Sunday, December 29

An Evening in Hollywood



On September 28, 2013 in Newport Beach, California the Orange Coast Memorial Foundation hosted their annual Fall Gala at the Island Hotel.

This event was host to nearly 350 guests who enjoyed a silent auction, live auction, live entertainment and fine dining.

Before the festivities began, some of the most loyal donors enjoyed a VIP reception with 100 guests. During this reception, wine, champagne and an array of cheeses were served.  
As the reception came to a close, guests were greeted by some of the talented students from the Orange County School of the Arts.
Marilyn Monroe, Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire
 
Marilyn Monroe, Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball

As the rest of the guests arrived they were greeted with signature drinks (Champagne cocktails and whiskey sours).  At check in guests were given an escort card (to theme of course!) 
These were a DYI project that I completed using grommets,
black and white striped paper and business size cards
printed by the always fabulous NDM Communications.


When guests entered into the silent auction area they saw something most of them had never experienced- digital bidding! For this event we opted for a company called BidTec, they utilize iPads placed around the room for guests to bid on auction items, look over the program, take photos and more.








Guests enjoyed live performances from Stellar Band during the silent auction while mingling with the student performers from OCSA.


Once guests entered the ballroom they were greeted by students from OCSA to help them find their seats before the festivities began.

Guests entered the room to salads preset on their tables and BidTec IPads placed on the tables for them to continue bidding on silent auction items.




















There are few things that make me happier as an event planner than seeing a table fully set and ready for guests, but the best part is hearing guests talk about how much they loved the setting. At the end of the night, guests we taking everything from the centerpieces to the table numbers I created.

As the evening progressed, guests were entertained with live performances, live auction, award presentations, 3 course meal and dancing! 











I want to thank all of my amazing vendors, volunteers, team and guests for making this an amazing event!



Tuesday, July 30

Golf 2013

Who doesn't love a golf tournament? Prior to April 29, 2013 I had never hosted a golf tournament or even attended one for that matter. The closest I get to playing golf is owning a set of golf clubs, that 2 years later still have the celophane on them.

I was presented with the task of changing the course, ideally to a private course that most of our board members, physicians and community members have not been able to play. After a lot of research and free lunches at various courses around Orange County, we decided on Mesa Verde Country Club in Costa Mesa. The staff at this course were amazing! I barely felt like I had to do a single thing all day.    

 

Each golf cart was personalized with guests' names, corporate sponsor and our event logo (all created by Mesa Verde for us!- another huge Thank You to them!). Mesa Verde's staff placed each guests' clubs on their carts while guests checked in, ate a light breakfast and warmed up on the driving range. (pictured above).


Before tee off, guests also could pay a minimal fee to participate in a putting contest and win a set of Golf Clubs!


  

                                                       My fabulous printer (NDM Communications) created this massive banner that you could see from miles away!
 
I wasn't kidding when I said it was massive! All of our major donors were listed on it.

  
At various holes around the course, guests could enjoy food and drinks from some of our favorites!



Hanger 24 is a crafter Brewery out of Redlands that makes some incredible beers and I was so THRILLED to have them as part of our event!












Stonefire Grill, another local FAVORITE came out to support us and serve up some delicious bites!






Another huge THANK YOU goes out to Vince Ferragmo for all of his support! He donated a bottle of wine that he made to be auctioned off. I think you can see the glee in our winner's face!


My fabulous team and one of our amazing committee members! I could not do what I do without these fabulous people!

Wednesday, July 24

Partners in Distinction

In January we launched a new corporate giving program called 'Partners in Distinction' we hosted our first mixer in November at the Shorebreak Hotel. The food was delicious as were the drinks.
The decor was simple with a subtle beachy undertone.

With the open and comfortable atmosphere of the room, our guests were able to network with other members and mingle with our senior leadership.
 
Our founding members received certificates, we were thrilled that most of our partners would be in attendance at this event.

Tuesday, July 23

Wine and Cheese

As I mentioned in my poker post, we are embarking on a huge $10 million dollar expansion of our Emergency Department. We will be doubling the square footage, creating fast track areas, private rooms and brand new technology. 

We hosted a 'Wine and Cheese' event the beautiful Huntington Beach Hyatt where we launched our new plans to community members and donors.  


We blew up our mock ups of the exteriors of the building as well as the interiors. We placed them on easels around the room for our guests to look at while they enjoy wine and artisan cheeses.  


We love the support that both Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley Fire departs have given us!

Keeping guests interested in the progress of the expansion of our Emergency Pavilion is vital to making it a success. Once we break ground, we will be hosting 'Hard Hat Tours' where guests will be able to get a real hands on experience of what the new Pavilion will actually entail. At this event, guests were able to sign-up for the first Hard Hat tours that we will be offering! 

 

I wanted to keep the atmosphere focused on the Emergency Pavilion and the need for this expansion in our community, so I used the ever popular IKEA frames and used a variety of statistics about Southern California Emergency Departments to highlight the need for our expansion.  





Poker?

I know absolutely nothing about poker and I will be the first to admit it, so when I was asked to plan a poker tournament I was absolutely dumbfounded. 

Luckily this was going to be a very casual event and the internal kick-off to our massive expansion of our Emergency Department. We found a great company that provided the dealers, tables, chips and cards.




A few of our guests had no idea what they were doing (and some just wanted some practice!) so one of the dealers was nice enough to hold an impromptu poker lesson 










One of my favorite BBQ restaurants also does catering and also has some amazing craft beer so of course I thought of no better place to have provide food and beer for this event! The food was a huge hit, we had nurses and physicians who were working stopping by to eat some of the left overs! Our guests truly enjoyed the beer more than anything else! 











The poker company handled everything from making sure that everyone was having a good time and moved each player from table to table at they won each hand.  





Most of our guests stuck around to see the final table play! The winners received a prizes that had been donated from local Casinos and Resorts.  


My fabulous team! I couldn't do what I do without them! (Me, Paul and Alex)


A few of our winners! 






Our big winner! 


Gala 2012!

Each year at Orange Coast Memorial, there is an annual Gala. While I have a pretty good background in planning and executing Galas, I started a new position with a mere 2.5 months to make this Gala happen. With invitations not even out, no save the date and no auction items, I jumped in head first with a huge weight on my shoulders. Luckily, I was fortunate enough to start at the same time as a wonderful women who was more than willing to jump in with me and assist with soliciting items and pretty much anything else I asked of her. We took on the logo created by our predecessors and ran with creating an invite and getting solicitation out for auction items. Proceeds from this event supported the acquisition of a Whole Breast Ultrasound Machine.

We were fortunate enough to get a good response for items and patrons to attend!

Our VIP guests enjoyed drinks and mingling on the terrace at the Balboa Bay Club and Resort in Newport Beach.



During the silent auction and cocktail hour, Georgiana Ireland painted and talked to guests about her painting that was going to be auctioned off in our Live auction later that night.




As our theme was Gala du Cirque, we hired some circus performers to entertain our guests as they browsed auction items and sipped on martinis!  


Guests enjoyed looking at our auction items displayed around a courtyard at the Resort. One thing that I was adamant on changing from what had been done before, was changing the size of our table tents. We purchased 11 x 17 plexi-sign holders to make it easier for our guests to see our items creating more buzz and ultimately getting more bid on our items which means more money back to the foundation! 
              
Guests truly enjoyed the atmosphere of the event from the circus performers to the auction items and martini bar. The performers added something that the regulars at this event have never experienced before and we were thrilled to see the response!


Bright centerpieces adorned the tables with guests bidder numbers pre-printed and placed at each table. Event programs were also placed on each chair so that guests did not have to worry about carrying them around during the cocktail reception (another change I implemented).   

We wanted to get guests on their feet and involved from the start of the event so, with the help from our wonderful auctioneer we did something different (sense a theme?? CHANGE!). This was called the 100 Yard Dash, 4 boards with the numbers 1-100 were set up around the room and we asked guests to come up and donate any amount listed. Started off the night fun and made a quick $5,000 for our cause!  



All in all it was a fabulous gala and our guests truly had a wonderful time. It was a good way to prove to myself that I can pull off a gala (with help from a wonderful team and volunteers!) in less than 3 months! Looking forward to 2014- an Evening in Hollywood!