to broaden involvement and build on the foundation.

"We ran a survey after the last Olympics: what people liked and the structure of the day," Grinder says. "The survey is helping inform what we will do this year."

In Year One, the awards ceremony saw the planning department take the overall gold. This year, in addition to gold, silver and bronze medals, a traveling trophy is in the works.

"We're going to inscribe which department won, and let the trophy travel through the office," Grinder says.

By the Numbers

• Number of games created: 16
• Number of employees: 230
• Number of participants: 90 (80 players, 10 volunteers)
• Employees' favorite game: 4x400 Meter Relay
• Most surprisingly fun event: Tissue Pull
• Overall Gold Winner: Planning Department
• Budget: Approximately $1,150 (largest expenses were medals and pizza)
• Number of hours needed to play: Four hours running from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.