The University of Tennessee's President John Petersen 's office found a creative way to thank employees for their service to the university Wednesday.

The Lady Volunteer’s Softball team hosted Tennessee Tech at home game in their new stadium Wednesday, March 5 at 6 p.m. The event was free to any employees of the University.

I was really excited about the turnout. We used almost all the tickets we had and I think the evening went really well Ellie Amador

Not only did employees receive free entrance to the game, they got a dinner coupon for the concession stand, raffle tickets to win seats for the Olympic softball game and a free mug full of hot chocolate to stay warm at the chilly evening game.

Between each inning, the President’s and athletics offices paired up to create fun ways to involve the crowd. They threw cracker jacks to the stands at each homerun, hosted a fast pitch contest, and pulled names from the raffle.

 The range of employees who attended went from professors to maintenance men. Many employees brought their families or other friends with them. Even a past university president made an appearance.

Each employee was greeted at the entrance to the game by the President’s staff.

Since the the President was unable to be there, he delivered a short welcome speech to the audience through a video. 

Ellie Amador, a Public Relations coordinator for the President’s staff said,

“I was really excited about the turnout. We used almost all the tickets we had and I think the evening went really well.”

The President’s staff were not the only ones pleased with the outcome of the game. The Lady Vols went home with a 1-0 win over Tennessee Tech.