Appreciation Picnic Garners Gratitude and Good Fun

On Wednesday, June 29, members of our campus community headed to the Central Courtyard where Deejay Johnnie Schmidt returned from his recent retirement to offer wonderful vibes throughout the 2022 Einstein Appreciation Picnic. It was the first time we all could come together outdoors since the pandemic to enjoy burgers, hotdogs, and other delectable goodies, along with lawn games and entertainers who made balloon animals and performed magic.

More than 1,200 burgers, 800 hotdogs, 700 veggie burgers, and more were served up at the picnic

Marie “Cookie” Kurtz served as the event emcee

Thanks to 19 departments and other generous donors, those in attendance had the opportunity to win one of 53 raffle prizes. Bokun Cheng, an associate in pediatrics, won an overnight stay at the Langham Hotel, on Fifth Avenue, donated by the office of development and alumni relations. While she hasn’t put the prize to use yet, Bokun said “I didn`t realize I had gotten such a big prize when I received the phone call. When I saw the prize certificate, I was very surprised and happy. I thought I was the luckiest Einstein employee that day!”

Madeline Ebanks, administrator for the office of diversity enhancement also was thrilled to win a raffle prize – a first for her in 13 years at Einstein. Her Eataly gift basket featured a wide variety of Italian culinary items, donated by the Saul R. Korey Department of Neurology. She said, “I was surprised when I heard I had won the gift basket at the Appreciation Picnic. It was amazing!”

Thanks to our food services crew and a dozen volunteer servers, there was plenty of good eating to do at the Appreciation Picnic. And, thanks to housekeeping and engineering staffs, there was ample seating and the set-up of Deejay Johnnie’s equipment to help the good times roll.

Connect Four and basketball pong were among the games enjoyed

Approximately 1,200 members of our campus community met up with friends and colleagues, relaxing at the large round tables filling the Central Courtyard. Responding to encouragement from Cookie Kurtz, director of creative services, who served as the event’s emcee, 445 individuals entered the raffle. Some also tried the various options for play, which included basketball pong, connect four, tic tac toe, bowling, and ring toss.

Yvonne Ramirez, vice president of human resources and Title IX coordinator at Einstein, smiled as she surveyed the happy attendees, some of whom took extra precautions by wearing masks. “We’ve been missing this opportunity to connect and share our gratitude. It’s wonderful to have such lovely weather, so that we could hold the event outside and be together again.”

Posted on: Thursday, August 18, 2022

My Workflow