June 8, 2021

The Saltwater Showdown

Our first-ever Saltwater Showdown made a big splash in St. Pete this past May. We safely gathered over 100 Power Design team members from across the country for three days packed with training, networking, and team building PLUS an epic fishing tournament on the Bay.

Training & Team Building

We’re always striving to develop the best teams in the business, and our amazing, in-house Learning & Development team made the most of our visiting teams’ time on the GRID.

Saltwater Showdown attendees were split into groups to attend six training sessions, aligned with our business objectives: sustainability, customer experience, operational excellence, and culture.

Our industry experts dove into hot topics like our integrated MEPS offerings, SmartSpaces, and supply chain, plus professional development topics including management, leadership, and delivering a plusONE customer experience.

This training equips our field leaders with tools and messages to deliver within their regional teams, ensuring consistency and quality on our jobsites nationwide.

Fishing & Fun

In true Power Design style, we had a lot of fun, too! We kicked things off with a rooftop welcome reception with amazing views of the Bay and hosted a ‘Captain’s Dinner’ the night before the fishing tournament.

The true thrill of the trip was a day full of fishing on the Bay. The tournament started bright and early as 31 boats arrived at the downtown docks and our Saltwater Showdown attendees geared up for a day on the water.

Cast after cast, teams fished to lure in the unique species of Tampa Bay, including redfish, snook, and even shark – which ended up being the biggest catch of the day by Superintendent David Garcia, measuring in at 60 inches. As the temperature heated up, so did the competition, staying neck-and-neck until the last second.

In the end, there were a total of 287 fish caught, and multiple teams who placed. But it was a team of fisherwomen – Project Manager Britney Cifers, Regional Credit Manager Taylor Evans, Communications Strategist Nicole Sutton, and Director of Project Budgeting and Risk Hilary Wedner – that reeled in first place, along with $10,000! Plus, a few teams even won money for incredible charities like SPCA and Epilepsy Foundation, by bringing home some large catches.

Special shout out and thank you to all of our partners who helped make Saltwater Showdown a huge success!

Check out the recap video: