June 13 is World Softball Day, and what better way to celebrate than to showcase the Richmond Timmons Group Theodolites!
One of the core values I appreciate the most here at Timmons Group our constant drive to maintain a healthy work-life balance. We work hard, we play hard—And that is certainly true of the company’s co-ed slow pitch softball team, the Timmons Group Theodolites. Why Theodolites? I like alliteration and a theodolite is a traditional survey instrument, which is a nice homage to the company’s history!
Seventeen years ago, I started my career with Timmons Group, and I joined the softball team shortly thereafter in an effort to get to know more of my coworkers and bond outside of the office. The team plays in a local league comprised of AEC companies. Some of those years, the team was good. A few times, we were great as evidenced by the plaques hanging on the wall in a Richmond office conference room. One year, I really thought we wouldn’t win a single game. But through it all, we often gathered after a lighthearted softball game in the parking lot for some cold refreshments and peer to peer networking.
In that time, I have seen the mantle of “coach” passed down several times, and after years of playfully dodging that responsibility, it fell on my shoulders several years ago. Understandably, there are some challenges in coaching a team, particularly coordinating who would join us for the week’s game!
Over time, the roster grew, and the team gelled into the juggernaut that we are now—Three-time champs, back to back to back and in the playoff championship game five out of the last six years. Apparently, the more you win the more interest there is in the team! Now we have a roster that boasts participation from a large variety of groups and divisions within the company, even pulling people from other local offices from time to time to play ball!
Without a doubt, my greatest satisfaction as the team’s coach is watching the Theodolites come together outside of the office over memorable moments. Whether it is a big homerun, someone’s first base hit, a slide into 3rd base, or an exceptional fielding play, the whole squad celebrates. Errors and miscues are shaken off with encouragement and positivity (although they may result in good natured teasing later on). More than a few K’s have been left at individual’s desks the day following games for striking out. And nowhere is that camaraderie more evident than in the softball team’s Microsoft Teams group chat, which has become a bastion of pregame talk, post-game memes celebrating our successes and memorializing our bloopers, as well as a repository for the latest gossip from around the league.
We wouldn’t be where we are today without the support of our diehard fans! From colleagues to friends and clients to family members, Theodolite fans come from all walks of life. Richmond’s Mayor Stoney has even attended several games over the years to cheer on Timmons Group! But nobody’s cheers mean more than those of the future Theodolites who come out to support the team.
If you’re into softball and general good old out of office shenanigans, let us know! Beyond Timmons Group’s Theodolites, the firm offers many extracurricular activities, including volleyball, happy hours, and team outings.
And who knows, maybe next year we will have enough interest for two teams—Timmons Group v. Timmons Group? The Theodolites versus… The Thalwegs? (Ask the folks in Environmental what that means!)
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