With 43 employees joining DMC since May, this summer has been packed with opportunities to celebrate. Across the country, teams gathered to introduce newcomers to their coworkers, communities, and company culture. Take a look at how our offices welcomed their newest teammates this season.

Welcoming New Hires

DMC places a strong emphasis on onboarding and helping every new employee have their “Best First Day” (BFD). From day one, anyone joining the company can expect a fully prepared workspace, a ready-to-go laptop, an activated key card, and a lunch hosted in their honor.

But the celebration doesn’t stop there, because each employee is also welcomed with a team event designed to help them get to know their colleagues and city. Think escape rooms, happy hours, and city tours; offering new team members an opportunity to build connections from the start while experiencing the fun, community-focused culture that makes DMC unique.

Exploring Architecture in Chicago

In July, members of DMC’s Chicago team took the world-renowned Chicago Architecture Boat Tour. The boat tour starts at the end of the river that opens into Lake Michigan. From there, it travels up the Chicago River while a tour guide points to famous buildings along the riverfront, explaining the year in which they were constructed, their architectural style, architect, and historical significance.

The tour began near the mouth of the Chicago River, where it meets Lake Michigan. From there, the boat traveled along the river as the guide highlighted some of the city’s most iconic buildings, sharing details about when they were constructed, the architectural styles they represent, the architects who designed them, and their historical significance.

The eras of the buildings run the gamut with some dating to the early 20th Century, like the Wrigley Building, and others built much more recently, like the sleek Apple Store Building sitting in front of the Tribune Tower. There are always a handful of historical facts that stand out on each tour, and each DMC Chicago team member, especially those new to the city, had their own takeaway:

Axe Throwing in Denver

Denver found a unique way to welcome one of its newest engineers, Jaron O’Grady, to the team when the office headed to an axe-throwing venue. “We were divided into two teams and competed against each other,” Julia explained. “It was tied most of the time!”

Teammates took turns hurling axes at targets, with points awarded based on accuracy. While everyone had their moments of success, no one on the Denver team will be quitting their day job to become a professional axe thrower anytime soon.

The group also had the chance to try throwing knives, and opinions were evenly split on which activity was more fun. Whatever the preference, the event gave the team a memorable way to spend time together outside the office getting to know Jaron.

A Tiki-Themed Party in Cincinnati

In Cincinnati, the team also took a boat tour, swapping architecture for a tiki theme complete with drinks, music, team bonding, and, of course, Hawaiian shirts. The Cincinnati office wanted to do something original to welcome Rob Orr, who joined the Automation team.

“Everyone got in the spirit! Almost everyone had floral or island-themed shirts, and the boat offered leis and hats, too,” Dylan remembered about the day. The boat took the team up the Ohio River, approaching downtown. They got to see views of the Cincinnati skyline and stopped for food at a waterside restaurant on the way back.

Hiring Continues This Fall

From architecture cruises and axe-throwing competitions to tiki boat tours on the Ohio River, each welcome party reflected the unique personality of its local office while sharing the same goal: helping new hires build connections from day one. As DMC continues to grow, employee connection remains an important part of what makes our culture special.

Looking ahead, we’re continuing this hiring momentum. In the fall, DMC will be traveling to career fairs and events across the country to meet the next generation of engineers. These events are a great chance to connect with talented students and discuss professional opportunities that define a career at DMC from day one.

Whether we’re welcoming new teammates at a local office event or meeting aspiring engineers on campus, we’re always looking for talented people who are eager to learn, grow, and have fun along the way. We can’t wait to see who the guest of honor at the next welcome party will be.

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But this summer, we’ve been brought together virtually and otherwise through the 2026 FIFA World Cup! From office watch parties to stadium visits, World Cup fever has spread throughout DMC, allowing us to celebrate together even when we can’t be together in person.  

2026 FIFA World Cup

The 23^rd FIFA World Cup has been a cultural phenomenon throughout North America, with the rest of the world watching. There have been unexpected cross-cultural exchanges, player stories, and incredible matches that have all contributed to this tournament setting the record for the highest cumulative attendance in World Cup history.

Cultures Meet

Matches were hosted in a total of 16 cities. 11 in the United States, 3 in Mexico, and 2 in Canada. It’s the first time since 2002 that the World Cup has been hosted by multiple nations, and the spread across cities in North America has led to some vibrant cultural mixes: Scotland’s “Tartan Army” in Boston, Algeria’s National Team in Lawrence, Kansas, English fans in Mexico City, and Norway fans at a Mets game, to name a few.

New Rules Introduced

The 2026 World Cup also introduced several new rules, including faster substitutions, mandatory water breaks, and video reviews. Here’s a full breakdown of some of the new rules we’ve seen this year on the field:

• 10-second substitutions: Players being substituted have 10 seconds to exit the field. This is meant to decrease time-wasting during gameplay. If the player does not exit the field quickly enough, the sub must wait for one minute before entering the match.
• Medical treatment: A player who receives on-field medical attention must leave the field and wait for 1 minute before returning.
• Expanded video assistant referee (VAR): VAR can now review and reverse incorrectly awarded corner kicks, certain attacking fouls, and erroneous red cards issued following a second yellow card.
• Red Cards for Mouth Covering: Referees can issue a red card or send off players who cover their mouths with their hand, arm, or shirt to conceal insulting language when confronting an opponent.
• Tie-Break Criteria: Head-to-head results now serve as the first tiebreaker, replacing overall goal difference.
• Hydration Breaks: FIFA introduced mandatory three-minute hydration breaks in every half of a match.

Messi to Mbappé

The games themselves throughout the tournament were noteworthy. Some fascinating numbers include 14 red cards given and 297 goals scored, and a record 10 African teams competed, with 9 advancing. Pop Quiz: Can you guess which four countries received their first World Cup points? Canada, Qatar, Curaçao, and Cape Verde.

Individual players experienced their own milestones, too. Erling Haaland dazzled fans with his scoring versatility as the only player to score with his left foot, right foot, and head, as well as inside and outside the penalty box. Gilberto Mora set the record for youngest player starting in the tournament when he stepped out onto the pitch representing Mexico in the Mexico/South Africa game. Soccer stars Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi set their own impressive records. Mbappé recorded eight match-winning goals, and Messi set the all-time World Cup record of 21 goals.

DMC Gets in the Game

DMC team members across the country also joined in the World Cup fun, participating in after-work events, trips to games, and even some office watch parties. Kandra DiNuzzo from the DMC Chicago office made a harrowing journey to St. Louise to catch the Colombia vs. Ghana game. Colombia advanced, beating Ghana 1-0, and went on to face Switzerland in round 16.

Jason Mayes, from the Dallas office, caught a couple of games with his family, and luckily, they didn’t have to travel far. They spent a day at NRG Stadium in Houston watching Cape Verde vs. Saudi Arabia, and in Arlington for the Australia vs. Egypt game. He and his sons even snapped some memorable shots of the penalty kicks at the end of the Australia/Egypt game.

Ryan Knudten from the Chicago office traveled the farthest to see the World Cup. He flew to Oakland, California for USA vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina at Levi’s Stadium. He said the highlight of his time in Oakland was watching Malik Tillman’s free-kick goal: “We had a great view of it from where we were sitting, and everyone went nuts!”

He didn’t get much downtime after flying across the country for the USA game, however. After a quick nap, Ryan and his girlfriend hopped on another plane headed to LA for the Spain vs. Austria match at SoFi Stadium. Don’t worry, though, they had just enough time between back-to-back games to make the obligatory run to In-N-Out Burger.

Like Kandra, Jason Ims also made the trek to St. Louis to see Colombia face Ghana in the round of 32 knockout stage game. As a soccer fan since he was about five years old, Jason has a lifetime love for soccer. He and his three best friends jumped in a car and made the eight-hour drive, and when they arrived in St. Louis, they weren’t disappointed.

An Event Worth Celebrating

Whether we were cheering from the office, watching from home, or lucky enough to experience the action in person, the 2026 FIFA World Cup gave DMC employees another reason to connect. From record-setting performances on the field to unforgettable experiences in stadiums across North America, the tournament brought people together in the same way our favorite company events do. As the World Cup comes to a close, we’re already looking forward to the next opportunity to celebrate, compete, and make memories together.

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DMC’s night out at Casa Bonita.

The Denver office headed to the famous Casa Bonita in Lakewood, Colorado, with a few plus ones in tow. There was fantastic food, a plethora of performances, and, of course, camaraderie among teammates.

Why Casa Bonita?

Casa Bonita is a Mexican restaurant in Lakewood, Colorado, that opened in 1974. It was originally part of a chain of restaurants that started in Oklahoma City.

What’s so special about this Mexican restaurant, you might ask? Well, Casa Bonita is a highly immersive dining experience. Picture tableside magic shows, puppet theater, hidden rooms and explorable caves, arcade games, and a 30-foot indoor waterfall with cliff divers, and you’ll start to understand a fraction of the spectacle that is Casa Bonita.

Casa Bonita’s star has also risen in popular culture! In recent years, it was purchased and restored by “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. What began as a passion project turned into a roughly $50 million investment to revive the iconic restaurant, preserving a uniquely Colorado experience for future generations.

Max Domenech summed up the experience perfectly: “For those who know Casa Bonita, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not, no explanation will suffice.” And off to Casa Bonita the Denver team went.

The Crew

The team started throwing around the idea of going to Casa Bonita as an Activity Fund event back in 2022, but it wasn’t until this year that the Denver team was finally able to make that dream a reality. “We waited months to be able to get a reservation,” Andrew Williams noted.

But secure a reservation, they did!

When a spot opened on March 12^th, the team jumped on it, and 12 teammates headed to Casa Bonita for Thursday night dinner with friends and family.

First Impressions: Walking Into Another World

When you first arrive at Casa Bonita, one of the first things you notice is the building’s cotton-candy pink façade and iconic Spanish colonial-style bell tower. This appearance is completely intentional and meant to start the immersive experience before restaurant-goers ever step through the door.

But even the outside of the building has treasures hiding in plain sight.

At the very top of the iconic pink bell tower sits a 22-karat-gold dome and statue of Cuauhtémoc, the last Aztec emperor of Mexico. It’s such an iconic piece of architecture in Lakewood that the city designated the Casa Bonita building a historic landmark in 2015.

And that’s just the exterior. The immersive adventure really begins once you find your table.

Casa Bonita By the Numbers

We’ve covered the pink façade, the classic Mexican architecture, and the 22-karat gold dome, but Casa Bonita is a 52,000-square-foot restaurant with treasures galore. There are arcade games, performers, stunts, music, treasures, and caverns scattered throughout the restaurant—not to mention a 30-foot waterfall.

Let’s take a look at some of the impressive stats this restaurant puts up on a yearly basis:

The team walked into Casa Bonita for Thursday night dinner and was taken to a table large enough to accommodate a party of 12+. “Entering the building is like going into a different world. Our table was located in the caverns,” Andrew said, “complete with the sound of dripping water. We also passed a jungle area on the way to our table.” Casa Bonita creates an experience for diners the moment they walk through the front door, and it certainly doesn’t end when the food arrives at the table.

Every 15 minutes, restaurant-goers can expect to see cliff divers, sword fights, puppet shows, and magicians throughout their dining experience. “It’s an experience. Dinner is just an excuse to be there!” Andrew also added.

Once everyone got their fill of Mexican food, it was time to explore. The team spent plenty of time around the famous Casa Bonita pool and Acapulco-style cliffs, but they also explored the caves, a wishing well, and haunted trails.

Why Events Like This Matter at DMC

Experiences like this go far beyond the run-of-the-mill team dinner. Stepping away from project work and into a shared, unique experience gives DMC team members the chance to connect and enjoy each other’s company. Whether it’s watching cliff divers while taking a second helping of nachos or exploring hidden caverns after a puppet show, DMC after-work events help strengthen the relationships that carry into everyday work and allow us to crack a smile while solving a complex problem.

At DMC, collaboration is at the core of everything we do. Events like this create opportunities to build trust and communicate more openly. That foundation translates directly into stronger project teams, more effective problem-solving, and ultimately better outcomes for our clients.

Just as importantly, it reflects DMC’s culture. We take our work seriously, but we also recognize the value of having fun. A night at Casa Bonita is a reminder that great teams are built through genuine connection just as effectively as they’re built through sharing technical expertise.

We’ll let Julia Cherkasskaya have the last word: “Three hours flew by!”

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One of the ways that shows up? LEGO.

Read on to learn more about a special LEGO team-building activity at our Chicago office earlier this year, and how it reflects a culture that values fun, creativity, and collaboration just as much as technical excellence.

A Tradition Built Brick by Brick

LEGO-building isn’t just a one-off event at DMC, it’s a long-standing tradition. From team-wide builds where everyone tackles the same kit, to more technical LEGO exercises alongside NASA-related battery testing, LEGO-building activities have taken on many shapes over the years, blending creativity, collaboration, and technical curiosity in a way that feels uniquely “DMC.”

It has also been a way for DMC to engage with the broader community. Our offices have hosted FIRST LEGO League teams in the past, giving students a glimpse into engineering principles while giving DMC engineers the opportunity to mentor students interested in STEM careers.

Across all of these experiences, one thing is clear: LEGO is a big deal at DMC. So, when we welcomed Luke Horwath to the team this past winter, an engineering student who once competed on the show LEGO Masters, it felt like the perfect opportunity to make our 2026 LEGO activity something truly special.

2026 LEGO Activity

LEGO activities have become a favorite at DMC. Last year, the Chicago team built individual kits side by side, from classic art and Star Wars sets to Vespa models and botanical builds. Everyone chose a kit that matched their interests.

For 2026, DMC’s Recruiting Lead, Carly Bessinger, set out to try something new and teamed up with new hire and LEGO enthusiast Luke Horwath. His idea: a collaborative LEGO mosaic, where each person builds a section that comes together into one larger piece. “The inspiration came from my experiences at LEGO conventions,” Luke said.

The LEGO Master

Before appearing on LEGO Masters, Luke was already well known in the LEGO community. He showcased original builds at conventions, including 7-foot-tall roller coasters, a life-size working pinball machine and claw machine, and full LEGO cities. One of those events led to his casting on Season 5 of LEGO Masters, where he and his mother, Anne, became finalists and earned the Golden Brick along the way.

Creating the LEGO Mosaic Design

Cut to 2026, Luke got to work with Owen Johnson creating the mosaic concept, landing on the Chicago skyline as the inspiration for the design. Owen drafted a rendering, selecting colors to bring the skyline image to life. Then, Luke used Bricklink to match the colors in Owen’s design to available LEGO brick colors while sourcing the bricks.

“Owen spent so many hours coming up with an incredible design that leaned DMC and Chicago-centric. He came up with the final concept of the DMC logo integrated into the night skyline, which I thought was fantastic!”

Each dot in the rendering above represents a 1-by-1 LEGO piece. To accomplish the depth of color of the Chicago skyline at night, Owen leaned on a design “technique” you’ve probably seen before: dithering. From there, Owen’s engineering mindset really kicked in. We’ll just let him explain:

“The tiles we used on the mural are basically like pixels, just low color ‘bit depth’. I used standard image manipulation techniques: scaling (no interpolation mixed with cubic and linear for a balance of punchiness and smoothness), plus basic color and contrast adjustments. Each pixel was quantized to a single LEGO color using error-diffusion dithering, specifically Floyd–Steinberg. I used the web tool DitherIt with a custom palette of available LEGO colors. Luke also helped select colors that weren’t too expensive or hard to distinguish.”

He explored several different concepts before landing on the final design: the Chicago skyline at night featuring the DMC logo. Below are some early design ideas, including a galaxy mosaic and another skyline concept with DMC Easter eggs.

The Assembly

Once Owen and Luke completed the design and the logistics of the build, it was time to assemble the team. The LEGO activity had approximately 50 participants, and the 50-inch-square mosaic ended up including 26,000 LEGO bricks. For comparison, a 6-foot LEGO rollercoaster takes about 4,000 to 5,000 bricks.

Everyone who participated in the event was responsible for assembling one 5-inch-by-5-inch square. Each square had accompanying LEGO pieces that formed part of the mosaic. As Luke explained, “When you’re building your section, it doesn’t really look like anything up close—that probably means you’re doing it right if it just looks like a scattered mess!”

That made the final result even more satisfying.

50 Participants, 100 Hands, and 26,000 Bricks

When all 100 individual 5-inch by 5-inch sections finally clicked together at the end of the night, the team stepped back to see their work come to life. The result was an expertly designed LEGO picture of the Chicago skyline with the DMC logo floating above the buildings in the night sky. A striking visual built one small piece at a time.

While the mosaic itself was an impressive feat of creativity and engineering problem-solving, the true takeaway from the night went beyond the final product. The project required coordination, patience, and trust in a shared vision where no single piece made sense on its own.

That’s what made the outcome so meaningful.

Each participant contributed a small part, knowing it would only come together when combined with the work of others. In the end, the completed picture showcased what happens every day at DMC when team members collaborate, bring their unique strengths to the table, and build something bigger than themselves. At DMC, whether it’s a 26,000-brick mosaic or a complex engineering project, the same principle holds true. Great results come from teamwork, thoughtful problem-solving, and a shared commitment to getting it right.

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Find out more about the team’s fun night out on the town, DMC’s commitment to company culture, plus a few details about Ragtime’s award-winning revival.

The NYC Office’s Outing to the Theater

The show itself went off without a hitch, and the team sat back and watched Broadway stars like Joshua Henry, Caissie Levy, Brandon Uranowitz, and an ensemble cast trip the light fantastic. Everyone who attended the show had great things to say about the performances and production, “The show had so much talent! I was so excited to see Shaina Taub because I loved Suffs,” Megan added. For Leo Herman, the show’s staging really stood out: “I really enjoyed the staging—there was one part where the entire back of the stage opened up to reveal this huge space, and it was super cool!”

In true New York fashion, the nine team members hopped on the uptown 1 train after work to the Lincoln Center Complex. They stopped briefly at the theater’s pond to snap a picture (see if you can spot the DMCer who accidentally fell in). And then it was curtain call, and the team took their seats in the Vivian Beaumont Theater’s mezzanine. “The Lincoln Center is cool because it’s small and round, so you’re always pretty close to the action,” Megan Flynn remarked about the iconic venue.

The NYC office is no stranger to evenings out at the theater. At least once a year, they try to come together to see a show playing at one of the many theaters in New York. It just so happens Ragtime has received some real critical acclaim this time around, including a few Tony awards.

Ragtime

Ragtime is based on the 1974 book of the same name, written by E.L. Doctorow. Set in the early 20th century, it weaves together the stories of three distinct groups in the United States. African American life reflected through the story of Coalhouse Walker Jr., a talented Harlem musician. The white upper class represented by Mother, the matriarch of a prosperous family in New Rochelle, New York. And a story of the immigrant experience told through Tateh, a Jewish newcomer from Latvia. “We had no idea what to expect, but we all thought the show handled its themes very well,” Megan remembered about the production.

Alongside these fictional narratives, the musical also features prominent historical figures, including Harry Houdini, Booker T. Washington, J. P. Morgan, Henry Ford, Emma Goldman, and others.

The 2026 revival stars Caissie Levy as Mother, Joshua Henry as Coalhouse, and Brandon Uranowitz as Tateh, and was nominated for eleven Tony Awards, winning four, including Best Revival of a Musical. The cast even performed the show’s opening number at the 79th Tony Awards this year.

DMC’s Commitment to Culture

From catching the train together to taking in an award-winning performance, the NYC team’s night at Ragtime is a great example of how DMC team members make time for connection beyond the office. Events like these highlight the importance of building strong relationships across teams, creating shared experiences, and celebrating the vibrant cities where we work.

Whether it’s an evening on Broadway, a cake tasting, or a day of skiing, DMC’s commitment to company culture fosters collaboration, creativity, and camaraderie. And as this memorable night at the theater shows, sometimes the best way to strengthen a team is to enjoy something extraordinary together. And despite the little mishap, falling into the fountain before the show, Jackie still had a great time.

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New Faces at the Party

Naturally, our guests of honor and newest team members were in attendance, including: Systems Engineer Luke Horwath, IT team members RJ Hughes and Conor Mitchell, Annabel Tevonian from Recruiting, Kaitlyn Heistand from the Chicago Admin team, and me, Hannah Overhiser, the newest addition to the Marketing team.

The rest of the Chicago office came out in full force to put their skills to the test, and by the end of the evening, everyone walked away with a sense of accomplishment, new connections, and a favorite immersive game.

What Your Favorite Game Says About You

When I started at DMC, I was surprised that my packed onboarding schedule didn’t include a personality test of some kind. Yet, as I moved between different groups of DMCers at Activate throughout the evening, it became clear that different people naturally excelled at different games—revealing interesting aspects of each of our personalities.

It’s possible that DMC’s Spring 2026 new hires may have participated in personality tests without even knowing it. Find out which Activate game resonates with you in the descriptions below.

Laser

Laser is a tactical game requiring players to move quickly through a laser maze or shoot a series of targets with laser guns. Players successfully reach higher levels when they clear mazes and hit targets.

If Laser was your favorite Activate game, you likely have a flair for the dramatic and a love for being in the action. Beneath the excitement, though, you’re thoughtful and deliberate, watching closely and moving with purpose once you spring into action.

Key Traits: Dramatic, Thoughtful, Agile

Mega Grid

The Mega Grid room featured a floor with 500 touch-sensitive LED tiles and light-up buttons along the walls. As the floor tiles light up, players must step on or avoid certain tiles to complete levels in the game.

If Mega Grid was your favorite game at Activate, you are great at making the quickest and best decision when faced with multiple choices! Your ability to pick a direction and stick to it is your superpower, and others recognize your intuition and integrity.

Key Traits: Decisive, Collaborative, and Fast-acting

Pipes

Pipes is a game of collaboration. The room features 24 pipes with NeoPixel screens and touch-activated buttons. Players have 5 seconds to identify the correct pipe, toss the ball to their teammate, and put it in the correct portal.

If you liked Pipes, you’re an effective communicator, highly strategic, and agile. You’re good at making quick connections and finding the right person to help you achieve a task—a real team player.

Key Traits: Communicative, Strategic, Purposeful

Press

Press features a room full of light-up, interactive buttons. Players must collaborate to memorize color sequences, scan the room for the correct buttons, and press them all before time expires.

If you excelled at Press, you are detail-oriented, collaborative, and communicative. You are comfortable working in a group setting, sharing your ideas, but you also aren’t afraid to lead when the opportunity arises.

Key Traits: Detail-oriented, Collaborative, Discerning

Scan

Players interact with touch screens to move digital objects between portals. Progressing to higher levels requires matching the objects on each player’s screen with the objects shown on the room’s hub screen.

If Scan was your favorite game, you excel at creating order out of chaos. Highly organized and analytical, you spot connections others might miss and act decisively once the solution becomes clear.

Key Traits: Organized, Analytical, Quick-thinking

Strike

Players throw balls at targets as they appear on a wall-sized screen. As levels progress, the targets evolve in shape, size, and speed, challenging players’ reaction time and precision.

Players who gravitate toward Strike are fast, focused, and precise. Once you lock onto a goal, you don’t miss. You’re driven by determination and know exactly which steps to take to succeed.

Key Traits: Precise, Determined, Focused

Conclusion

During my interviews with DMC, I kept hearing how much the company values its culture. After just a month on the team, that commitment is already clear. The effort that goes into bringing people together is genuine, and the Activate Welcome Party was a perfect example of how DMC regularly invests in its culture, encouraging everyone to connect, experience something new, and, most importantly, have fun.

And if you’re wondering what my favorite Activate game was, it was Laser.

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Our adventure kicked off at Urban Family Brewing, a welcoming spot with a relaxed atmosphere. Its taps are constantly rotating, so there is always something new to sample. While Urban Family Brewing is known for sours, our favorite pour of the day was the Raccoon-Level Dexterity, a New England IPA. 

Next, we made our way to Wheelie Pop Brewing, a newer addition to Ballard’s brewery scene. Wheelie Pop favors crisp, clean beers like lager and pilsner. However, its Green Sector IPA was the crowd favorite from our team.  

We strolled through the neighborhood until we reached Reuben’s Brews. The family business has been brewing in Ballard since 2015. It offers a wide range of styles and has won many awards for its delicious brews. On this visit, we opted for the summery sour ale Fresh! Watermelon Lime. 

Our last stop was Stoup Brewing. Its founders have a background in chemistry and biology, so its beers balance science and art. You’ll find many lagers and IPAs on tap at Stoup Brewing, but we voted for the Wheat the Rich raspberry wheat. 

The Ballard Brewhaha was a fun way to step away from the office and connect as a team. From exploring the historic Ballard neighborhood to sampling its craft breweries, it was great to spend time together outside of the workday. What Seattle neighborhood should we check out next? 

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Team Huddle 

At DMC, we value having fun and sharing information, so it should come as no surprise that we chose a holiday party activity in the most democratic way possible.

Past favorites included a cooking class where everyone learned to make a component of a meal that we all then enjoyed together, and a glassblowing lesson where everyone in the office took home a handblown ornament.

This year, we all agreed to prioritize good food and a fun activity over a sit-down dinner. We narrowed our choices down to curling or an elevated game night, and game night won the coin toss.

Preparing the Field

To select the perfect venue for this event, we balanced a casual vibe with a space that would allow mingling, conversation, and the flexibility to accommodate various forms of gameplay. We ultimately settled on the Alibi Room, a speakeasy-style bar tucked into Seattle’s Gum Wall (if you know, you know) at Pike Place Market. This spot checked all the boxes with brews on tap, classy cocktails, and a selection of elevated comfort food—think Greek-inspired appetizers, Neapolitan-style pizzas, and fancy mac and cheese.

For games, we opted for some office favorites like One Night Werewolf, classics like Taboo, a mini Hook-and-Ring game, and even a Metagame where party guests won points for sneakily completing conversational challenges throughout the evening, like getting someone to show someone else a picture of their pet or having someone define random objects written on cards. Once a player completed a challenge without getting caught, they could enter their card in a raffle for the chance to win a prize. The field was set.

Game Night ≥ Game Day

The evening kicked off with appetizers as guests trickled in. We kept the bartender busy as the appetizers, salads, and mac and cheese made their appearance. The Hook-and-Ring game saw some action while half a dozen DMCers and their plus-ones played Taboo. The rest of us opted to mingle, drink, and nibble until the main course arrived.

Halftime Show

About halfway through the night, Dan Freve, DMC’s Chief Operating Officer and head of the Seattle office, gave a rousing speech reflecting on the growth of the Seattle office from a small team into one of the company’s largest offices outside of Chicago. He was followed by managers Steven Fuchs and Phil Schaffer, who thanked the team for their contributions throughout the year. We were also able to show one of our new hires how the Seattle office lives by one of DMC’s core values, Have Fun. The evening wound down with the announcement that Meghana Annamaneni had won the Metagame.

Fourth Quarter

The end of our time at the Alibi Room did not mean the end of the night. Many DMCers kept the party going at a local barcade, Jupiter Bar, for a different sort of game: Killer Queen. This strategy arcade game is a DMC tradition, played by up to 10 people on competing teams of 5.

This capped off the night with a bang, much like the annual DMC office holiday party caps off a productive year and gives us a moment to reflect on and celebrate our team’s outstanding work.

Holiday parties are just one of the things that make DMC a special place to work.

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Mountain Magic in Vermont 

Our East Coast outing brought together a group of 22 team members for a long weekend in Vermont, near Killington and Okemo. Colleagues traveled from Boston, New York, and even Texas to experience DMSkeast together. 

The attendees rented a house, which became the home base, allowing for more time to connect than shorter team events. “It’s great to be able to socialize over a longer period of time during big group games, meals, and downtime,” said Alex Huang, Project Engineer.  

Great ski conditions offered a variety of activities from downhill skiing to cross-country skiing and group hikes across the wintery setting. There was a variety of interests and skill levels among the group, so attendees always had company for an activity on or off the slopes. Whether you were experienced or trying out a new skill, you had someone to join you. 

Hitting the Slopes in Steamboat Springs 

Across the country, our West Coast ski trip brought together an even larger group to conquer Steamboat for DMSki. The 40 attendees, including DMC team members and their guests, rented a spacious house. It was a great setting for both organized meals and spontaneous hangouts.  

Although the snow conditions were not ideal, it didn’t slow anyone down. “We still skied, people just generally had to be a little bit more careful due to lack of snow,” said Gabby Martinez, Senior Project Engineer. Attendees adapted to the conditions and made the most of enjoying it together.  

Off the mountain, the group found plenty to do. Evenings were filled with group games and memorable moments like impromptu yoga sessions after a long day of skiing. While the weather didn’t completely cooperate, it created opportunities to connect and relax together off the ski run. 

Core Values from Base to Summit 

Traditions like DMSki and DMSkeast offer opportunities for team members to create memories together while doing something they enjoy outside of work. Whether shredding the mountain or cooking meals together, these events reinforce DMC core values like “have fun” and “make things happen.” Ski season may be winding down, but we’re already looking forward to the next opportunity to bring the team together—on or off the slopes. 

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Chicago’s annual Shamrock Shuffle returned this spring, and our DMC runners were back on the course. With the usual staples of green beer, shamrocks, leprechauns, and festive gear, the year’s race marked another chance for DMCers to come together and take part in one of the city’s most iconic events and, most importantly, demonstrate one of the company’s core values of having fun. 

With tens of thousands of runners participating, the pre-race meetup was important for the runners to talk race strategy, snap a team photo, and kick off this DMC tradition rooted in camaraderie. 

St. Patrick’s Day is one of those holidays where Chicago goes all in. The city dyes the river green, and large crowds brave the cold (or unseasonable warmth) to pack into their favorite pubs and gather across neighborhoods for parades. The Shamrock Shuffle is one of time‑honored St. Patrick’s Day traditions, one that looks very different today than it did when the race first kicked off in 1980.

DMC’s Shamrock Shuffle Tradition

Like the city of Chicago, DMC has its own history with the Shamrock Shuffle, dating back to 2005! (Look no further than Frank Riordan’s blog from 2009 to get a sense of this history.) Since that first year, the team has participated in one way or another—whether running together as a group, competing in friendly competition, or taking on the 4.97-mile course solo and improving their times with each stride. 

This spring, the newest generation of DMCers got into the race. Planning the event started with a Teams chat to gauge interest, and the group quickly grew. Come race day, 6 employees and 4 plus ones lined up at the starting line. 

“My mom was my +1!” remarked Rachel Hughes, who ran the Shamrock Shuffle for the first time this year. “We didn’t really train, but we wanted to see if we could go the distance at a steady pace.” Rachel’s mom isn’t a stranger to the 5-mile race, so she was the perfect running mate for pushing through to the finish line. 

Derek Tulla and Ramone Randle also ran this year. As a repeat runner, Derek set out to beat his previous time, “It’s sort of become a tradition…I ran with DMC last year and on my own the previous two years. 2026 was my second-best time.” 

Ramone also tackled the race, taking a technical approach to his training, “I trained for the race following a free guide posted on Reddit. It introduced me to uphill sprints, strides, and easy runs.” This training program allowed Ramone to drastically improve the distance he was able to run, “I was able to jog up to 7 miles when I was only running 3.5 miles at most before and I PR’d my pace!”  

Everyone this year reported that the chilly weather was perfect for running, and each pointed to a different favorite moment from race day. “The best part of the race was being able to enjoy the race with my mom and eating waffles afterward,” Rachel shared. For Ramone, it was running in the middle of some of Chicago’s major streets: “It’s not every day you can run in the middle of a downtown—it was like being in a movie or a video game.”

Suffice it to say, this year’s Shamrock Shuffle was a success, with the DMC team celebrating St. Patrick’s Day as only Chicagoans can. 

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