mcwork presidents' award

back in april i worked my first gala event for mcwork. lodging was at the Ritz-Carlton, which i was able to enjoy a suite for the weekend..very nice, and the awards event was held at navy pier. it was by far my favorite event i have worked on thus far. i was able to meet so many people of all races, orgin and backgrounds. please read the next three stories..

the one about sunny shen..
what do you picture when you hear the name sunny shen? a petite asian women with fair skin and long black hair. if you guessed like me, you are totally wrong except for the asian ethnicity. sunny shen is an average height asian man with glasses, short spiky brown hair and a never-ending smile. when sunny approached me to change his departure ground transportation, he spoke "berry, berry wittle engwish," as he would say. apparently so.. the best part was trying to communicate and climb the barrier, which led to me giggling when he told me his travel plans for after the event in Chicago. "i go to WAS BEGAS then san frwantisco then elll aaa." let me translate: he is going to las vegas (with high pitch emphasis), san franscisco and then LA. got it? great. at the breakfast on sunday, i told sunny shen, "sunny! have fun in las vegas!" he replied with much enthusiasm, "oh yes yes, WAS BEGAS, CITY OF WIGHTS!"

the one about franz and barb..
working the registration table, you meet everyone, i mean everyone. then you are the face of the event. i like this feeling. i enjoy helping people and especially, meeting people from different cultures. the couple that made my weekend was mos def my new-found south african friends, franz and barb. our friendship started off with a bang! franz and barb were in america for the first time. franz showing his true south african personality, cherishing the friendship and enjoying the happiness in life, commented "i feel like the actor, ed-die mur-phy, in the film coming to amer-eee-ca!" when franz came to me to change his departure ground transportation, i told him of course i could help and i will change it right here and right now. he told me in south africa they call that "the power of now." i told him i would like to call it "the power of liz." he and barb immediately caved with laughter and from there till next june (i will get into that soon), they adopted me as part of their family. barb even taught me the south african handshake, and franz told me he beleived and trusted that i will come visit them in johannesburg for the world cup next june. done. i am now saving money towards my trip to south africa. if you want to join me, save up and suit up in our best safari wear..

the one about sandrine and tomas..
of course there always has to be one in the crowd. that was no exception with this event. one of the strictest rules for the event is that all winners and guests have to be 21 years of age or older, due to the open bars at both the welcome reception and gala event. it is spelled out and posted on the registration site and web page, along with the credential mailing, etc. from my experience with meetings and events, some people just do not read or care not to read what they do not want to abide by. that was the situation with my french winner, sandrine and her 10 year old son, tomas. at the orientation, sandrine was flabbergasted that her guest, her 10 year old son (tomas), would not be able to accompany her to the event. the situation would have been handled immediately, if the client, whom speaks fluent french, would have stepped up to the plate and communicated with her. but no, of course the client was a total goat that could talk the talk, but not walk the walk. so that is where my position as a meeting planner jumps in to save the day. just call me superwoman. we finally came to a compromise, after much back and forth, that tomas could stand in the balcony while she walked across stage to accept her award then immediately leave the event. no seven course meal. no unlimited alcohol. no sharing in the moment with other winners of this prestigious event. i can see both sides, but it was not until after i stepped in where i was truly on sandrine's side that tomas is the man in her life and that is her only need was for him to be proud of his mother. make a long story short, i ended up being "the nanny" that escorted tomas to the balcony to watch his mother receive her award. let me note here that he speaks N.O. engligh and i speak N.O. french. lost in translation. totally. being me, i picked up minnie and googled "basic french." i quickly memorized basics and was somewhat able to say "good evening" and "my name is liz." it is amazing what a little help can do for someone who just wanted an answer. i kissed sandrine and tomas good bye that night like the french do, both cheeks people, not full-fledged french kissing..come on... the next morning was so rewarding. tomas came running up to me with a huge smile and bear hugged me before he left to depart back to paris. this is why i love my job.

in the course i three days, i added many additional talents to my "life toolbox." i.e. basic knowledge of chinglish, professional south african friendship handshaker, international french-speaking nanny.