Chamber hosts successful first Amazing Race
By Mark Squibb | Vol 7 No. 17 (Aug. 29, 2019)
Members of the Mount Pearl - Paradise Chamber of Commerce didn’t need their golf clubs for this year’s summer social.
Instead, the Chamber hosted its first ever Amazing Race.
“We found that there’s a lot of golf tournaments throughout the year,” said President Dave Halliday, referring to the way most chambers of commerce and boards of trade tackle the annual summer social for members. “This was developed as a sort of alternative and to do something different and a little bit more interactive than the typical golf tournament.”
Some of the people who participated in the Mount Pearl – Paradise Chamber of Commerce Amazing Race contest included, from left: Rhonda Goodridge of Reddy Kilowatt Credit Union, winning team members Scott Glynn and Heather Bishop from MGM National Safety and Felicia Ings and Leah Murphy of Get Payroll Solutions, and Chamber of Commerce President Dave Halliday.
The event was a local take on the popular America reality show, which debuted in September of 2001 and is still going strong today, having aired over 360 episodes. In each episode, contestants travel the world solving clues, competing in mental and physical challenges, and traversing foreign locales.
“Members were able to participate by competing against each other in this race, much like the TV show,” said Halliday.
Thirteen teams of four people competed, with a mixed team representing Get Payroll and MGM National Safety coming out on top.
“For them it was exactly what the day was about. It was about meeting new people, working together, and developing new relationships and stronger relationships. I couldn’t be happier with the winning team, and I think they were pretty pumped too,” said Halliday.
Competitors had to face six challenges at local businesses throughout Paradise and Mount Pearl, from breaking Morse code at Admiralty House Communications Museum, to baling hay at Lester Farms, to putting together a handmade jigsaw puzzle at the Carpenters and Millwrights College.
Halliday said it was also an interesting means of getting members of the chamber out to different businesses, and giving those businesses an opportunity to showcase their specialties.
Halliday said that following the success of this year’s event, the Amazing Race is definitely a go for next summer.
“We’re 100 per cent going to be doing it again next year,” he wagered. “The challenges of course will be different, the locations will be different, we’re going to see if we can start planning a lot earlier and see if we can get maybe more businesses involved and a little bit more hands on in developing the day.”
