Fun and Fundraising
by Ann Craig-Cinnamon
It’s usually not good form to tackle the person in the cubicle next to yours at work. In addition, it’s frowned upon to play a game of euchre during office hours. But March 7-8, it will not only be acceptable, it will be encouraged. Those are the dates for this year’s sixth annual Corporate Cup Challenge, a unique event that brings local businesses together in a fun two-day event to support local charities.
The Corporate Cup Challenge was the brainchild of Jess Carrasquillo, the owner of Easy Street Insurance in Center Grove. (Read more about how the Corporate Cup Challenge started in our cover story from last February) Carrasquillo wanted to find a way to help people and had been to similar events in which co-workers competed against other companies. It’s a great way for co-workers to bond and have fun outside the workplace. It’s a great way to network, with 35-plus companies participating. Plus, it’s a fundraiser, with all the money raised going to local charities. Healthy activity combined with team bonding, networking and raising money for charities on a local level — it’s what Carrasquillo calls a win-win-win event.
When he began planning for the first Corporate Cup Challenge, Carrasquillo assembled a team of leaders from the community, and that team still runs the event and picks the charitable organizations that will benefit. Joe Sagorsky, the director of Employer Health Solutions with the St. Francis Health Network, is the chairperson of the 2014 Corporate Cup Challenge and has personally participated in the Corporate Cup Challenge every year. He says it’s a great opportunity to bring local businesses both large and small together to enjoy some friendly competition and health benefits of participating in sporting activities. Sagorsky says he has received nothing but very positive feedback from a majority of the participants. “The CCC had some early growing pains, but every year the committee is looking at ways to improve the event, and it shows by the increase in participating companies,” he says.
St. Francis, no stranger to sponsoring events, continues to be a major supporter of the event, along with several other companies in the Center Grove area. “The hospital always has been and will continue to be committed to supporting organizations that promote health and fitness to the broader community. This is a core value of our hospital system, and we’ve been doing that well for almost 100 years,” says Sagorsky, who has worked for Franciscan St. Francis Health for 26 years.
You don’t have to be a buffed athlete to participate in the Corporate Cup Challenge, because the event encompasses a little something for everyone, including bowling, flag football, volleyball, basketball, cornhole, euchre, tug-of-war, dodgeball, an obstacle relay course and, new this year, 3 vs. 3 soccer. The events are spread out over two days at three venues. Those venues are Mt. Pleasant Christian Church at the Community Life Center, The Community Church of Greenwood at the Gathering Place and Southern Bowl. For $25, participants get to play in two events and they get a T-shirt. Each additional event is $5 each.
Throughout the competition, top finishers accumulate points in each event and are given gold, silver and bronze medals. Each company’s points are tallied, and at the close of the event, the company that earned the most points is awarded the Corporate Cup trophy. There is also a spirit award handed out to the company that showed the most team spirit, professionalism and sportsmanship.
Center Grove can be proud of this unique event. Sagorsky comments that it says a lot about the people and businesses of the Center Grove area. “I would like to think that we continue to be a tight knit business community that is committed to helping each other succeed and grow while supporting 
deserving charities that faithfully serve our greater community,” he says. In the past five years, close to $50,000 has been raised and numerous organizations have benefited. Last year, St. Francis’ Hospice House and Sheltering Wings each received $5,100. This year Disabled American Veterans, serving Johnson County veterans, and KIC-IT, Kids in Crisis Intervention Team, will benefit.
For more information, visit CorporateCupChallenge.com. The deadline to sign up is Feb. 14, so it’s not too late to get involved. Not only will you be helping the community, you will probably have a lot of fun in the process.
Sagorsky recalls the great time his teams have had. “I think one of my favorite memories is participating in the dodgeball tournament and experiencing the joy of watching my relatively shy and reserved fellow employees and other competitors really get into the game and show their competitive spirit. They actually really look forward to participating each year, and many have even registered to compete in multiple events,” he says.
So, dust off your shin guards, polish up your bowling ball, break out your wicked volleyball spike and get involved!
Ann Craig-Cinnamon is a 30 year Radio & TV Broadcast veteran. You may recall her as the host of popular radio morning shows in Indianapolis for many years. She and her husband, John are also business owners. Her lifelong love of world travel led them to start a travel franchise, CruiseOne, in Center Grove. Ann is a writer, travel speaker and author of the book “Walking Naked in Tehran.”
