This past Thursday, the ULC staff donned matching t-shirts and took to the streets with bags filled with skittles, ULC brand Chapstick and four mystery envelopes.

The staff divvied up into teams and ascended on downtown for an afternoon filled with games, a city wide scavenger hunt and a just a bit of competition. It was Thursday afternoon, and every man was in it to win it. “It” being an array of prizes, ranging from minion inspired dishes to personalized sweatshirts.

After a lunch filled with savory curry pies, chocolate filled blackberry pies (yes, this is a real thing) and a round table discussion of our goals for the calendar year, we hit the streets. As a part of group one, I felt fairly confident that Aaron Miripol, Will Kralovec and I had it in the bag. Unfortunately, life size tic tac toe quickly proved to not be our strong suit. After several losing rounds we finished, our second clue led the staff through downtown, where we listened to a walking tour of Curtis Park and Five Points. (Did you know: Curtis Park rapidly grew in popularity in the 1870’s as the city’s elite fled from the dirty streets of the city?)

We met up with Christi Smith, ULC’s Communication and Operations Director, who handed out light rail tickets. It was completely thanks to Christi and Amanda Roy-Bangoy, ULC’s office manager, that the staff retreat happened at all. Amanda explained that she has always wanted to plan a scavenger hunt, and is thrilled how successful ULC’s inaugural one went.

“I think everyone had a great time…we heard thinks like ‘this was the best ULC staff event ever,'” Amanda said. “It felt really good to hear that all of our planning paid off and we were able to provide a day for staff to have fun, get to know the city and learn something new about Denver.”

A successful event indeed. After a string of clues and an intense round of eye spy took us south of the city, we ended up at one of our partner properties, Evans Station Lofts. Built by Medici Communities in 2013, Evans Station Lofts is a transit oriented development that consists of 50 affordable housing units.

As the afternoon drew to a close, we made our way back downtown via the D line. Our final stop put us in the heart of Historic Five Points, where we made our way to Dunbar Kitchen and Tap House for food, prizes and surprise gifts.

Megan Devenport, ULC’s Program Manager for Denver Shared Spaces, felt that the retreat was a great way to connect with the rest of the staff.

“My favorite part was the opportunity to be teamed with two of our newest staff members and getting to know them outside the office,” Megan said.

All in all, it was a great day had by all. I feel fortunate to work with such a dedicated team, and it’s safe to say there is no other organization I would rather run around the city with in hopes of winning a troll themed coffee mug (which I did, by the way).