More than 1,700 Cornell employees and their families celebrated Valentine's Day at the Employee Celebration community dinner, Feb. 14, in the Ramin Room, Bartels Hall.

Enjoying chicken parmesan, pasta, salad and Cornell Dairy Store ice cream before heading next door to cheer men's basketball to a victory over Dartmouth in double overtime, participants also had had the opportunity to attend a variety of campus and sports events throughout the day.

"I brought my family to the celebration, and we had a wonderful time," said Jamey Tielens, research analyst for the Laboratory of Ornithology. "We went to wrestling, gymnastics, track, the Johnson Museum, family swim and the dinner. My daughter loved every minute and is still carrying around the balloon animal a volunteer made for her."

"Thanks go to the many volunteer employees, Cornell Tradition students and students from Alpha Phi Omega, a national co-ed service fraternity, who helped make this event a great success," said Cheryl McGraw, manager for employee outreach and connections and coordinator of Employee Celebration Day. "I'd also like to thank those who sponsored the dinner and athletics admission, making it possible for so many in the Cornell community to attend: Cornell Catering, the Department of Athletics and Physical Education, the Division of Human Resources, Pepsi and Aetna."