Christmas at GTE

It's funny to think back on how things used to be.

When I first started at GTE in the 1990's, there was not any political correctness. Each year, we had a great Christmas party. They would be at Temple Terrace country club. There was a band, plenty of food, and an open bar.

That lasted a few years. As the years went along, we would be taken to a nice restaurant where everyone would receive a nice gift.

After the GTE/Bell Atlantic merger which formed Verizon, the days of the fun Christmas events became a thing of the past.

First, we could not use the word 'Christmas' and second the budget was severely cut. So, we had to make adjustments.

No more Country Club buffets. At first, the department would supply the turkey to our "Holiday Celebration" and we would bring the sides, to eventually ...

Employees just got together and brought in their favorite food and we just met in the conference room.

But the food was good and we still had our "Christmas" memories.