By Shay Hughes

Last month we held our first official Core Values Contest, where we challenged the Hughes Marino team to come up with creative interpretations of our ten cherished core values. I must say, our team set the bar for creativity extremely high!

The contest was categorized by visual art and live performance, but the variation in projects was endless. From original songs and poems, to works of art, and even a piece of furniture, our team’s representation of the Hughes Marino Core Values was nothing short of amazing.

In true core value fashion, our contenders “delivered excellence” in every project presented. Entries in the visual art category included a lighted photo collage by Client Relations Manager Hope Fox, a painstakingly-detailed pencil grid drawing by Marketing Coordinator Briana Waris, an entire core values clothing line from aspiring fashion designer and Front Desk Manager Chantrelle Castro, a hand-crafted wooden coffee table with engraved marble centerpiece by Project Manager Zane Keith, and a concept for an outdoor mural by Ashley Lewis. So much heart and passion were put into each project, reminding us again of how dedicated and talented a team we have here at Hughes Marino!

The live performance component of the contest was hugely entertaining, with a live reading of an original poem by General Counsel Rob Bello, a Hughes Marino version of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, read by Senior Vice President Jeff Shepard (complete with Santa hat), core values themed songs sung to the tunes of Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” (Vice President Travis Carter) and the Barenaked Ladies’ “If I Had a Million Dollars” (Senior Vice President John Jarvis), and even a funky fresh rap from the “Fresh Ops of OC” – our always delightful Orange County Operations team, Andrea Kirklen, Jessica Grasch and Ayu Nirwani. “Proactively communicate, so things don’t go wack!” might just be one of my favorite lines from the show!

The final entry in the contest was an amazing animated video created by Associate Bailey Hughes and the talented Anna Schwartz, which brought the ten core values to life with color, graphics and music.

In the end, Ashley’s colorful, happy and creative core value mural concept was awarded the grand prize, and Jeff’s Christmas poem and Anna and Bailey’s animated video both received very honorable mentions. We think the mural will be a great addition to the outside of our headquarters, don’t you?

Thank you to all of our amazing participants, who perfectly embody everything our core values are about. We know each and every one of you put a lot of heart and effort into your projects, and we are grateful to have you all on the team.