Like a great athlete who makes a sport look easy, great planning and leadership can make an event look like it happened all by itself.

Such was the case at Employee Celebration Day Nov. 1. More than 2,600 staff members, retirees, faculty and their families lined up in Barton Hall for a chicken barbecue or pasta Provençal dinner, served by volunteers and such senior administrators as Interim Provost David Harris and Vice President for Human Resources Mary George Opperman. Participants also attended a number of sporting events, including Cornell's Big Red football, field hockey, men's and women's soccer, women's ice hockey, and men's tennis. (The football game came down to the wire against Princeton, losing 31-26 as time expired on its final drive.)

In Barton, there were interactive displays by Cornell Police, ROTC Army, College of Veterinary Medicine, the Einaudi Center, Outdoor Education, Emergency Planning, the departments of astronomy and natural resources, Workforce Diversity, Equity and Life Quality and the Cornell Retirees Association. Face painting and balloon animals, offered by students from Cornell Tradition and several fraternities and sororities, entertained children, as did Crossroad Clown and the Big Red Bear. And the rousing sounds of the Cornell Marching Band brought everyone to their feet.

"A great committee organizes this day," said Cheryl McGraw, event coordinator for the Division of Human Resources. "They take on the leadership for whole pieces of the event and make it their own."

McGraw mentioned Katrina Blair, who coordinated compost volunteers; Kelly Chan, Academic Technical Support, coordinating student volunteers for children's activities; Joe DiMarco, Environmental Health and Safety, lining up the outdoor displays, including the fire truck; Judi Eastburn, Institute for the Social Sciences, coordinating the 150 volunteers who helped with the event; Scott Gruver, Athletics Marketing, student athletes; Gene Nighman, Athletic Ticket Office, ticket sales; Nancy Pagliaro, University Counsel's Office, catering and volunteer servers; Amy Stewart, Human Resource Development Services, transportation, displays and tickets; and Karen Williams, Gannett Health Services, ticket takers. From Human Resources, Kathee Shaff coordinated indoor displays, while Shannon Austic coordinated communications, set-up and decorations. Staff from the Department of Building Care, the Grounds Department, Transportation and Mail Services, Project Design and Construction, and Cornell Catering provided support services.

The event was sponsored by the Division of Human Resources, Department of Athletics and Physical Education, Cornell Catering and Pepsi.