Camping Out for Viget’s 11th Birthday
Though we incorporated Viget in 1999, it was the spring of 2000 that we spent a week in Boulder deciding what kind of company we wanted to be. Every spring since then we celebrate Viget's birthday with the entire team. Last year was the big 1-0, so we enjoyed our first-ever overnight trip (and bought just-released iPads for the entire staff). It was so much fun, we decided to keep the overnight tradition this year.
Last Friday and Saturday, we visited Montfair, an "eco-friendly resort farm" located roughly halfway between our DC and Durham offices, not far from my beloved Charlottesville. Patrick made the trip in from Boulder, as did Doug from Vancouver. Now that we have three offices, this is one of the rare times that we get everyone together at once, and it was a blast.
"Camp Viget" wasn't all fun and games, though. After our quarterly progress meeting, we spent the afternoon brainstorming ways to make Viget better, with five groups focused on key areas of the business we wanted to improve on. As expected, the discussions were serious and engaging.
The result was a lot of good ideas we'll be working to implement in the coming weeks and months.
With the work out of the way, then we could play.
It started with a nice dinner and camping-themed gifts, expertly packaged by the always-amazing Khanh.
It continued with a great summary presentation of the year thanks to Mindy (who also designed event t-shirts).
Then came a celebration of Rob's upcoming 5 year anniversary at Viget.
Followed by everyone's favorite game that only Vigets understand: Vigetry.
The weather cooporated on Friday long enough for us to enjoy a late night by the bonfire.
Complete with some clever camera tricks that allowed Zach, Paul, and Peyton to make the Viget logo with their flashlights.
Rain washed us out Saturday morning, which saved Steve "The Champ" Schoeffel from the embarassment of having to lose to me in a 1-on-1 lacrosse shootout, but I'll get him next year.
Overall, we couldn't have asked for a better event. It's truly an honor for me to get to work with such an awesome group, and celebrations like this remind us just how fortnuate we all are to have built a lasting company full of talented, passionate, and fun people.
Happy birthday, Viget!
