After a long drive from Tennessee, we finally arrived in Charlotte, or as the locals call it, "Concord." Once we made it to the scheduled rendezvous point (the McDonald's by the side of the freeway) we met Millsport's Scott Peterson, who served as our guide.
Scott handed out Millsport-branded pit crew shirts and caps, then told us to get back in the car and follow him to the next destination.
As we followed Scott to Lowes Motor Speedway, we were trying to guess what was in store for us. Before we knew it, we were pulling into victory lane and being showered with champagne by the Millsport-Charlotte team!After a few handshakes and photos, our adventure in Charlotte was underway.
From what we’ve seen, it was the most gracious welcome provided by the TMA family, and they were just getting started.
From there, we went to Dave & Busters for dinner, and -- more importantly -- games. The skeeball competition was pretty intense, and the Team Awesome boys lost to the Tracies from Millsport in a photo finish on the Daytona Racers.
The big winner, however, was Basia who mastered Slam-a-Winner and took home over 1,700 tickets that we used to buy a gift for our gracious hosts: A 7-foot stuffed Giraffe named "Geoff."
The next morning, we went to Millsport's “Charlotte” office and enjoyed a great breakfast while Ken Cohn and Mike Bartelli gave us a brief overview of their clients and capabilities. The discussion wrapped up just in time for us to take a tour of the Roush Racing facility where we were able to see the stock car production process from start to finish.
On top of the VIP facility tour, we also saw a pit crew practice and met Carl Edwards, the driver of the number 99 Office Depot car. [Check out the photo!]A great BBQ lunch at R&R Barbeque with the office staff finished off a great morning, but the Charlotte folks were only getting warmed up. They still had secret plans waiting for us.
A trip to North Carolina wouldn’t be complete without a race. The afternoon surprise was, appropriately, go-kart racing at an indoor facility. After a warm-up session, we broke into pairs for a LeMans race.
When the dust settled after 40 minutes of racing, Eric Dobratz and Shelena Wong (we apologize for any misspelled names), had taken the trophy. Scott, Tracy and Stacey all made the podium, as well.
After a quick pit stop (pun intended) to shower, we headed over to Mike Bartelli’s house for dinner with the entire office and their families. After a terrific meal and a few drinks, we were treated to the musical stylings of "2 Piece Meal." With Mike Mooney on the congas and Bartelli with the lead guitar and vocals, it was a memorable acoustic concert.
Everyone had a great time singing along regardless of musical ability, and Pam even did a little of the tambourine work (until Mike revoked her privileges).
The time we spent at Mike's house really showed us what office culture was about. They genuinely seemed more like a family than co-workers, something that makes the 12-person office very special.
As we got ready to say our good-byes, they weren’t quite done yet. They gave us each gift bags with various goodies inside. The most exciting of which were the trophies with our racer names on them!
It was harder for us to say "good-bye" to Charlotte and our Millsport friends than we had expected. They overwhelmed us with their energy and generosity. We left feeling like a part of their office -- and they definitely became an extension of "Team Awesome."
THANKS to all of the Charlotte folks for an amazing time, especially Katherine for setting everything up. Feed the Shark. (Kristin and Amanda are raising their hands)Quotes of the Day
-- “I’m more of a thigh guy than legs...”- Mike Mooney
-- “I think I’m a little off...” – Pam
-- “I’m Pop, he’s Lock, together we Drop it..”- Ross
-- "If we start a band we'll call it 'One Man Band.'” -- Ross and John.
Guess Team Awesome’s racer names:
Basia: A) Gun Show B) Big ___Salad
Amanda: A) Burke Mountain B) Olive
Kristin: A) Smellson B) Sugar Momma
Ross: A) Rossome B) Future Self
John: A) Captain Awkward B) Past Self
We'll have the answers for you tomorrow. The first person to e-mail Kristin Nelson (USMP) back with the correct answers will receive a prize from the road. HURRY!
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