The NPR staff likes celebrating the year at our holiday office party just as much as any team of fun-loving employees.
But before we gather to drink warm beverages and mingle over appetizers while festive music plays in the background, we like to... work up our appetites.
We're talking about the annual relay challenge, where we compete in somewhat wacky, yet always clever, feats of smarts and speed. And where prizes include tote bags (of course), and the obviously-more-important bragging rights.
In the years past, the relay has always been held outside, where team members tag-teamed it around the entire building, competing in ego-crushing challenges along the way.
With our move to a new headquarters building earlier this year, we decided some fresh traditions were in order. So we brought the relay inside our main lobby and asked NPR White House Correspondent Scott Horsely to follow up with several of the teams for a game day tradition: post-competition interviews.
First, he talked with the winners, the 'Angry Nerds' from Finance, about how teamwork helped them come out first:
(Editor's Note: The prize wasn't a quarter of a million dollars. It really was a tote bag.)
Then, when talking to the intern team, who finished last, Horsley asked if they had a rebuilding plan for next year:
(Another Editor's Note: The competition was not rigged to ensure that interns came in dead last.)
Ok, yeah, from NPR program name Pictionary to making Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish recipe while blindfolded, we had a pretty fun time during this year's relay. And we've got the pictures to prove it.
1 of 9
— NPR's "Little Helpers," aka the intern team, (l-r) Digital News Desk's Emily Siner, News Apps' Shelly Tan, Backseat Book Club/The Race Card Project's Amarra Ghani and Digital Media Music's Kiana Fitzgerald show off their costumes.
NPR's "Little Helpers," aka the intern team, (l-r) Digital News Desk's Emily Siner, News Apps' Shelly Tan, Backseat Book Club/The Race Card Project's Amarra Ghani and Digital Media Music's Kiana Fitzgerald show off their costumes.
Amy Ta / NPR
2 of 9
— "Tell Me More" Host Michel Martin and News Operations Managing Editor David Sweeney were the official masters of ceremony for the race.
"Tell Me More" Host Michel Martin and News Operations Managing Editor David Sweeney were the official masters of ceremony for the race.
Amy Ta / NPR
3 of 9
— To start the race, challengers had to match names to the correct NPR executive's head shot. The twist? The faces were missing.
To start the race, challengers had to match names to the correct NPR executive's head shot. The twist? The faces were missing.
Amy Ta / NPR
4 of 9
— In the second challenge of the relay, one team member was asked to illustrate the name of an NPR program or blog while a second team member tried to guess. How exactly do you draw "Fresh Air"?
In the second challenge of the relay, one team member was asked to illustrate the name of an NPR program or blog while a second team member tried to guess. How exactly do you draw "Fresh Air"?
Amy Ta / NPR
5 of 9
— For the third leg of the race, one blindfolded team member followed instructions from a fellow team member for making a traditional holiday recipe. Any guesses what that might be?
For the third leg of the race, one blindfolded team member followed instructions from a fellow team member for making a traditional holiday recipe. Any guesses what that might be?
Amy Ta / NPR
6 of 9
— If you guessed Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish, then you are correct! We just hope Susan Stamberg doesn't disown us for using her recipe in this way. Oh, and did we mention they had to take a bite?!
If you guessed Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish, then you are correct! We just hope Susan Stamberg doesn't disown us for using her recipe in this way. Oh, and did we mention they had to take a bite?!
Amy Ta / NPR
7 of 9
— For the final challenge of the relay, the team anchor sorted an array of objects into the appropriate disposal bin: compost, recycle or landfill.
For the final challenge of the relay, the team anchor sorted an array of objects into the appropriate disposal bin: compost, recycle or landfill.
Amy Ta / NPR
8 of 9
— The Winners: Coming in first were the "Angry Nerds from Finance," (l-r, the ones with the eyebrows on their glasses), Val Kagan, Daissan Colbert, Tracy Bowers and (not pictured) Nick Dragga.
The Winners: Coming in first were the "Angry Nerds from Finance," (l-r, the ones with the eyebrows on their glasses), Val Kagan, Daissan Colbert, Tracy Bowers and (not pictured) Nick Dragga.
Amy Ta / NPR
9 of 9
— NPR White House Correspondent Scott Horsely does the obligatory post-game interviews with the teams.
NPR White House Correspondent Scott Horsely does the obligatory post-game interviews with the teams.
Amy Ta / NPR
NPR producer Victor Holliday contributed to this post.
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