This spring, Human Kinetics was party central! We celebrated our 40th anniversary in style and in many ways. Leading up to the actual anniversary date of April 1, we shared stories and memories from long-serving staff, our early authors, and Rainer and Julie Martens. There was also a countdown of the 40 employees with the longest history here at HK. Employees enjoyed seeing the old pictures and hearing about the history of HK through the memories of those that created it.
On April 1, all employees received polo shirts to commemorate the 40th anniversary, and we hosted two ice cream parties—one for employees and one for friends, vendors, and business partners of Human Kinetics.
The subsidiaries in Europe, Australia, and Canada also found ways to join in the fun. They had ice cream socials and dressed up in ’70s attire to extend our celebration to our worldwide employees and clients.
The party didn’t stop there! Rainer and Julie returned home in May to host a family cookout for HKUSA employees and their families in the courtyard here at our Champaign headquarters. The celebration committee planned an evening of food, music, and games for all to enjoy. It was a perfect evening and a great way for us to celebrate with the man who started it all with his first employee.
“HK has come an incredibly long way since Rainer founded the company with the publishing of the proceedings from a sport psychology conference. The celebration allowed us to reflect on how far we have come, how much our business has changed, and the enormous contributions our staff have made through the years. Celebrating the anniversary with our staff and their families was a terrific way to mark the event,” said CEO Brian Holding.
Fortunately, the celebration was timed so that Rainer and Julie could also attend another long-standing tradition at Human Kinetics: the 23rd annual fund-raising race now known as the Not Your Average Joe Race. The race, held on May 10, attracted 707 participants and enabled HK to provide a record $15,000 to the three charities supported by the race. We had the second-highest number of participants (707) in the history of the event, just 16 below the record.
“The event, first known as the Twin Cities Twosome before changing to Not Your Average Joe in 2013, has now generated more than $150,000 over the past 23 years for the three charities: Center for Women in Transition, Crisis Nursery, and TIMES Center. Congratulations to all who helped make our 23rd annual event so successful,” said Holding.