By Clint Upchurch, Extraordinary Events
Photos by Michael Rueter Photography
Wow… seems like it was just last month that I was attending another MPI breakfast meeting, but it had actually been several months since the last one. It’s just that the 7:30am time creeps up on you and suddenly it’s time to get going! Even though it might appear to be a grueling time, it actually works out to be great timing because one can get back to the office and still have time for a full, productive day.
This meeting was held at The Hard Rock Café at Universal City Walk. I usually associate The Hard Rock with savory lunch and evening foods, but let me tell you, they serve up a mean breakfast! Hard Rock chefs prepared custom omelets to order, and a full buffet offering a variety of fresh fruit, hash brown potatoes, baked goods and the BEST bacon I have EVER tasted! As a bonus, the guitar shaped container they served us orange juice in was actually a cocktail shaker and a gift to take home. The audiovisual was nicely set up by Audio Video L.A. and Rick Bloom Audio Visual, and there were enough screens so if your meeting or event took place on both floors, everyone would be able to see. The light and energetic feeling inside the Hard Rock Café at Universal City Walk made it a good place to start the day.
After enjoying a satisfying breakfast, it was time to sit back and enjoy the program: “Future Trends in Event & Meeting Entertainment.” Moderated by Janet Elkins, President of EventWorks, the panel of distinguished experts included Nicole Bernardi of SME, Anthony Bolotta of Bolatta Entertainment, and Mark Howell, Entertainment Productions. They spoke on a variety of entertainment components from site inspections and how to choose entertainment appropriate to the venue, to how the selected entertainment can solidify the client’s message, as well as the ins and outs of securing talent and tips regarding contracts and riders. The panelists also set up a fun and interactive “game show” aspect of the presentation by asking questions and having the audience participate and answer. But this sleepy crowd didn’t even try to answer two of the questions and forfeited two $10.00 Starbucks cards. The program at this meeting was informative, had something for everyone, and it was nice to see professionals from our own chapter sharing their knowledge with us.
By the time the lively breakfast meeting was finished, we were revved up to go out and take on the day. I guess the 7:30am start time isn’t so bad after all.
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