Monday, August 25

Eventworld 2008


The Renaissance Vinoy Resort in St. Petersburg, Florida was the host hotel for ISES Eventworld 2008 on August 21-23.

What a blast! Hundreds of ISES members from around the globe attended EW this year, and experienced a variety of educational offerings, networking opportunities and well-deserved recognition for their work.

As I mentioned last week, I was really excited about this conference for a number of reasons... For starters, this was my first time attending Eventworld, and I was looking forward to catching up with old friends and making new acquaintances. Not to mention that I was all hyped up about the Esprit Awards and the Spirit of Excellence Awards. In addition to that, the Vinoy is one of my all time favorite hotels! It's a historic hotel (c. 1925) that boasts beautiful views of the St. Pete Pier and waterfront, incredible cuisine and luxurious amenities (like fabulously comfy beds!)

Well, unfortunately, our "Gala at the Grove" ( 2007 ABC Gala) event did not garner the coveted Esprit Award - but we are still happy that our event and team received worldwide recognition as nominees, and it was truly an honor to be in such distinguished company. And sadly (sigh) despite our best efforts, our Orlando Chapter did not take home a Spirit of Excellence Award... Yet, we are quite proud that Orlando's own David DeLoach was sworn in as President of ISES International. (This marks the third time that a Past-President from the ISES Orlando Chapter has served as International President.)

Following the Esprit Awards on Saturday evening, we enjoyed a fabulous dinner reception in the Vinoy Grand Ballroom. You can see from the photos that the ballroom decor had a whimsical & elegant black and white theme, and the lighting was quite stunning. I had the good fortune of sharing this event experience with my friend and associate Kerline Doctuer PBC. And to our delight, we were seated alongside Sasha Souza MBC - an accomplished and well respected member of both ISES and ABC. Sasha spoke candidly with Kerline and I about many issues that we face as planners, blogging and her involvement as Events Chairperson with The SEARCH Foundation (Special Events Assistance & Resources with a Caring Heart). (Perhaps more on Sasha in a future post...)

All in all, it was a wonderful conference, and an especially memorable evening.


© 2008 E. Delgardio All Rights Reserved. Image courtesy of Elisa Delgardio. Shown: Eddie Diaz, Christine Logan, J. Michael Hicks, Awny Khashoggi, Richard Streitler, Kerline Doctuer

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