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Now that it is February, I hope you’re all getting settled into the “groove” for the New Year. Time sure flies, doesn’t it? Hopefully, 2006 has been good to you thus far and you’re enjoying the changes you’re experiencing, soaking in the exciting moments, and delighting in the comforts of the familiar.
As many of you know by now, I recently changed jobs. In January, I left Augsburg College, my home for the last four years, and took a job as a Senior Event Planner at Thrivent Financial in downtown. The decision, while not an easy one, has been extremely fruitful and I hope that the new challenges I will be experiencing at work will allow me to bring new energy and excitement to my involvement with ISES.
Thankfully, there are so many wonderful things happening in our chapter right now that I don’t need much help in getting excited! As I hope you’re all aware, the Minnesota Star Awards are coming up quickly. On March 10, 2006, we will join together to celebrate the achievements of our peers and to experience what I believe will be one of the best parties for the year of 2006. Event co-chairs Jean Peine of Studio Six Specialty Linen & Décor and Sheree Bochenek of Après Party and Tent Rental have pulled out all the stops and assembled a top notch committee that is working very hard to pull off a truly amazing event.
My favorite piece of this event is that it is truly a collaborative effort between so many different members of our chapter. I am so proud of what our chapter has been able to accomplish in such a short period of time, and I am looking forward to seeing the final product next month. Check out the article by Ryan Hanson in this newsletter for more details!
I’m also excited to announce that thanks to the hard work of Ruth Wikoff-Jones, David Farr, and the Sponsorship Committee we have established the ISES Strategic Partnership Program, which allows members of the local area to sign on as Strategic Partners with ISES and receive advertising and public relations benefits. Ruth and David have worked very hard to outline a package that will provide you and your company with a multitude of advertising options to maximize your exposure to our membership and hopefully create true partnerships between ISES and our members. Contact Ruth Wikoff-Jones (ruth@ises-msp.org) for more information!
I also want to take this opportunity to formally announce that Marcia McKinney, of D’Amico Catering has joined the local ISES Board of Directors as the Director of Communications, filling a spot that was vacated when a previous board member moved out of the area. Marcia is taking over responsibility for maintaining our relationships with local media sources, sending out press releases, and assisting Katie Grace and the rest of the communications team with sending out the newsletter and other email communications.
Welcome Marcia!
Finally..as you've probably noticed by now, ISES International has undergone
a branding and logo change, which resulted in the new copper and black logo
structure. We're in the process of updating our website and all of our
communication tools to reflect the changes, and we ask that you do the same.
If you currently have the ISES logo displayed on your website, on your
business cards or company stationary, or in your office, please be sure to
update your listings with the correct logo. A "Member" logo has been
developed for you to use in these situations, so please be sure to use the
appropriate version. If you need copies of the logo, please feel free to
contact us at info@ises-msp.org, and we can get you an electronic version of
the new logo. We'll continue to remind you in the next few months, but
please help us in ensuring that ISES is branded consistently by changing
your logos as soon as possible!
In closing, I want to thank all of you for your continued support of our chapter. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. We love hearing from you and would welcome your feedback!
Sincerely
Jodi M. Collen, CSEP
ISES-MSP President 2005-2006
jodi@ises-msp.org
What a winter we have had! For those of us dying to play in the cold, there isn’t any. For those who can’t wait for fun in the sun – it is still a ways off. So what are we cool boys and hot girls to do? Throw a party of course! We’ve built the coolest club for the hottest party in Minnesota. And you’re invited to V-I-P-it up on March 10th at The Loft on Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis.
The Scene: Club ISES. The plan: The 2006 Minnesota Star Awards! After indulging in a cocktail reception featuring dazzling delectable delights from the Twin Cities’ top caterers, we will gather to celebrate and recognize the best event achievements by Minnesotans in 2005. Then, with awards in hand, we will really Get the Party Started! Relax and recline in the ultra cool VIP Lounge. Get hot on the dance floor with grooves by taylortainment. Smoking drinks will be glowing and music will be spinning. You won’t want to miss this chance to party Club ISES style! It’s the party people will be talking about on Monday.
But you won’t make it through security and down the aqua blue carpet without having your name on “the list.” So RSVP today. Visit www.ises-msp.org and click on the Star Awards link to RSVP! If you have any questions, please contact event co-chairs Jean Peine at 612-448-3339 or Sheree Bochenek at 952-903-4244. We’ll see you at the party!
By Ryan Hanson
MENTTIUM
Everyone loves good food at an event and those of us in the events industry are no exception. That may explain why this month's meeting at Cooks on Crocus Hill was sold out. Pre-meeting networking was done upstairs in the cooking school over drinks. Chef Marty Hegna was the featured speaker and he demonstrated - with help from ISES members - how to make fresh pesto for the goat cheese and pesto bruschetta and how to make the dressing for the sun dried tomato salad. After the cooking demonstration, we sat down and dug into the bruschetta and salad for lunch. It was delicious and easy to make. This helpful tip from Chef Hegna really hit a chord with our group - you can use the reserved liquid from hydrating sun dried tomatoes to make a great Bloody Mary. That shows where our interest lay!
A roundtable discussion followed the lunch with Chef Hegna answering questions about food in general and working with chefs specifically.
Here are some of the highlights:
Food Trends in 2006
- People are staying in and having dinner prepared by a chef in their home.
- Comfort food is hot. It is less expensive and not as "stuffy".
- More people are requesting "Happy Food" . This was Chef Hegna's term for organic and free range.
Tips for Working with Chefs
- Don't keep a difficult chef. Move on to someone who wants to work with you.
- Ask the chef what their strong points and weak points are.
- Tastings are time consuming for the chef and s/he may not agree to do them for smaller parties. It is easier for a venue chef to prepare a tasting than a private chef.
- As long as the kitchen isn't very busy, you should be able to tour it to get a feel for how the staff works together.
By Cara Schulz
Corporate EVENT Magazine
Whether you are a seasoned professional or just starting out in the events industry, The Special Event (TSE) has so much for everyone. This year’s event was held in, what is lovingly called by those who call it home, the Big “D,” Dallas, Texas. A prefect venue for people who look for the way to bring that extra big WOW! to our events.
I’ve been in the business for nearing ten years. I got involved with ISES to learn more about all aspects of the event industry and TSE has long been on my wish list to attend. There were the obvious classes as I start on my CSEP track, but I challenged myself to look beyond to try out some sessions in areas that I don’t normally work. I was not disappointed.
Sometimes just asking a simple question or two can get us looking at a whole event, or even an aspect of one, in a new way. From the leadership and training to the trade show and nightly events each moment was a re-energizing experience for me.
A session entitled Exchanging Global Best Practices was a good reminder that any part of the world, even our own local market, can have pockets of culture that will challenge our creativity and resources. Really, no matter how small a community within which we work, ours is a global perspective that we bring to the table. Flexibility is key in our industry!
A great benefit to the education package I chose was having a CD-ROM waiting with all the information from sessions I wasn’t able to attend (and even those I did). Knowing the information is readily available for me career progresses is fantasic. I am so thankful for this simple piece – and for the space in my suitcase to bring home a piece (or two) of Dallas memorabilia!
Most important to my experience was the opportunity to give back by participating in the Hands on Hundred. Without this program, I would likely not have been attending. It was the edge to get my boss to agree to finance the trip. For me, though, it was the combination of helping and getting a behind the scenes look at an event larger than I’ve worked on before. I was lucky enough to be part of the set up and guest greeting crew for the finale night – “I Wanna Fly” – the Gala Awards and Celebration. It was a great experience! I met so many wonderful people who are so very talented and was once again reminded that it takes a “cast of thousands” to bring events together.
I am looking forward to the next TSE and appreciate the fantastic friendships that developed in such a short time. For the person who is considering attending – do it! You will bring more than you can imagine home from TSE every time you attend!
By Ruth Wikoff-Jones
ISES Minneapolis St. Paul Director at Large
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