UPF takes Polar Plunge for Special Olympics
Managers from the Uranium Processing Facility raised nearly $9,000 for Special Olympics Tennessee by leaping into ice cold water on Feb. 27 as part of the Polar Plunge, an annual fundraising effort.
UPF was the top fundraising team in Knoxville, contributing 45 percent of the total amount raised in the city, and four UPF managers — Aaron Love, Tony Giordano, Matt Nuckols and Jim Sowers — were the top individual fundraisers. Other UPF participants were Bob Bentley, Mark Braccia, Joe Brown, Jesse Jones, Mike Pratt and Bryan Roberts.
Nominees collect donations to determine who will take the Polar Plunge, a leap into the University of Tennessee’s outdoor swimming pool. At UPF, it was a hotly contested race until the polls closed on Feb. 25. Ultimately, Deputy Engineering Manager Aaron Love edged out Deputy Project Manager Tony Giordano for the top spot by a mere two votes, raising $1,857.
“Thanks to good-natured competition and the generosity of UPF personnel, we led the city in fundraising for this great cause,” said NextGen president Amit Patel.
NextGen is an employee resource group focused on supporting the orientation, development, retention and empowerment of employees as they begin and build their careers.