Call us crazy, but we're not really into the word "team building."
It smells distinctly like something HR came up with. It seems to assume that you don’t have a team, or that you have one and you’re busy building it instead of doing what teams are supposed to do—which is win.
So, because words matter, we don’t have a “team building day” each year. No trust falls. No stale bagels. No laminated worksheets.
We have something far better.
It’s called Vision Day, and it’s everything you think it is and more.
The day began bright and early in the TwoTone Creative parking lot, where our enthusiastic and unsuspecting team gathered for an unknown adventure.
Jenny was wielding a megaphone. Kim was handing out backpacks. Chloe was frantically on the phone with the bus driver who couldn’t seem to find a group of 50 people in a parking lot.
But sure enough, the big yellow school bus did arrive, its side emblazoned with “CAMP TWOTONE.” And as we piled into the bus like a bunch of eager 6th graders, waivers were signed, names were called, trivia was played, and the bus pulled away from TwoTone HQ toward the great unknown.
Or—more specifically—toward Wildwood Hills Ranch. But “the great unknown” sounds more dramatic, and Vision Day is all about narrative flourish.
A Brief Note About Wildwood Hills Ranch
We love what Wildwood Hills Ranch does and what they stand for. Through Christ-centered programs, mentorship, and unforgettable experiences, they bring hope and healing to vulnerable children and families across Iowa. You can help fuel their mission by giving or by hosting your next retreat, meeting, or event at the Ranch.
We had an incredible day exploring everything they have to offer—and their team was simply amazing to work with. Special shoutout to Caitlin, Jimmy, and Taylor for hosting us and making this day one we will never forget.
When we arrived at Wildwood Hills Ranch, Ralph Waldo Emerson himself could not have described the scene.
Let’s just say, the lake sparkled next to fields of morning dew as the birds chirped serenely in these blissful morning hours.
…And then there was Jenny on the megaphone.
Our CEO understands the power of a moment. So as we approached the flagpole-ringed amphitheatre just a few weeks before America’s 250th anniversary, our red-blooded American hearts were treated to a sight and sound to behold.
The American flag billowed in the breeze as the soaring bright tenor of Jake Ferrell rang out through the morning air. As our voices rose to join him in that old camp classic, “This Land is Your Land,” the TwoTone Camp flags were hoisted alongside Old Glory.
There our whole team stood together in the morning sun, basking in patriotic reverie, ready for whatever the day would bring.
After the opening ceremony, the team made its way into the day’s activities. While some people headed for the thrills of horseback riding and high ropes, others headed toward archery, axe throwing, fishing, hiking, art, volleyball, cornhole, frisbee, and the general wilderness experience of trying to figure out where you are on a camp map.
Throughout the day, team members rotated through activities that brought out all kinds of hidden gifts.
- Some people discovered they are surprisingly accurate with an axe.
- Some discovered they are not.
- Some bonded with horses.
- Some bonded with the ground after dismounting.
- Some climbed high ropes with courage.
- Some climbed high ropes with prayer.
- Some fished patiently.
- Some hiked confidently.
- Some treated cornhole like a professional sport.
And through it all there was the Goodie Gator, always arriving at just the right moment.
Worn out after 3 games of ultimate frisbee? How about a Gatorade from the Goodie Gator?
Just overcame your fear of heights? Nice work! Here’s a Ring Pop.
About to take a walk in the woods? Here’s some tick spray….because the Goodie Gator has it all.
By lunchtime, we had earned our meal. The team gathered in the Dining Hall for a buffet-style lunch. Camp food never tasted so good.
There are moments in life when a meal is just a meal, but this was not one of those moments. This was the intentional pause between morning exploration and afternoon adventure, a moment to breathe, compare stories, rehydrate, and laugh about whatever just happened at the horse barn, realizing the day is only halfway done.
That’s the subtle joy of Vision Day.
The person you never see on an ordinary Wednesday is suddenly your travel buddy on the bus. The TwoTone men are all in one place competing for fastest time across the high ropes course. The team member who is usually quiet and reserved is suddenly dominating archery like they trained for this moment.
Vision Day gives us a new way to know each other.
When you know people better, you work with them better. You trust them faster. You laugh with them more easily. You remember that behind every project, every deadline, every deliverable, and every carefully proofed line of copy is a real person with real gifts.
The afternoon brought another round of horseback riding, high ropes, fishing, hiking, art, games, sports, and assorted camp adventures.
Under a now blazing sun, the team continued to spread across Wildwood Hills Ranch, finding their way into the activities that encouraged them to lean into their strengths and challenged them to discover what they were capable of.
It was a perfect display of every good gift God has blessed the TwoTone team with.
After all, a strong team is not made of 50 clones. A strong team has people who cheer, plan, organize, compete, create, encourage, lead, laugh, try new things, hold the clipboard, carry the snacks, read the map, and remember where everyone is supposed to be next.
That is what we saw all day: a team full of gloriously different gifts.
The culmination of the day was a new collective challenge—one which would test the limits of everyone’s stamina and ability to work together.
While we had tried new things and discovered new strengths all day, this last challenge turned the volume up to 11.
Dividing up into three new teams, the whole TwoTone crew was tasked with working together to solve riddles, start a fire, burn a rope, climb a mountain (by Iowa standards), pilot a kayak, and somehow make it back to the bus in time to make it home.
It was a mad dash filled with confusion and innovation, and new leaders blossomed in the midst of the mayhem.
It was the perfect end to the day…until what came next.
The final stop was in the TwoTone parking lot, where (beloved client) Home Sweet Cone was waiting with ice cream. After a day of sun, camp, competition, horses, ropes, kayaks, snacks, flags, and mild wilderness survival, ice cream never tasted so good.
Vision Day 2026 was not just a day at camp. It was a reminder of who we are.
- We are a team that plays hard.
- We are a team that works hard.
- We are a team that believes details matter.
- We are a team that knows shared memories build shared trust.
- We are a team that can turn a regular day into a full-scale camp experience.
At TwoTone, team culture is not something we talk about once a year.
It is something we build one project, one laugh, and one well-planned vision day at a time.
This year, under the sun at Wildwood Hills Ranch, we got to remember all over again that remarkable teams are never built sitting still.
Vision Day 2026 was truly a campout to remember.
And we are grateful, once again, to have the very best people around our campfire.
