Happy UCT Halloween, past and present

What is it about those years when you have those “significant number” birthdays that makes one spend time reflecting on the past? This is one of those years for me. Every October the UCT Costume Contest to benefit Toys for Tots is held. The employees dress up in costumes, and we all vote for the best with our spare change. As always, I was looking forward with anticipation to see the costumes my co-workers would come up with, and I was not disappointed.

I must say though, this year I actually spent more time thinking of the past contests and those folks who participated who have passed on. I have taken hundreds of pictures in the many decades this contest has taken place. I scrapbook them so I can share these wonderful memories.

Looking at those familiar faces in unfamiliar attire always makes me smile. There is Carolyn Hartley as a cowgirl and shy Cindy Eastman as a rock star (tattoos and all!). Then there is Ann Marshall, she always participated. Always something clever. All the faces staring back at me from the pages of my scrapbooks are people who were committed to UCT and the mission of making our communities better.

Many years have passed, but that commitment remains the same. The employees of United Commercial Travelers always go that extra mile and are a wonderful representation of UCT’s spirit of community service.

As I look at the pictures from the 2018 contest, I smile at the new faces looking back at me, through Elvis sunglasses, hospital gowns or Snow White and her dwarfs. They, just as the co-workers of the past, fill me with pride to know the effort they invest in raising money to buy toys for needy children.

So what if I’m growing older? I’ve spent most of those years at UCT. A place that has added pages to my scrapbook and memories in my heart. I wouldn’t trade that for anything!