We’re teammates—with each other, with our partners, and with everyone in our community.

Part of being a great teammate is recognizing your team for all their hard work and how it’s contributed to your own successes. At LeagueApps, we’re lucky to have a formalized process where we give our teammates shoutouts every week during All Hands. 

On Thursdays from 4:40-4:55pm, we each take a moment to reflect on the week before and recognize our peers who have demonstrated one or more of our company values that week. We’re specific in shouting out these peers and thanking them for how their work has helped us be successful in our own work. This keeps us all connected while navigating a hybrid work environment across multiple states, while simultaneously reminding us that without a team, there is no success. 

Brain Litvack has described this time as “his favorite moment of each week.”

The employees who embody our values the most that year are named SPORTSDOG Award recipients during our annual ceremony, based on a company-wide vote. So far on the blog, we’ve recognized the winners of Sportsmanship, Passion, Openness, and Results. This month, we’re spotlighting Onki Yeung, a Customer Support Specialist and Craig McGinn, Director of the Events Team, for the value Team.

Team SPORTSDOG Award Winner: Onki Yeung

Being a team player is crucial in any department LeagueApps, but it’s especially important on the Customer Support team because you are working with so many different people from different places. The work Onki does ensures the success of not only her internal teammates, but our partners, too—and she sees each and every one of them as part of her own team. As Onki’s boss Taylor Collins puts it, “it’s very clear that Onki is Team LeagueApps, but i can definitely say that we’re all team Onki.” 

Onki always considers the feelings of her team—always checking in to make sure things are going well both professionally and personally. During our annual offsite last summer (OTAs), one of her teammates was unable to attend, so Onki coordinated her team to send her a gift basket to thank her for keeping an eye on the support queue while the rest of the team was busy with the offsite. Her thoughtfulness toward the team often has her teammates in awe and it really helps them remain a tight knit group, despite being remote. But that’s just the start—there are many stories like that about Onki, says Taylor. 

Here’s more of what Onki’s colleagues had to say about her:

“The joy and passion she has for her partners is infectious. She is a real team player,” says Jared Cooper.

“Onki doesn’t just help out when she can, she goes out of her way to find opportunities to be a good teammate,” says Katie Ringel.

“She is very driven and focused, but most importantly has such a supportive and helpful attitude. I can tell that she is so passionate about not just her work, but about the people she works with,” says Alisa Bajramovic.

“Team means really taking personal responsibility for the welfare of the group and Onki really exhibits that each day. She’s always checking on us, her teammates, seeing how we’re doing. She’s always pushing us to be better and helping us stay connected by organizing events and activities for the CS team so we can all stay connected. And of course at the end of the day she’s fun to work with,” says Taylor Collins.

There may be no I in team, but there is certainly an Onki and for that we are all grateful.

Team SPORTSDOG Award Winner: Craig McGinn

If you’ve ever attended an event in sports—like a tournament, fundraiser, or expo—you know it would not be possible without a team of hardworking individuals who all have the same goal in mind. Craig McGinn is the director of our events team, and he makes all of our events possible by leading and rallying the team in a way that pushes everyone toward our common goal.

During the LeagueApps Play Forever Tour in October, Craig kept the team positive, focused, and motivated during a series of back to back partner visits, events, and long days of traveling. Having a “captain” like Craig is what allows others to do their job better and remain motivated in the face of adversity. 

John “Tex” Lechner, who is on the events team with Craig and describes him as a “top lad, true champion” recalls that before Craig was even on the events team, he always checked in with Tex before and after events. He would ask if there was anything he could do to help, any insight he could provide, or any advice he could offer before wishing Tex good luck before leaving and checking in on him when he got back. He will say yes to helping in any way, even if it’s seemingly “beneath” his stature at this stage of his career, says Tex. 

Here’s more of what Craig’s colleagues had to say about him:

“Craig is an incredible team player, rallying the team across departments to get the work done and deliver results,” says Adam Berrey.

“Craig has done everything asked of him and more, as he has navigated challenging project after project,” says Bharat Chopra.

“Craig has been part of several teams and is always focusing on the team goal and what he can do individually to drive results for other members of the team,” says Paul Cusick.

“Craig is someone you can always count on to be there when needed. He is the consummate professional. And he exemplifies all the qualities of a great teammate like being selfless, humble, scrappy, innovative, hardworking, and sincere,” says Mark Yosowitz. 

Why Our Team Values Matter

Having annual SPORTSDOG Awards—as well as weekly shoutouts that highlight a team value—allows us to hold ourselves accountable as members of the LeagueApps team and truly live our company values each and every day we go to work. Stay tuned for next month’s SPORTSDOG Award spotlight: the winner of Student of the Game.

Do you think you embody the value of Team as well as Onki and Craig do? Be sure to take a look at our open positions to find your fit at LeagueApps.