By Natalia Kome
On June 27, 2024, a team of United Country Real Estate Home Office members entered an intense competition to prove which Kansas City, Mo.-based company is the most talented. Okay, maybe it wasn’t the stakes weren’t that high, but they sure felt like it! The Office Chair Games are an annual event put on by FosterAdopt Connect that takes place in the heart of Kansas City and are made up of four exciting events. United Country had never entered this competition before and were proud sponsors of the event.
Hosted by FosterAdopt Connect, this organization used all proceeds to support children who are adopted or fostered. Their mission is to provide and advocate for children who have been abused or neglected and offer them resources to thrive.
The team members were made up of United Country’s Marketing Department. Jihan Chesher, the masterful Creative Director; Brittani Smitka, the uber-talented Graphic Designer; Jeb Brantner, the incredible Marketing Manager and video editor; Chase Walker, the Recruitment Marketing Coordinator and Agent Liaison, and myself, Natalia Kome, the outstanding and ever-so-humble Copywriter were the awesome Office Chair Game competitors.
The first event was the Chair Relay is set up much like a typical track relay, but the baton was a rolling office chair. Each team member did a lap back and forth across the expansive track, and we ended up with a respectable time with every individual showing out although we didn’t clinch the win.
Second came the Chair Rowing. An event that requires every team member to line up in a row, holding onto the chair in front of them for dear life. In unison, the team is required to skillfully and speedily move around the track and maneuver around a cone before returning to the starting spot. This event proved to be rather difficult for the team as a whole with one member falling twice and breaking a toe. Either way, the United Country team brought heaps of determination and charisma.
Next was perhaps the United Country team’s favorite event: Chair Curling. Much like the name describes, each contender is thrust onto the track by another team member while carefully seated in their office chair. Without scooching or shifting the chair, one must reach certain sections of the track to earn tiered points. It was a good showing from the whole team although we didn’t reach winning numbers. (Choosing to blame the big crack in the floor not the talent of the team for this one.)
The fourth and final event was the epic Chairathon. Victors from each team were chosen to compete in a round-the-world competition testing the speed and chair-agility of each contender. At this leg of the competition, it was clear there were some D1-level track stars among the chair-athletes, slimming our chances but increasing the intensity of the event.
While we may not have gone home with a physical trophy, we all went home proud of our accomplishments and more than ready to really show our colors next year. United Country Real Estate is committed to supporting local communities all across the nation, and our sponsorship of the FosterAdopt Connect Office Chair Games is just the tip of the iceberg.
