Newport News shipbuilders raise $1,400 in United Way cornhole tournament

Mike Anderson and Josh Farrow won the competitive division as 50 Newport News Shipbuilding employees turned the annual United Way Charity Cornhole Tournament into a $1,400 fundraiser for United Way of the Virginia Peninsula. The afternoon at the Old Apprentice School Gym in Bldg. 601 on 4215A Marshall Avenue in Newport News blended a bracket competition with an internal workplace ritual that has become part of the shipyard’s June calendar.

Rob Streightiff and C.J. Ingram finished second in the competitive field, while Jim Simmons and Tyrone Norman took third. Juli Street was also among the notable competitors in a tournament that split players into competitive and novice divisions, a format that widened the field beyond the shipyard’s most experienced cornhole regulars. The setup gave more employees a lane to play while still producing a clear competitive result at the top.

The event added to a growing string of United Way efforts inside the yard. Newport News Shipbuilding said its 2026 United Way campaign, “United is the Way,” runs through June and carries a company goal of $1.2 million. The company has said shipbuilders account for more than 40% of overall contributions each year, and in 2024 they supplied 50% of the United Way of the Virginia Peninsula’s employee donations.

NNS has also used cornhole as a repeatable fundraiser, not a one-off novelty. A June 19 event listing for this year’s tournament set practice for 2:30 p.m., play for 3:30 p.m., a $20 participation donation per person, and food, prizes and trophies for both divisions. The pattern has shown up before: in July 2025, the shipyard said its cornhole tournament drew 66 players and raised more than $1,700, and in October 2023 a bartender challenge and cornhole fundraiser brought in $1,523, including more than $800 in bartender tips.

United Way of the Virginia Peninsula says its mission is better health, better opportunity and better living, with current impact totals including more than 3,900 people served, 1,170 evictions prevented and 37 certified partner agencies. For Newport News Shipbuilding, the tournament has become one more visible way to turn employee rivalry into local giving.