Team Building / Groups find adventure through paintball, other activities

Toyota employees Rocco Benkoski, left, and Wanda Heu walk off the field after being eliminated from a paintball game during a team building paintball exercise at eXplore Brown County in Nashville, Ind., Wednesday, June 12, 2019. Mike Wolanin | The Republic

NASHVILLE — During a picturesque June afternoon at Explore Brown County, about 40 of Toyota’s top employees throughout its entire international company had a joyous celebration. In certain corners of the property, one could hear the roar of an ATVs engine or the squeaky wheel of a mountain bike as people explored the vast area of hiking trails.

On the 80 acres of paintball fields, paintball guns popped frequently due to air pressure as some employees battled each other in games of speedball, the most basic form of paintball, where the object was to splatter opponents with paint. The paintball guns and all the safety equipment always are issued by Explore Brown County. A Paintball referee gives a tutorial within a tent on how to properly operate all the equipment before the group heads to the paintball fields.

Later, the participants would divide into teams and play games that involved tasks, such as capture the flag. Overhead near the treetops, a third group of employees flew past on zip line tours.

Throughout the afternoon, one of Toyota’s head trainers, Akitoshi “Aki” Cato, smiled as he watched employees having fun and bonding through their adventures.

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“Toyota wanted to reward people who finished second in their division during a sales competition this fall,” Cato said, “The top finishers of each division will be going to Japan in the fall, but we also wanted to do something for the runners-up also because that’s a great accomplishment. People wanted to do different activities here, and everyone was excited to come and enjoy this reward.”

Local businesses have been rewarding Explore Brown County more frequently during the past year, taking a leap of faith due to Explore Brown County’s excellent reputation of providing safe and fun adventure for visitors.

“Our owner, Gary Bartels, loves to have companies do team building activities here,” veteran zipline manager Duron Bruce said. “Cummins comes here for team building, and so does Toyota. I think Angie’s List may have been our first big group. I think in the past year we have had more groups here than we’ve ever had.”

Fear can be a great motivator in life, especially during activities like skydiving. Although there is no skydiving available at Explore Brown County, there is an unforgettable and safe experience one can have, if one has faith and a sense of adventure and faith in their zip line guide’s 40 hours of training.

“There’s nothing that builds camaraderie like our Leap of Faith zip line, especially with a group.” Bruce said. “You have to have some experience with our zip lines first to do the Leap of Faith and weigh between 50 and 270 pounds.”

Meet those two requirements, and participants won’t be weighed down by safety concerns and be able to enjoy the ride.

The experience begins with a short nature hike before it morphs into a 2 1/2-hour thrill ride that encompasses five different zip lines, a total of about 2,500 feet long. Participants can safely glide from treetop to treetop to totem pole before jumping off a 45-foot Leap of Faith bridge onto a landing mat with a tremendous rush of accomplishment.

Even if people just want to sit and take in the nature within an area the Delaware Indians once roamed, the experience can be unforgettable.

“I’ve never been here before,” Cato said. “It’s nice to be able to get out of the office, enjoy nature and watch Toyota employees having fun. Explore Brown County is a beautiful place.”