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What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Knowing that Valentine’s Day was upon us, I asked our team to think about events that they have loved. Being the “newbie” on the team, and a relative newcomer to the event planning world, I expected to hear responses citing grandiose events, oozing with wow factor, where no detail was missed. To my surprise and delight, the stories that were shared nearly all mentioned charity events or events focused around giving back; big on emotion, with an excess of warm-fuzzies. One story in particular, recounted by our owner Kristin, had all of our waterworks flowing, begging to be shared on this day dedicated to love.
“A main focus of what we do here at Cheers! Events is team building events. Sometimes these take the form of a lively boat building competition, where one team member almost certainly ends up soaking wet. Other times we’re organizing a zany scavenger hunt through the streets of our favorite local towns. But sometimes the team building also serves as a give back to the community. And in this case, our client chose to build bikes for kids at the Boys & Girls Club.
This in and of itself is moving. You have this team of fairly fortunate individuals, coming
together to help children in our local community. You could leave it right there and it would be significant. But what happened to John* is something that I will never forget.
This particular bike building was even more memorable than usual. The children that were receiving the bikes were from incredibly difficult situations, yet despite all that they had to overcome, had still managed to get straight As. The Boys & Girls Club wanted to recognize this tremendous accomplishment with a meaningful reward, in hopes of encouraging them to stay on the right path. We arranged for a special lunch with the straight-A kids and bike builders, who were all top executives at the company. The kids & their buddies chatted their lunchtime away, before parting ways when the wrenches & wrists got to work. The executives made quick work of the bike building, likely fueled by the friendships that they had just made during lunch.
Typically with bike builds, the builders do not get to see the actual bike presentation. But in this case, and without the team knowing, we arranged for the presentation to happen that day. A little boy named Alex* enjoyed his lunch so much with John, that he was moved to write a letter to him. He had given it to his Boys & Girls Club leader, who in turn passed it onto me. When our unsuspecting team gathered later that day, I was able to present John with the letter from Alex, his 7-year old lunch buddy. He read it aloud, barely able to get through the words. I don’t have a copy of the letter, but it was something like this: Dear Mr. John, Thank you for coming to have lunch with me. You are my best friend. I am so excited to open a restaurant with you one day. Thank you.
Your best friend, Alex
Needless to say, John was overcome with emotion and there wasn’t a dry eye on an adult in the room. And watching the joy on those little faces as they rode their new bikes for the first time is seared into my memory. It is a moment in my career, and for that matter in my life, that I will never forget. It takes so little to make an impact that will last a lifetime. I have carried this with me since, and I am so grateful for the reminder of how lucky I am to have a hand in creating
memories like these.”
*not real name
By: Katie Hale
Upcycled and Recycled
Trashion Fashion number 9!
Source: Upcycled and Recycled
Upcycled and Recycled
Let me start by saying that I couldn’t make this year’s show. To make a long story short, I had a freak lawn mower accident that projected a copper tube through my ankle. But this blog isn’t about that. It’s about the 9th Annual Avant Garde Runnway Event call TRASHION FASHION. Featuring Tampa Bay’s top designers creating looks from recycled & unorthodox materials, this is one of Tampa Bay’s most unique and inspiring shows of the year. But as I was at home nursing my bruised and battered pride, I was really missing everything that Trashion Fashion has to offer.
Marina Williams puts on a good show. Last year I remember how comfortable she looked on the stage as compared to years past. I believe she ended last year with a somersault. That’s confidence if I have ever seen it. Marina is the brain behind the show and the owner of ARTpool, the funky venue of the night. Designers created looks made of at least 75% recycled and upcycled materials including hats, props, shoes, and accessories. She is quite the host.
For the last few years, Cheers Events has helped by providing the lighted runway and lighting. Hey, if it’s not lit then it’s not there! That’s what I say. I’m just glad to help and be part of the action, even if it’s from my computer with my foot elevated. Till next year Marina!
by Ronnie Lee
Co Owner/ Cheers Events Inc.
P.s. Mark your calendar for next year’s show many others. Take a look at what’s coming up on the Facebook page ARTpool Gallery!
Photo credit by HIBS Media and iHeart Images , Mermaidista Designs by Sati
Happy Father’s Day to all those Great D
Happy Father’s Day to all those Great Dads! http://ow.ly/i/bosOt
Well Summer is here and it’s time to cl
Well Summer is here and it’s time to clean up and cool off! Looking forward to posting some new blogs!
Cheers lights up the Brew Ha Ha
By Ronnie Lee / Co-Owner / Cheers Events
One of the best fundraisers of the year happens every October at the Farley Estate in South St. Petersburg. The annual Brew Ha Ha is one of those parties that you just don’t want to miss! Cheers Events was brought in to supply the lighting, special effects and decor, transforming the sprawling estate into a spooky oasis of grave stones, fog, spider webs and illuminated bars!
The 3 day set up started with the task of decorating the inside of the house. Cheers Event Planner Karen Crockenburg and her team first created a walk through spiders den in the lobby. Using professional grade black lights, the spiders den webbing really did pop as the guests walked in. One of the tricks of making webbing look good and authentic is just taking your time. It’s really something that can’t be rushed, or else it ends up looking like decorations that you would remember from your grade school cafeteria. Karen also transformed the dinning room using lush fabric, candelabra’s, and two “very late for the party” dinner guest skeletons. Two fortune taller rooms were completed also. The attention to details is also something that just can’t be overlooked, something that Karen takes great pride in and it shows!
In the front and back yards, fog machines, fire effect lighting , leko projections and scoop area lights were used to help bring alive the mansion. One thing to remember is that no matter how good your decor looks in the day time, if it’s not lit, then it’s not there. Fog not only creates that horror movie look, but the lighting beams are now picked up and seen giving another eerie visual. Up lighting for the existing trees highlighted the hanging moss and created multiple layers of shadows.
In the back grave yard, we provided a thunder and lighting effect with strobe lights, wireless color changing LED lighting and a sound system to create a thunder crack every so often. Watching the guests jump did put a smile on my face! Rounding out the set up was a custom lite up bar with vinyl branding for the event and food vendor LED lighting.
So next year, mark you calendar and put on your best costume because this is one scream fest that you don’t want to miss!
Bringing your Trade Show Alive with Video Mapping
With technology becoming more and more economically accessable, it’s easy to see why many event planners are using it in their events. A great way to do this is with projection video mapping. The possibilities are endless (with time and budget of course!) Take a look at our latest trade show in which we used Video Mapping to create a moving and dimensional digital signage for the trade show.
Take a look at our video to get the full effect!
Video Mapping at a Trade Show.
Survivor Team Building!
Survivor Team Building – August 27, 2014
By: Renee Tarsitano / Event Manager / Cheers! Events
And the Team Least Likely to Starve goes to…. Great job Blue Team!! But truly, hat’s off to all the teams that participated yesterday in our Survivor Island Team Build!! After the teams created their flags, we all marched out to the beach, kicked off our shoes and competed in several challenges including digging for skeleton bones and building a bamboo stretcher to transport a teammate with an “ailment”. After having a blast doing that, Cheers Events treated the teams to an out of this world five course meal! Sounds AMAZING right? Well, wait until you hear the menu…. This Survivor Supper consisted of Squid Madrid, Sardine Salad, Worm Waldorf, and Surf& Turf Surprise, topped off with a delicious Oyster Pudding. You can only imagine the ingredients! Each one of the teams came in first place for at least one course (and that’s throwing the Green Team a bone). What troopers! Great job to all who helped and participated! Thanks for another great event!
Team Building Tips
Team Building Tips to Help You Plan
By: Karen Crockenburg / Event Manager / Cheers! Events
Break out of your everyday routine and break into FUN! Here are some categories to help narrow down what the type of team building that will work best with your group.
Outdoor/Indoor Activities
Social Events/Ice Breakers
Changes in the Workplace
Workshops
Charitable Work
Training/Development
Now that you have a purpose behind your team building, it’s time for the details. Here are 5 tips to help maximize the group experience and steer your team building in the right direction.
- Know your participants. What would be appealing to them? Is this an active group? Should the event be held indoors or out? Some events are more suited for men than women, and vice versa- would all of your guests be able to participate?
- Keep it 3 hours or under. The 3 hour mark is the magical time that people STOP feeling the magic! Team Buildings are a great way to lead into a dinner or lunch event. Your guests will have plenty to talk about with smiles on their faces if you direct them immediately into a comfortable setting with cold beverages and tasty food.
- Keep Their Attention. Make sure that all your participants have something to do. Waiting their turn in line to play a game is a good way to lose their interest. A professional DJ pumpin’ out the tunes will infuse the event with high energy and keep everybody dancing and singing.
- Keep It Simple. The directions need to be clear and simple. Don’t make anything too complicated. Whenever possible, give the teams hand-outs with important bullet points or have enough attendants to float around to the different teams to explain anything they may have missed during the initial instructions.
- Bring Everyone Back Together. During the closing ceremony, bring all the teams back together by honoring more than just the winning team. Awarding the Runners Up with certificates for title of “Most Spirited” or “Most Likely To Get Lost” will surely lighten the competitive shadow in the room and pull your guests back into a unified team.
We hope these tips have narrowed down the path of the endless possibilities in the expansive world of Team Building. Go Team!
Cheers! Events Blog 