MaxLite®, a leading marketer and manufacturer of energy efficient lamps and lighting fixtures, celebrated its twentieth anniversary with a barbecue celebration with nearly 100 employees, their families, and guests. Closing the office at 12:30 p.m., employees were given a well-deserved half day off of work to celebrate with friends and family at a local park about two miles away from the company’s headquarters in West Caldwell, New Jersey.
“From a modest three-person start-up company in Palisades Park, New Jersey, it is amazing to see how much MaxLite has grown in the last twenty years,” said MaxLite President Yon Sung. “Today, because of our talented workforce and quality products, MaxLite has established itself on a national and international scale. I feel privileged that such amazing individuals are part of the MaxLite family, helping to support the company’s continuing growth, and it is my hope that this family barbecue celebration shows each employee my heartfelt appreciation.”
With an overcast sky and scattered showers throughout the day, attendees continued to celebrate the company’s significant milestone. Friendly games of rain-soaked basketball and soccer drew large numbers of participants, while many bystanders stood along the sidelines cheering them on. Frisbees, footballs, a wiffle ball and bat and various sports equipment scattered throughout the park attracted adults and children alike to one-on-one games.
Employees and guests competed in events such as a water balloon toss, egg balance race, a Bake Off, and contests, including hula hoop, foul shot, and closest to the pin. Winners received $25 to $75 in giftcards per event.
Catered by a local barbecue restaurant that grills food on site, guests enjoyed hamburgers and cheeseburgers, hotdogs, sausage and peppers, barbecue ribs and chickens, as well as corn-on-the-cob, pasta salad, red skin potato salad, cole slaw, and all the fixins’. The meal was topped off with ripe watermelon and employee-made baked goods, designated for the blind taste test bake off.
Ten trays of leftover food from the event were picked up by Table to Table, a local, community-based food rescue program that collects fresh and perishable food that would otherwise be wasted and delivers it to nearly seventy recipient agencies that serve the hungry throughout Bergen, Hudson, Passaic and Essex counties in New Jersey.
An ENERGY STAR® banner, with the words “Our Actions Make a Difference… By saving energy at work, we help protect the environment for everyone,” hung above an ENERGY STAR-themed table. Children were given crayons and markers and enticed to color and complete activities within energy-saving encouragement activity booklets with characters from the movies, The Lorax and Epic. Adults were encouraged to take informational printouts home, which featured tips on reducing energy at home and work.
All employees and guests were given a custom-designed celebratory t-shirt with the MaxLite Twentieth anniversary logo and the words, “LEDing the Way For the Next 20 Years” across the front.
The New Jersey MaxLite family, along with some friends and guests, posed for a photo opportunity in front of a custom-printed anniversary banner.
