Always Have a Plan B

Today in Houston, TX parts of the city had major flooding again. The last major flood, if I'm correct, was Memorial Day weekend of 2015. Many homes were flooded and some people were just moving back in recently after repairs were completed. How does this relate to event planning, you ask? There are many beautiful outdoor venues in Houston as I'm sure there are all over this country. Many weddings, anniversary celebrations, birthday parties and other gatherings are held outside especially in the fall and early spring before it gets too dadblasted hot in this part of Texas. If you find an outdoor setting that you love and want to sign the contract, be sure to ask about their rain policy. What is their Plan B? How will they make sure your event will continue as planned? Do they have tent insurance? Of course, if there is a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, that's a different matter! Make sure you're clear on what they do in that situation as well. You want your event to go off as scheduled, I'm sure, but you also want to make sure your guests have a great time so that means making sure they're as dry as possible and most importantly, safe!

 

Business Advancement Conference

This past Saturday I attended the Business Advancement Conference in Houston which was planned and coordinated by Kiersten Kindred of Kindred Communications. Kiersten did a fabulous job! For a really great price I had a head shot taken, enjoyed a continental breakfast and box lunch and listened to eight speakers present on their topics of expertise. In addition attendees were able to sign up for a mini-session during lunch with one of several business experts.  The speakers' topics ranged from how to boost your profits to the power of e-mail marketing to public relations to SEO to how to build a website (and more!). I thought the most motivational speaker was Donna Wick of WICKed Publicity.  She spoke about being open and saying yes to business opportunities. I liked her presentation because she told stories about her personal experiences on the road to success and made it real for the audience.

I have planned several conferences since 2009 and so wanted to mention some observations. Registration was a quick process and the head shot area was set up right across from check-in so people could have that done right away. The room was set up comfortably; the tables had enough space to move between them. Breakfast was ready to serve as attendees arrived. I noticed as I read the agenda that no breaks were scheduled during the day. Actually, this is the first conference I've attended that didn't have breaks scheduled. I remember thinking,"I wonder how this is going to work?" I was pleasantly surprised because as far as I could tell, it worked great! When people had to leave the room, they quietly got up and left.  I'd like to try this sometime. I've always felt that it takes too much time to get people back in the room and settled after a break. A 15 minute break can easily stretch to 25 minutes! I also noticed that Kiersten and her team kept a close eye on the time schedule.  Speakers ended on time! The entire conference seemed to run seamlessly. I'm glad I went. It was a great experience and I came home with information I can use!

Baptismal Celebration

On Saturday, April 2nd my niece's son was baptized. On Sunday my brother's family hosted a reception at their ranch not too far from the city where the baby was baptized. This celebration was very casual, very laid back. A few ladies prepared pre-dinner trays of veggies and fruit. A couple of men started up the charcoal and barbequed chicken and steak as seasoned beans and rice heated up on the stove. When all the food was ready, about 30 guests sat down to enjoy the delicious food and great company. Later, everyone gathered around the two cakes. As it was my nieces' birthday, one of the cakes was for her and the other was in celebration of the baptism. Two cakes: you can't get much better than that!  All sang happy birthday to her and she blew out the candles. The group enjoyed cake and ice cream while chatting with each other. The weather was absolutely gorgeous that day. The party couldn't have gone any better if I had planned it myself! To my sister-in-law and niece: great job you two!