Reflections from 35,000 feet above and heading westbound…

I’m sitting here, tucked in comfortable window seat, with an open middle seat next to me (a little odd for me as I usually enjoy the aisle) reflecting on not only the past day, but the past few months.

Yesterday morning I flew to Chicago from LA, and today I’m returning back to the sweltering heat of the southland.  At the current moment I would define my current feelings as ‘on-fire’ about what I do for a living and whom I do it with.  I got to come to Chicago to do a site visit for a conference that our company will be producing in 2010 at the Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile.  And in just a few weekends we will be producing the National Prostate Cancer Conference—a conference for the patients.  

I’m beginning to really get use to corporate travel (and might even be becoming a hotel wh*re along the way) but I’m ok with that.  As I’m sitting here (with my seatbelt fastened of course), I’m feeling truly blessed for the opportunities I have been given in the past year with BDI Events.  I’ve been to Denver, San Diego, Monterrey/Pacific Grove, Washington DC, and now Chicago in less than a year.  I will not lie that when I first started as a Conference Director, I thought—am I going to get bored with this? To my surprise, I’ve really grown to love it, and have found areas that get me excited and really meant for me; one of those being the whole logistical angle of how conferences are setup.

For those of you that think what we do is ‘cake’’—it most certainly is not and causes headaches for most people, which is why they hire us.  The gift of a good event producer is that they don’t get stressed and overwhelmed.  Diagrams, meeting spaces, budgets, audio visual components, successful marketing, keynote speakers, musicians, travel, registrations, for 600 to 1000 people all take EXTREME organization and anal retentiveness.  This is what I love, and this is what I’ve always said I do best. 

The client that we met with is a New Thought spiritual organization.  They are wonderful people to work with, and I’m very excited about the team that is on board for their 2010 conference in downtown Chicago.  I’m excited to begin working on their budget to assist them in figuring out ways to make money, create an intense marketing plan to meet the registration goals, and to create an experience for their attendees in which they will walk away satisfied for coming to their annual summer conference. 

So as I continue to sit here—I’m feeling energized about what I’m doing and where I’m currently at.  I love that I can say that I love what I do AND where I do it.  Some people can only say the earlier rather than the later.  I’ve said this on multiple occasions and will say it again that I really do have the best 3 bosses around.   I think this is only just the beginning with myself and BDI and I cannot wait to see what is in store for me next, and where the company grows in the upcoming years.  We may be small—but we know what were doing…and we’re on our way…

A strong practice of New Thought followers is to set ‘intentions.’  I’ve always been one for ‘putting it out there,’ and as I reflect on what I’ve done, it seems to be working.  I like to call these ‘goals’ rather than intentions though.  Recently I set the goal to bring in or assist in bringing in three new clients for our company in the next year.  Tomorrow we have a meeting that I setup with someone about a festival for us to work on—and I think we’re going to sign on with them.  One down…two to go. 

Happy. Energized, Excited. Blessed. This is where I’m at in my career at age 22.  

2-Week Conference Run. Locations: SoCal & NorCal

I just finished up a two week run of 2 different conferences--both for religious science organizations (2 of our clients).  

The first conference was in San Diego, CA at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina.  Though my client wasn't as happy with the attendance as they wanted to be, the conference as a whole was a true success.  This was the first time they were holding their annual conference off the world famous 'asilomar grounds'.  Last year they began to outgrow the Asilomar Conference Center, so they decided to take it on the road to create the New Thought. New World. Annual Summer Conference--with the first year being in San Diego.  Throughout the entire planning process there were a lot of hesitant participants, and some that resisted completely, but I do know that those who attended could feel the power of the conference and what an impact this conference could have in each city it arrives in.  

My goal for this blank white tent (and the rest of the conference)--was to create a warm, exciting,  and comfortable place where people could truly connect spirituality, with just enough newness to make them notice the professionalism that our team brought to the table.  

I thought the tent came out great! And I can't wait to take this conference to Chicago in 2010! 

The second conference was in Pacific Grove, California at the Asilomar Conference Center.  This conference has been coming here for over 50 years which makes it easy and difficult at the same time.  The reason it is somewhat easy is that it has a tendency to 'run' itself for the most part.  However on the other end, participants expect certain things to happen or be allowed that happen 'every year.'  

It has a jammed packed schedule filled with daily general sessions in the morning and evening, as well as workshops & meetings throughout the day in between.  Besides the conference center not being like the 'high-end hotel staff' we are use to working with, the challenge with this conference was truly making sure each meeting/workshop/session was set correctly with what the facilitator requested.  

I think there were a lot of questions from many people wondering if the conference was going to feel the same now that we were doing it...in the end, I think that the BDI team proved itself once again to this community.  My goal throughout this event was to maintain those traditional aspects that people expect each year, but also put my own organizational, clean, and professional touch to it.  

A few highlights from the week--1.) The nightly fires in the fireplace of our director's cottage...it was a great thing to come home to each night! 2.) Getting out surfing during the free day on Wed with our Sound Engineer Dan..we were able to rent a board and wetsuit at a stereotypical surf shop, complete with a 'bro' that cashed us out. Needless to say, the waves were awesome and I was actually able to get up and ride the waves in this time followed by a delicious lunch at a BBQ Smoke Chicken shack. 3.) Being in the middle of no where. 4.) The weather all week, and the incredible sunsets.  5.) Being able to get a pitcher of Diet Coke at lunch if we wanted to. 

This was pretty neat...I could get use to this...

It was a great couple of weeks on the road.  I really enjoyed working with both groups because in the end it felt really good to know how much each of these events meant to different people in growing spiritually both individually and collectively.  

And the details come together--to make a memorable day. The Woolman Wedding.

I've always known that Erin is a pretty detailed person--but until I started consulting with her about the wedding of Jake & her, thats when I really learned how detailed she really is.

However--her attention to detail throughout the entire planning process truly paid off.  The wedding day could not have gone any smoother (and easier) than it did.  The weather w

as spectacular, the vendors were on time and everything really just seemed to go as planned.  

I was especially impressed with the photographers for the wedding (some of her photos are below), Meg Perotti (http://megperotti.com/blog/?p=1977) & Heather Kincaid (www.heatherkincaid.com). I knew while they were there that these pictures were going to be good.  So thank you to the both of YOU for truly capturing this day.  I hope I can work with them again on another event!

It was quite the honor to be a part of this day for two of my closest friends.  I hope you enjoy just a sampling of what the day was like.

Running through the vineyards...

1926 Antique Car for the Bride & her Dad to arrive in...

 

One of the tables in the reception is shown above. Simple. Clean. Elegant. And as Erin would like to say "Semi-Homemade"

The shot above really showcases all of the little details that came together in the patterns, the flowers, the tables, the name cards, the menus, and the programs. 

The is a perfect picture below that really captured the 'stillness' of the evening outside.  This is a shot of where the cocktail reception was--just outside the Barrel Room.  It was also a full moon that night...

Updates from the Spring Fundraising Season 2009

This post has been long over due as we finished our Spring Fundraising season at BDI about a month ago.  The good news is that even in these hard economic times, we were able to produce quality, memorable, and successful fundraising galas around the country-- all while meeting our goals.  

My role in most of the events throughout this season was to manage and assist in the logistical side of things when it came to the overall design elements, including the AV, lighting, and tables. Here are just three of the dinners we did this spring around the country...

1.) Grand Hyatt: New York, New York

2.) The Montage: Beverly Hills, CA

At this event we used a great florist that we know in LA, Roman, to create these unique centerpieces that continued the theme of the company that we were honoring.  They turned out great! 

3.) The Sofitel Watertower Hotel: Chicago, IL

Who would have thought sunflowers would have been such a great centerpiece? They are affordable, and add just the right amount of color to the table to bring it to life! 

Fundraising Gala: Union Station, Washington D.C.

Yesterday was my first official fundraising gala for our client B'nai Brith International (I now feel like I'm a true member of the BDI team).Anyways--the event was absolutely fantastic. The venue itself, sold the show. It was held in the middle of Union Station, Washington D.C. which is still a very active center of transportation for the city. Therefore, our event space wasn't available until 5pm, (with cocktails starting at 6pm).

This may sound a bit nuts, but ironically enough, it is the complete opposite. The tough thing about working with a venue like Union Station, is that they have preferred vendors that you have to use for your events (meaning they can also charge you what they want). Therefore, Design Cuisine did the catering, RCI did the Audio, Future Vision did the projecting, Hargrove did the staging and drape, and another company did the lighting (when usually you can wrap this all up in one company, get a stage from the hotel from free, and call it a day!). But the nice thing about using these preferred vendors is that they know their stuff, and know that venue. All of the vendors staged their equipment in the Main Hall in roped off areas (which also creates some buzz and excitement around the station because people are wondering what's going on as they are passing through). And then at 5:00pm exactly, the vendors in the area (seen below) pack up their stuff, and the vendors move in. It seriously is like an army. Each and every vendor comes in and moves flawlessly throughout the venue, with not one minute to spare.

Let's talk design scheme now: the honoree of the dinner had a bit of an edge, but also likes to keep things classy and professional. His is also a very big love for Motorcycles-which inspired the theme "Road to Happiness". Therefore a motorcycle dealer of DC, brought in 4 motorcycles that we used throughout the dinner as part of the decor. The rest of the color scheme complimented the bikes with reds, blacks, and ivories on the tables. I personally would have chosen a bit more of a statement piece on the linens on the tables, but it was too much for them, so they went with a solid ivory linen, complimented by black rimmed charges, and a red salad plate. The florals in the center were also simple, yet masculine with white spider mums in a low black square vase, with an accent of one red flower to make a statement. Once again wouldn't have exactly been my choice but I saw what they were going for. 

We placed one red motorcycle on the stage that was draped in red and black, and placed two complimentary motorcycles in the midst of the room in the middle of the tables, spotted by textured red & blue gels for lighting. It was a great talking piece! 

All and all the dinner was a complete success both in the look, the logistics, and the fundraising component! It was a nice break from the conferences to do a fun quick event like this one! 

Casino Night at a Historical LA Venue--supporting LA's Best Friends

Recently I had the opportunity to work on a short project for a nonprofit organization called LA's Best Friends. LA's Best raises money to provide after-school enrichment programs in low-income schools in LA. 

Anyways--my boss Melanie sits on the board for Best Friends, and asked me if I could help out with day-of setup logistics.  The event was held at the old historical cathedral; the Vibiana in downtown LA.  This actually was the original cathedral of LA until they built the new one.  It is a gorgeous building with a lot of old spanish inspired architecture. The pics here in the beginning are from our site visit earlier in the week--(aka the before pics.) You can see both the inside and the outdoor patio area (which I think would be a great space for an event in itself).  

And then this is what the space transformed into for Casino Night...the greatest thing about this event, is that almost everything was donated...even the LIGHTING.  This event is a perfect example of what lighting can do for an event.  

It was a blast filling up this space with all of these things and working on the spatial layouts of the event.  It was so nice to be able to just go work the event with no worries or responsibilities--just there to simply help out and have fun while doing it.  The event turned into a great success! 

Corporate/Nonprofit vs. Entertainment/Social?

Recently I was able to meet with a long time veteran of the event industry who works for a high profile celebrity client. It was so exciting to hear about all of the different events he was doing for her, all throughout the year.

But as I was sitting there meeting with him, it created a sense of reality about working in the entertainment industry--it takes a LOT of time. Don't get me wrong, doing any type of special event takes a lot of time. But when you start working with celebrities, it becomes very demanding and 'cut-throat.' And what do you have in the end? You may have a fabulous looking party, you get to say you plan parties for this person, and maybe if your lucky the client will say it looks nice (after they probably came in the room before the event started and said to change out all of the florals or something).

All of this began to set in with me as I was meeting with this individual, because a lof of my current work in events is in the corporate and nonprofit world. A world that that is full of tight budgets, (or no budgets), but also one that is very affirmative and appreciative. At BDI, I've had the pleasure of doing 2 major conferences (1 for 800 people, and 1 for 600), and while those might not have been the most 'exciting' events...I can't tell you the number of people that came up to me to personally thank me, or say that the event changed their life. This is the bonus of working in this sector of events...

So now I come to the big 'Y" in the road where I question and wonder which way I'm going to go in my career. I've worked a lot of celebrity driven events, and I've also worked a lot of nonprofit events. I think I've come to realize that its finding a balance between both. What I love about the social scene of the entertainment events, is that they are usually full of creativity and design. And--its exciting...people would die to be talking to Johnny Depp or Tom Hanks. But also what I love about the nonprofit/corporate world, is simply the people...well sometimes. haha. :) I'm excited to look back at this post and see where I am in let's say 5 years...