We welcome pictures of your special moments and off the beaten path adventures that capture your summer reprieve – everything from a backyard barbecue and beach getaway to a long-awaited international trip that highlight the ways Duke University and Duke University Health System staff and faculty use their time off benefit.

How to share your 2023 summer pictures:

• Post and tag a photo on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook with #DukeTimeOff and also tag us in it. Tell us what you’re doing with your time away from work. Remember to include #DukeTimeOff and tag us in your post, so we can find your snapshots on social media.
• If you’re not on social media or prefer to share your picture another way, go to hr.duke.edu/DukeTimeOff2023 to upload your picture.

We welcome and encourage frequent submissions (there’s a prize for a shutterbug), but only the first picture in a series will be entered whenever one submission contains multiple images. Collage photographs and videos are not eligible for prizes.

During the campaign, the Working@Duke editorial team will award Duke-themed merchandise from the Duke eStore, courtesy of Duke University Stores. All eligible pictures shared throughout the course of the campaign – May 24, 2023, through Aug. 6, 2023 – will be in the running for these grand prizes:

• A “Classic Package for Two” ($425 value) at the Washington Duke Inn, which includes a king or double/double room for one night and full breakfast for two in the Vista Room or room service, courtesy of the Washington Duke Inn. Sunday brunch is not eligible.
• A Walking with Lemurs tour for four with Lemur Center Executive Director Greg Dye, courtesy of the Duke Lemur Center.

Last year, staff and faculty shared about 315 photos of adventures close to home and across the globe.

Among them was Michael Royster, a supervisor for Duke University Stores who earned the Employee Shutterbug award for the 2022 contest. Royster said he’s always excited for the start of a new Duke Time Off Campaign, which is a highlight of his summer.

“I think it’s really fun to have a contest that’s geared around people sharing their stories and their pictures,” Royster said. “I love reading the stories and finding out where people are going and what they’re doing.”

In 2022, Royster enjoyed sharing fun times with his family, including a moment of him tossing his son, Cameron, off the dock during a week-long beach trip to Emerald Isle.

This summer, his two sons, Cameron and Aiden, will be at camp at Green River Preserve in Cedar Mount, North Carolina. And in July, Royster and his wife will take the family to the beach.

“The kids grow so fast,” he said. “I try to take as many photos as possible when we go on vacation.”

Send story ideas, shout-outs and photographs through our story idea form or write working@duke.edu.

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