By Chase Woolner

On the morning of Saturday June 20, Quicken Loans team members gathered at Walled Lake Northern High School to participate in the 16^th Annual Julie Run, a benefit run to support the Open Door Outreach Center in Waterford, Michigan.  There were two distances available for participants to choose from, a 5K (3.1 miles) and a 10K (6.2 miles).

We were running for a noble cause, The Open Door Outreach Center provides emergency services to families in need, such as food, clothing and referral services for emergency-related transportation and medical needs.  The run is named after Open Door trustee Julie LeBlanc who has been organizing this event for the past 19 years.

Along with the leisurely runners and walkers at the event, the day was also a competition between friendly rivals - Tony Nuckolls of Quicken Loans and Pat McInnis of Fathead -going head to head in the race for the second year in a row.  As team members arrived and registered for the event they also chose if they wanted to run for Team Pat or Team Tony.  Racers went to the starting positions and as soon as the starting pistol fired the race was on!

Runners started off strong running down the driveway of the high school and into the surrounding neighborhoods.  Each runner had a plastic tab clipped to their shoe that tracked their pace and made sure they stayed on course as they passed race checkpoints.  Soon runners started streaming back to the high school to finish the race.  The very first person completed the 5K race with an impressive time of 17:41.0 which is an average pace of 5:42 a mile.  Putting that run in perspective, the world record for the 5K race was recently run by Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics at a time of 12:57.82.

As the race concluded and runners crossed the finished line, they were greeted by the cheers of spectators offering complimentary water, fruit and ice cream sandwiches.  When every runner had returned and crossed the finished line, times were announced and trophies and medals were awarded.

The first annual Quicken Loans Chili Cook-off was also held in support of Open Door Outreach Center and was the precursor to the inter-office competition.  The cook-off featured over 14 contestants anxious to share their best crock pot of chili while other team members tasted and voted on the best chili for a donation of $5.

To See More Pictures From the Run: Click Here! 

Team Members Run Times

Male

Steve Marcero  - 5K Run

                Time:  19:02.1

Kevin LeBlanc  - 5K Run

                Time:  19:59.1

Jaime Rasmussen  - 5K Run

                Time: 20:31.5

Tony Nuckolls  - 5K Run

                Time: 26:25.0

Pat McInnis  - 5K Run

                Time: 31:10.3

Jason Freeman  - 5K Run

                Time:  48:13.4

Female

Allison Snell  - 5K Run

                Time:  25:54.1

Kelli Surma - 5K Run

                Time: 33:05.4

Summer Khoury  - 5K Run

                Time: 27:18.0

Angela Cini  - 5K Run

                Time: 33:28.5

Tabitha Treber - 5K Run

                Time: 47:20.3

Dana Gold -10K Run

                Time: 56:53.3

Jessica Kangas - 10K Run

                Time: 59:55.0

By Chase Woolner

Quicken Loans experienced an effect of global warming on Monday, June 15th.  Team members at Quicken Loans and Fathead witnessed their conference rooms, known as the Alaska rooms, become the hottest, spiciest place in their world!  The First Annual Quicken Loans Chili Cook-off took place featuring over 14 contestants anxious to share their best crock pot of chili. The event was a fundraiser to support Open Door Outreach, which provides emergency services to families in need, such as food, clothing and referral services for emergency-related transportation and medical needs.

At each table there were three to four crock-pots of chili alongside a spread of various toppings such as cheese, sour cream, onions, and corn chips.  The really tasty chips were donated by Michigan-based Garden Fresh Gourmet.

One of the most universal and time-honored family activities is the sharing of food and recipes.  Many of the entrants had their own personal story behind their chili submissions ranging from “I made it this morning…” to “This recipe has been in my family for generations.”  One of those stories came from team member George Milian who entered a recipe that was passed down from his grandfather and had previously been a winner at a Ford Company Chili Cook-off.  The Chili recipes were collected to put into the Community Diff cookbook that is being created for future fundraisers.

Thanks to the number of entries, the chilies varied in texture, color, ingredients, and most importantly -- taste.  Chili samples from each of the contestants were judged by Vice President of Mortgage Banking, Tony Nuckolls, and Rannie Bawab, a President’s Club Banker. The two sat at a center table and judged each of the chilies on texture and overall flavor.  The First Place winner had their choice of tickets to the Target Fireworks Party in Detroit or the opportunity to enjoy a Tigers game in a luxury suite at Comerica Park.  Our judges struggled over who would be the top place winner…they debated numerous times until they were told they could pick a second place winner.  The Second Place winner would receive tickets to the event not chosen by the First Place winner.

Voting was also open to team members who came to enjoy the chili tasting and cast their votes for the People’s Choice Award.  Some chili-goers were creating their own nacho-inspired chili dishes with the Garden Fresh chips and their favorite chili…not bad for a $5.00 donation!  Each voter received a raffle ticket that they could use to vote for their favorite contestant’s chili. The winner of the People’s Choice received a Wolfgang Puck cookbook and cookware.

First Place Chili  -  Awarded to Bruce Schwartz
People’s Choice -  Awarded to A.J. Galgou
Second Place Chili -  Awarded to Doug Gartley

A special “Thank You” goes to all of the contestants, those who donated to the event, Garden Fresh, and our judges who endured the heartburn.

    To See More Pictures: Click Here!