One of the greatest joys of working at SeaWorld San Antonio is participating in the outreach events that are available to team members. Knowing that actions speak louder than words, I find that reaching out is very rewarding.

Most people take their summer vacation in the summer. That would make sense as it is the time when our parks are at their fullest. But what about those of us who work at a theme park? Our job is to work when other people play. So we play when other people are too cold to. Where do we go? What do we do? I posed that question to five of our bloggers. (Chris Jordan, Katie Preuss, Jennifer Pue, Traci Lewand, and Myself)

We are starting a new series where on random Tuesdays we introduce you to a Team Member highlighted for the outstanding work they do here at SeaWorld San Antonio. First off, we’ll introduce you to the Team Members that won awards at our Annual Awards Banquet.

Rookie of the Year Award Winner: Jose Lara - This award recognizes a Team Member who makes a positive impact during their first year.

2011 has begun and it is in full swing. If you happen to be one of the people who made a new year’s resolution, but are having trouble keeping it, why don’t you try a greener approach to the New Year? There are several ways to be more environmentally conscious. Many ways are small things that you can do every day. Take those small changes and help build a greener future!

The 1^st Annual Run for the Fund on October 2 was a huge success! A committee of representatives from the park met at least once a week for several months to plan the details of the event, and it was incredible to see the results of our hard work on the day of the race.

About two months ago I was contacted by an employee of the City of San Antonio who is also a member of the State of Texas Alliance for Recycling, or S.T.A.R., regarding a site visit to SeaWorld San Antonio. Working with him, I found out that there was a sustainability conference being held in San Antonio and the group was offering an outing to visit our park to see our conservation and recycling efforts.

At SeaWorld, our fellow employees aren't simply co-workers - we're team members. And as members of the same team, it's important for us to take care of each other and have fun in the process.

In that vein, here are a few photos of us doing just that - having fun and being a team!

(From top to bottom)

Kitchen Kooks - Our Park President and Vice Presidents took over Breakaway Cafe, our team member cafeteria, to serve breakfast and lunch.

First of all, let me just take a moment to say thanks to all of your wonderful stories about Paying It Forward over the holidays (Check out the comments on our PIF page).

Just because the holiday season has come to an end, doesn't mean holiday spirit doesn't linger on. SeaWorld San Antonio takes the opportunity to pay it forward to organizations regularly.

SeaWorld is a seasonal theme park. We closed January 3 and open again on February 27. This allows for the perception that we don't have much to do while the park is closed.

UPDATED: Our first hunt was last week and was won by Baroli from Twitter.