At first read you may think “Pickle Pizza?” Gross! But “Pickle Pizza” is not the name of a new creation from your local or national pizza place, it is what we call Wednesdays at Fresh – a day when we order PIZZA from Papa Johns and play the beloved game of PICKLEBALL outside our offices in the parking lot.

As a recent hire as business development manager “Pickle Pizza” is one of the many things I love about working at Fresh. I don’t know about you but when the smell of pizza fills the office, work gets quickly pushed aside and everyone congregates around the pizza. It is always a good time to catch up on the latest about our clients, and of course, kids, family, and fun stuff outside. The pizza typically does not last too long – you snooze you lose. I usually have to remind one of our consultants who is way too into his work, listening to Dave Mathews on his iPod. He has totally missed out on pizza before.

As soon as the pizza is gone we race outside to play pickleball. This is not playing pickle mind you, this is a game with paddles and a wiffle ball, and is a mash up of badminton, tennis, and ping pong. Our team usually comes back from playing this competitive game having worked off most of the pizza, a little sweaty but rejuvenated, ready to work hard the rest of the day. Some of you may not know this, but our very own Washington state is the home of pickleball. Invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, the first known pickleball tournament in the world was held in 1976 at the South Center Athletic Club in Tukwila, Washington. Indeed we take pride in our home state’s pivotal role in bringing pickleball to the masses, and to Fresh.

Get to know us. We’d love to get to know you. Follow us on Twitter , join us on Facebook or LinkedIn. Oh, and if you are in Bellevue on Wednesdays, swing on by, we’d love to see you at “Pickle Pizza.”