Other than the time of year, what do the following have in common: the leg lamp from the movie “A Christmas Story,” a compilation of silly holiday jokes, a gingerbread house, and Santa on a motorcycle? All four were among the individual door winners for the Holiday Door Decorating Contest, held at NCI at Frederick in December. Employees dressed up their office doors, hallways, and even stairwells to participate.

If the past is any indication, judges at the Protective Services Chili Cookoff give high marks for chili recipes containing unique or uncommon ingredients. Previous winning recipes have included ingredients such as black beans, pumpkin, pineapple, pork loin, and even bourbon. Judges at the 12th annual event, held Jan. 5, continued this tradition by voting for Ross Smith’s Big Pot of Chili, which featured three types of meat, four different sauces, baker’s chocolate, and parmesan rind.

If you are still looking for the “perfect” gift, mark your calendar for the Holiday Market. The December Holiday Market is set for Tuesday, Dec. 23, in Building 549, from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. (or until vendors sell out).

The Third Annual David Derse Memorial Lecture and Award presentation was held on Nov. 18 at NCI at Frederick to honor the outstanding research accomplishments of David Derse, Ph.D., and to stimulate the exchange of innovative ideas that Derse was well known for promoting throughout his scientific career.

After being down by a point in the morning, NCI reclaimed the Defelice Cup trophy from Leidos Biomedical Research, with a final score of 12 ½ to 11 ½, at the ninth annual Ronald H. Defelice Golf Tournament, held Oct. 13. “The tightest matches in the nine-year history of this cup competition resulted in a narrow victory for NCI and allowed NCI to take a 5–4 victory total,” said Denny Dougherty, one of the team captains for Leidos Biomed and a retired senior subcontracts advisor at what was formerly SAIC-Frederick.