| |
 You don’t want to be the “type” to miss Administrative Professionals Day. In fact, set aside the entire week of April 22 – 28 for honoring the men and women who make it possible to get things done in the business world.
I supervise the administrative assistants at our company, so I’m organizing some corporate events.
Although they seldom get the credit they deserve, administrative workers are “the pulse of the office.” Who keeps your ideas in order and makes sure they reach the right people? Who keeps your laptop performing tip-top? Who screens your calls, keeps track of your schedule, reserves your meeting spaces and reminds you of birthdays and anniversaries?
Admit it. If it weren’t for your admin, you’d be a lot less effective.
So, I’m planning a number of team building events for our admins over the course of our special week, all devised to help us get ahead. On Monday we’ll have takeout bistro coffee and pastries in one of the big business meeting rooms while we discuss which of several educational opportunities we’re taking advantage of this year. (We want to keep our skills up!) We’ll brainstorm for work event ideas on Tuesday, have a professional book swap on Thursday, and leave work one hour early to go to happy hour together on Friday.
That leaves Wednesday, April 25, for team bonding at a conference restaurant.
We’ll go to Buca di Beppo, of course. It’s our favorite restaurant for groups. The atmosphere is lively and warm, with thousands of vintage photos that inspire comments, jokes and conversation. Their staff of consumate professionals provide service that’s friendly and efficient, so we’re seated, served and on our way when we need to get back to the office.
Buca serves family style Italian that’s out of this world.
I’ve never known of anyone being disappointed in the food at Buca – just doesn’t happen. That’s why a lot of us recommend it for our bosses, who use Buca as a conference venue, for business meetings, corporate events and team building exercises. Dishes offered are perfect for group meals or intimate gatherings, either one. Everything’s delicious, and it’s served family style in “smalls,” which feed 2 to 3, or in “larges,” which feed 4 to 6. Passing and sharing your food makes a meal much more interesting and encourages give and take, which is always good in business.
Read more 
 As business meetings go, this is the best on record!
April 14–19 will find me at the National Association of Broadcaster’s Show (NABSHOW®) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Am I psyched? Outta my mind! My little dog-and-pony show, shooting educational videos for computer training and corporate meetings, will be at the same conference as the likes of Dreamworks, MSNBC, Time Warner and the BBC!
Company parties, strolling the exhibit hall and eating in restaurants with private rooms …
My biggest client wants me to become a broader-casting® professional, who can create, manage, buy, sell and deliver filmed content on multiple devices. To absorb all I can, I’ll be attending presentations at meeting locations all over the conference venue, which is more than fine with me. The “great content shift” is fascinating – the new frontier for my generation — and I want to be a player.
My company outing includes accommodations at The Excalibur.
It’s a great hotel, right on The Strip. There’s a casino downstairs, as well as a couple of theaters and some fabulous restaurants. I can’t wait to enjoy family style Italian at Buca di Beppo. It’s such a cool place! Very casual, with incredible food for large groups or small, and super service. My client plans to have a couple of group meals there with other vendors. I can’t miss a single one of these company parties. I need to consider them team building events, because I might have to work with some of the people someday. And I also need to ensure that none of them become my competition!
It’s a good thing Buca will be our conference restaurant, because I love it there.
The atmosphere is friendly and fun, with thousands of vintage photos lining the walls. (Since I started out as a still photographer, I love old pics.) There are a number of private and semi-private dining rooms of varying sizes, so it’s a great party place, whether you want to have dinner for a crowd or a smaller dinner party. You can order a “Small,” which feeds 2 or 3, or a “Large,” which serves 4 to 6. This sounds weird at first, but it’s fun. Everybody gets to chat about what they like and decide what will be ordered. When the food arrives – always perfectly prepared and beautifully presented – all the guests get to share each dish.
Read more
 My boss is taking me to the golf expo in Vegas. BOO-YAH!
Two overlapping golf shows make it a bash, the regular 2012 Golf Show and the GCSSA 2012 Education Conference. All the golf course superintendents — and a few turf techs like me — hang out at a world-class conference venue to learn the latest and greatest, swap stories and PAR—TEE! Man oh man, I can’t wait to get into my high-falutin’ hotel room, kick back and click on the wide-screen TV — but just for a minute. I don’t want to waste time watching television when I could be enjoying the best company outing ever.
If I win the Most Valuable Technician Award, it’ll mean a company party at home too!
The big guy actually nominated me — how cool is that? If I win, they’ll write me up in GCN magazine, and I’ll have made a name for myself and given the home course some publicity. Either way, I’m going to Vegas. We’re staying at The Excalibur, right on the South Strip. It’s got a casino downstairs and some fantastic restaurants for large parties, including one I’ve been meaning to try, Buca di Beppo.
It’s one of those family style Italian restaurants, twisted just the right amount.
“Buca di Beppo” means “Joe’s basement,” so even the name makes me happy. I knew this guy who kept a gigantic old stove in his garage and, at least once a month, he’d make a fantastic dinner for a large group. It was always great — sometimes it was even Italian! So Buca sounds like just the kind of place I’ll look forward to after spending time on the strip overdosing on sequins and feathers.
And I hear Buca’s food is fantastic, both for group meals and small parties.
My friends rave about the cooking, saying it’s all fresh and seasoned to perfection. Apparently the Italian sausage they use on some of their pizzas, pastas and entrees has amazing flavor. They have a family style menu, so you share. I like swapping food at a group dinner. Everybody gets to try more things, and it gives you something to talk about. I can hold my own at corporate events, business meetings and dinners, but a little icebreaking activity makes it easier to meet everybody.
Read more
 Spotlighting products at a Vegas conference venue!
One of the best perks in my new position as head electrician is the opportunity to attend Lightfair International. It’s the biggest architectural and commercial lighting trade show in the world, and this year’s party plan calls for a Las Vegas event location. We’re exhibitors, so I’ll be putting up all our lighting in the Design pavilion, but that’s a piece of cake.
In fact, it’ll be fun because once I get a main line dropped in, there’s nothing to it. The conference LEDs venues in Vegas are incredible — they’ll provide support service with regard to the main wiring — and we’ll be working with a designer to turn our booth into a gorgeous party space for attendees.
Our designs this year are dazzling, and we’ll have some special events in our booth.
Can’t wait to show off our wares. We’re using traditional shapes in non-traditional ways — chandeliers made of modern materials like acrylic and chrome, warmed up with colorful glass and crystal. Contemporary, not cold — lots of LEDs.
To show off our sophisticated splendor, we’re planning an event in our booth each day that’s a light show of sorts. All our lighting goes off, and then each product turns on as a pre-recorded announcement describes it. Our reps interact with the recordings too, which makes it pretty cool. We’ll also be serving a little party finger food and some wine after 5 p.m.
I want to see the other exhibits too. The booth and event organizers get crazy creative. Not only are the new technologies and designs outrageous, there’s an entire pavilion devoted to natural light and another to environmental lighting.
And Vegas itself is a lighting theme party!
Neon, incandescents, laser lights, LEDs — you name it, Vegas has it — firing wattage at you full throttle! And that’s just outside. The entertainment lighting is incredible too. In fact, my personal party plan calls for a show every night.
Read more
 A company dinner on the company dollar — finally!
It’s been awhile since we had an office party. Business was so slow, the company wasn’t spending money on frivolities like holiday banquets and company outings. I’m glad our management is smart enough to be frugal when times are tough, but I’m also glad we can finally enjoy an office party that isn’t a pot luck. A real company party is a team building activity my coworkers and I could use!
What’s company party worthy? A new client — a nice big one!
Working together on a complicated proposal and pitching it to the right people at the right business meetings in just the right way, we’ve landed a nice new account that should bring in some steady cash. If that’s not worth a company dinner for the team, I don’t know what is! So we’re planning an event off-site and after hours so nobody feels rushed to get back to the office. Spouses and significant others are invited, and we’re going to take our time at our favorite dinner party place: Buca di Beppo.
Buca’s the perfect venue for an office dinner, lunch or company outing.
I love Buca anytime, but it’s specially designed for group dining. A series of private and semi-private dining rooms make it perfect for dining groups of all sizes. The service is fantastic, and the food is some of the best family style Italian I’ve ever tasted.
Best of all, the atmosphere at this wonderful group restaurant is just plain fun!
If it’s your first visit to Buca, you’ll be invited on a little tour that includes the kitchen. You’ll get a chance to see multiple dining rooms with literally thousands of vintage photos of Italian Americans, some of which are downright hilarious. There’s plenty of other kitschy décor, like the baroque arches, winged cherubs, etc. in the Pope room, which has a bust of Pope Benedict as its centerpiece! Irreverence is a perfect antidote to the workplace, so Buca’s a popular place for corporate events, office parties and team bonding activities.
Read more
 What happens in Vegas happens at The National Hardware Show.
So, a bunch of hardware nerds (and I don’t mean digital) are getting together to drool over tools, paint, plumbing and electrical equipment. Doesn’t sound like a good time? Then you’ve never been to the biggest, most power-tooled, testosterone-filled gathering there is — in Vegas, the best party venue in the world!
If you’re in the business, this show is the hardware to go menu of your dreams!
The exhibition floor is like a chrome and concrete-filled banquet room for guys who survive on taking things apart and putting them together. They have everything, from pavers and hardwood flooring to ceiling fans and shingles. There’s even the Inventor’s Spotlight, where guys come from all over the world with awesome gadgets and gizmos they’ve cooked up in their own basements and backyards.
Since any conference venue in Vegas can quickly become a party venue … that happens!
First of all, a bunch of exhibit items at the show are perfect for man caves, outdoor living, camping and workshops. You’ll find team party gear for tailgating and sports parties, outdoor group dining sets, tons of grills and grilling accessories. All that equipment comes with party food samples, beer in outrageous coolers and barbecued meals for a group that’ll knock your socks off.
After partying at the conference venue, we go to the hotel and continue.
Guys really enjoy doing certain things together, especially eating tremendous amounts of delicious food and seeing world-class entertainment. So after we get back to The Excalibur, we hold a little party planning session in one of the hotel’s meeting spaces. We pick a place for dinner, look at the entertainment schedule and choose an act we’d like to see, then deputize one of the guys to reserve a table and tickets for us.
Read more
 ASD Las Vegas is the best company outing of the year!
Even if I weren’t a pet product buyer who has to be there, I’d LOVE the ASD show anyway. There are so many things to see and think about, both in and out of my industry, the show is absolutely mind bending. Just walk the exhibit floor and you’ll be inspired, not only by WHAT to retail, but HOW to market, sell, plan an event, display your wares, grow your business — and have a blast doing it!
Choices, ideas, information and the best conference venue in the world.
Seeing cool merchandise FIRST puts me ahead of the pack. I just love finding cute stuff that’s great — like doggie backpacks, holiday-themed scrunchie collars, pet bathing suits and lion-maned outfits for cats. I don’t order a lot of specialty items like that, but displaying them in our shops engages all the customers, even those who drop by to pick up kibble and kitty litter. They enjoy a store that looks like a party place!
The important stuff I stock up on are the latest and greatest pet foods, grooming aids, cleaners and shampoos. They’re all there, at ASD, and the business meeting places at the Las Vegas Convention Center are so well organized, I can get everything lined up and ordered FAST.
Then I can move on to items that also interest me …
… like handbags, shoes, jewelry (you wouldn’t BELIEVE the jewelry!), cosmetics, housewares — the list goes on and on, all of it hot, hip and cutting edge. Believe me, I do my job first, but when I’m not shopping for the store or attending a session in one of the conference meeting rooms, I take time to browse and network.
I also take time to relax at The Excalibur, home base in my personal ASD party plan!
The Excalibur Hotel and Casino is right on The Strip, with a great ambience that makes even my down time feel like a special event. Everything’s there, from the casino and theaters, to a pool and world-class restaurants. My favorite, hands down, is Buca di Beppo. It’s a great place, serving family style Italian food that’s out of this world. It’s perfect for a group dinner, but even if I haven’t invited a fellow buyer or three to share group meals with, I never mind going to Buca on my own. The staff there is friendly and accommodating, bending over backwards to ensure you have a good time.
Read more
 The 2012 Las Vegas Nightclub and Bar Show is full of creative party ideas for adults!
If you’re going to Vegas March 12-14, you MUST be, like me, in the hospitality industry. The Nightclub and Bar Show is the coolest tradeshow Vegas hosts all year — and that’s something considering we’re talking about the convention capital of the world … an entire city that revolves around casinos, entertainment, nightclubs and bars. It’ll be in the Las Vegas Convention Center, a fabulous conference venue right off The Strip.
It’s ANYTHING BUT a boring corporate meeting or company outing.
Event planners turn the central halls of the convention center into party central, filled with boutique liquor purveyors giving out samples, decorators displaying outrageous club furnishings, dance floors (with dancers), music systems (playing great tunes), food for parties, spectacular lighting — and super fun, cool people.
A bunch of us are staying at The Excalibur for this special event.
It’s a convenient location for seeing all of Vegas, with a casino downstairs and plenty of group dining options. My friend Sophia is the party planner in our group, and she’s got an itinerary mapped out for us with daytime attendance at the Nightclub and Bar Show, afternoon naps, dinners at the best restaurants for groups in the city, catching some entertainment, blackjack and slots, and wandering around under the lights.
There are some wonderful restaurants for groups at The Excalibur.
Like Buca di Beppo, one of our favorite places for a party. It specializes in easy meals for a crowd like ours (although it’s just as good at intimate dinners for small parties). The food is incredible, served family style in “smalls,” which are big enough for 2 to 4 people and “larges,” which feed 4 to 6. It’s so much fun! We look over the menu and discuss, coming up with group dinner ideas, then each person orders one small. Everybody in the party gets to taste and share each amazing dish, making for a lively, tasty group dinner.
Read more
 Can’t wait! I get to visit a world-class conference venue in Vegas!
I get to go to the HIMSS health systems show this year – WOO-HOO! My employer is putting me and a fellow programmer/analyst up in “royal” accommodations at theExcalibur, so we’ll have convenient access to nearby exhibits and meeting spaces, can take our pick of corporate parties and teambuilding activities, plus enjoy all kinds of entertainment during down time.
Excalibur is great for a corporate conference – or a girls’ night out!
Of course all the conference venues in Vegas are fantastic and meeting spaces at Excalibur are top notch, so I can set up information gathering sessions in conference meeting rooms at my hotel, at The Sands Expo Center, or any of the other meeting locations nearby. Excalibur is a great place for corporate events and presentations; they make the work part of my stay easy. Everything is right there. They’ve even provided restaurants with over-the-top food for conference goers on site.
We’ll discuss data center hosting at Buca di Beppo with some vendors.
They know we’ve been researching their security software and said they want to take us out to dinner, so I’ll choose Buca, which is actually IN the Excalibur – can’t get more convenient than that! Buca’s well known as one of the absolute best restaurants with private rooms, and this location is brand new.
A fun, casual atmosphere like Buca’s offers a break from formal business meetings and presentations, and their food is fantastic.
If I get enough colleagues together, we might need dinner for a large group …
something Buca does extremely well. Their family style menu is perfect for getting people at a group dinner talking as they figure out whether to order a small (serves 2 or 3) or a large (serves 4 or more). It’s really easy and fun to sort out, and all that discussion may instigate security software negotiations! For groups of 20 or more, they even offermenus for large groups.
Read more
 Bring your book club to Buca!
Tired of meeting in boring, business meeting rooms to discuss your favorite reads with book-loving co-workers? A change of scenery can give your club’s energy level a boost. Consider having lunch or dinner at a good group restaurant, where the service is friendly, the food delish and the atmosphere just plain fun.
The first time we went, the book was The Godfather, so family style Italian was a perfect match.
Buca di Beppo is such a blast! There are actually mafia-style vintage photos in some of the meeting spaces — as well as mafia-spoofing pics. The pasta we ordered was so good — so NOT like most bland food for large groups — it could have been prepared by a native Sicilian. But then we realized that the real theme behind Buca is sharing great food and conversation. That’s why we don’t limit our visits to times when we read an Italian author.
We book it to Buca for the easy-going ambience and delicious group meals.
There are only a dozen of us, so we ask for one of the smaller private or semi-private dining rooms. We get plenty of table space to spread out, a little privacy so we can talk, and fantastic food for a party. And a party is what any group dinner or lunch at Buca feels like — the very air is festive!
Serving group meals well has been refined to an art at Buca.
Members of the staff are personable and know their jobs inside out, making everything they do seem effortless. They’re able to offer menu suggestions that complement each other and make perfect combo ideas for a dinner party. Since Buca is a family style restaurant, we like to choose three or four “larges” (which contain four or more servings), then share and sample to our hearts’ content. We ask that our group dinner be evenly split between separate checks — something large party restaurants like Buca never whimper over. When dinner for a crowd is that easy, it’s a beautiful thing! The lunch or evening goes smoothly, and we have all the time we want to dissect and discuss our book.
Read more
|
|
