The field day was the third for TSYS’ United way campaign, and the second it had the sumo match. two at a time, six pairs of executives squared off on mats. The tan padded suits weighed about 50 pounds apiece.
The president of TSYS, Troy Woods, watched the sumo matches from the sidelines.
“I’m glad it’s them and not me,” Woods said.
Blake Barker, who works at TSYS’ north campus, took the 2011 sumo wrestling crown. he defeated reigning champion Allen Pettis, who works at the main campus. Pettis said before the match that the American Red Cross is his personal favorite of the United way agencies, because his daughter Bailey needed blood at her birth. Born prematurely, she’s now 14.
After he took the crown — actually a plastic gold-plated belt — Barker said training at the gym and eating a Granny Smith apple helped give him the edge.
“It feels great,” Barker, sipping water, said after his win.
Local United way CEO Scott Ferguson was also on site Tuesday.
“Sumo is a TSYS exclusive,” he said. “we might set up a circuit next year.”
At TSYS, a chairperson and co-chairperson oversee the company’s annual effort.
Marc Spano is this year’s chairman and Tami Carver-Mathis is the co-chair. For the sumo wrestling matches, Spano rang the gong signaling each round.
He said he practiced several times in his office. “It’s a lot of power,” he said.
At its first report meeting of the year in early October, United way reported it’s 28.6 percent toward its $6.6 million goal. The next report meeting is Friday.
On Thursday, 14 high school juniors and seniors will kick off their own campaign. Pre-selected by essays, the Youth Council will meet every other month. like adults in the regular campaign, they will allocate where their collected funds go.
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