The Importance of Copyediting and Proofreading
February 27, 2024
7th Annual Marathon Chili Cookoff, MASS & MCTS Fall Event
November 2, 2017, the air at Marathon HQ was filled with the warm and wonderful smell of chili cooking. Not just one pot or two…but ELEVEN crockpots full of various recipes ranging from hot & fiery to smoky sweet. It was our annual event known as the Fall Chili Cookoff paired with our internal training events known as MASS (Marathon Advisory Services Session) & MCTS (Marathon Consulting Technical Session). It was a feast for our stomachs and minds alike.
Over the past 7 years, we have had anywhere from 5 to 15 chili entries as Marathon employees bring their best recipes to the table to be tasted and judged. We’ve had winners that held the crown for a few seasons before being knocked down by newcomers, and each year it’s an exciting challenge to decide who will be the king or queen of the chili. This year was no exception, as almost everyone agreed it was the hardest group of chili to vote for yet; they were all so delicious!
During the chili sampling, we also enjoyed a great MASS talk from Jen Gillespie on the history of data visualization, what it looks like today and how we can help our clients in understanding and using their data to bring more value to their businesses.
While votes were being cast for the best of the chili, Erin Mullinax gave us some insight into the importance of information architecture, usability testing, and how to create a user experience strategy for your business with the right tactics.
Post presentation, with the final votes in, our 2017 winners were announced:
- Best Overall Chili – Jason Vickers
- Most Original Chili – Matt Sargent 3-time winner
- Spiciest Chili – Ben Cawrse 2-time winner
Congratulations to our victors! And we’d also like to give a big thank you the rest of our team who shared their delicious recipes in the cookoff:
- Scott Clevenger
- Eric Wilkinson 2-time winner
- Katie Keene
- Erin Mullinax
- Koren Pandelakis – 3-time winner
- Tom Marsden – 3-time winner
- John Hadzima
We are looking forward to next year!
Additional Photos
Erin is a UX Architect and Team Lead at Marathon Consulting. Her background is in photography, travel, marketing, art, and engineering. Erin is responsible for all aspects of User Experience from user data analysis and testing, creation of personas, user journeys and information architecture, to wireframing, prototyping and design. She also works closely with developers to ensure all final deliverables are in line with the overall vision of the project. Erin is passionate about creating the best user experience possible for each web or application project, learning new methodologies to improve the UX processes on her team, and sharing her knowledge with others. In her free time she enjoys playing online RPGs, macro photography, and landscaping.