New River Electrical employees in green shirts pulling on a tug of war rope at tug for tots event.
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Tugs For Tots

On May 6th, 2016 members of the New River Electrical family participated in the 20th annual Tugs for Tots in support of the Child Health Investment Partnership (CHIP) of Roanoke Valley.  NRE competed in the lightweight division (under 1500lbs) against seven area businesses and public servants.  Our team consisted of Cortni Smith (Finance), Morgan Myers (Cable), Josh Bandy (Fleet), Sarah Ferguson (Safety), Craig Oliver and Boone Arritt (substation), and Isaac Padgett, and Jeff Lograsso (family members of NRE).  They were led by head cheerleader Kathy Padgett (Finance).

The competition was tough but the battle started before the first whistle.  The team was a bit over the 1500lb weight limit so they did whatever they could to make weight like losing wallets, keys, whatever they could to cut weight. The scramble to come up with items they could toss to make themselves lighter was a bit comical.  Once the team was lean and mean it was time to get it on.  The double-elimination tournament, officiated by the stars of TV’s Black Dog Salvage, saw Team NRE battle to a respectable 2-2 record losing in the semi-finals to The Roanoke County Sheriff’s Department.  This was the best showing by New River Electrical in six years of participation.

 

Participants in green shirts engage in a tug-of-war contest in a grassy field with onlookers in the background, dated May 5, 2017.

Regardless of the record, the real winner was CHIP of Roanoke Valley.  All proceeds from the event go in support of this early childhood home visiting program.  CHIP provides health care coordination, developmental education, kindergarten preparation, and other services including child development guidance, employment and education support, parent meetings and transportation.  Learn more about CHIP at chiprv.org.

Congratulations on an excellent showing and a hearty thank you to the team members who supported this worthy cause.