The Employer Volunteer Initiative Advisory Council recently announced the winners of the Give Back Iowa Challenge, and Riverside Casino and Golf Resort was one of the recipients. The campaign encourages employees to volunteer and log their hours during an eight-week period, and the casino was recognized as the winners of the large-company category. Riverside Casino and Golf Resort General Manager Dan Franz said in 2012 the casino implemented a volunteer program called Winning Hands, so it was easy to track their volunteer hours for the contest.

This is the second year of the Give Back Iowa Challenge, and the casino took part in last year’s contest as well, earning third place in the large-company category. Franz said this year they doubled the amount of volunteer hours logged to take home the top honor. As an award, they will receive a visit from either the Governor or Lieutenant Governor and a certificate of recognition, though Franz says it wasn’t about the accolades. He said it was a nice recognition of the casino and their Winning Hands program, but what they really get out of it is that their employees stay active in the community. All total, 40 organizations participated in the contest, with over 26,000 employees logging over 19,000 volunteer hours.