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Rare cheeses from Quebec are available for sale and can be used for tastings in the space. Photo: Courtesy of A Taste of Quebec
A Taste of Quebec has moved from its original space just inside the gates of the Distillery District into a new venue on Distillery Lane, attached to the Thompson Landry Gallery's new location. The 4,300-square-foot space in the Cooperage Building includes 3,300 square feet of gallery space and a separate cheese boutique.
"We are excited to have a second gallery with A Taste of Quebec attached. It's a nice step up for us," said Joanne Thompson, who co-owns the boutique and gallery with Sylvain Landry. "This is so much better for receptions right here on site." (The original Thompson Landry Gallery, which showcases Quebec artists, remains open in the Stone Building.)
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Monster's Keep America Working Tour Photo: Courtesy of Monster.com
FROM NEW YORK The demand for jobs has been particularly high in 2009, and to accommodate the need, online job placement service Monster.com decided to revamp its touring career fair by producing it in-house and making 140 stops in the U.S. alone throughout the year. Monster Worldwide Inc. senior director of global events Phil Cavanagh oversees all of the company’s corporate events and trade shows and worked with his team to launch Keep America Working. He spoke with us about what Monster did to make the tour's rigorous schedule go smoothly and how career fairs seem particularly rewarding in this economic climate.
How is the Keep America Working Tour different than previous Monster.com job fairs?
Our old model was a straightforward career fair. Job seekers would come in, present resumes to recruiters and then leave. It used to be managed through a third party, but this time we decided to do it all in-house by our global events team.
We looked at people's needs this year, and we found that they're really just looking for information and a sense of empowerment. So we created the event with three components. It does have the recruiting area where employers interact with the job seekers, but we've added a theater presentation that has our career experts telling people how to stand out in the market and a kiosk area that shows attendees how to use the different career tools on Monster.com.
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After years as a corporate headhunter and résumé doctor, Stephen Viscusi has taken on the role of job retention expert. His most recent book, Bulletproof Your Job: 4 Simple Strategies to Ride Out the Rough Times and Come Out on Top at Work, offers tips for people sweating out the uncertain job market.
How can people best prove their worth in the workplace today?
The most important thing is to establish a personal relationship with your boss, and your boss’s boss, so that they know you as an individual. The hiring process today sterilizes who we are, and it means that bosses don’t often know their staff. Nobody likes firing people, but it’s easier to fire someone you don’t really know.
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This story originally appeared in the most recent issue of our magazine; subsequently the subject, Liz Glover Wilson, left her job at iStar Financial to start her own event and fund-raising company for nonprofits, Elizabeth Rose Consulting. Before she left, Glover Wilson expanded her two staffers' job descriptions, and they were promoted and remain at the company. One of her first clients is the iStar Charity Foundation, and she'll be hosting its annual charity shootout in July. Here's our original story.
Liz Glover Wilson has spent nearly 13 years at iStar Financial, steadily increasing her presence at the company by centralizing its approach to meetings and events and rising to vice president of corporate events. Now that funds are being taken from her department, she approaches every project with an argument for its necessity, and so far, she’s making her point.
How She’s Already Proven Her Worth When Glover Wilson joined the real estate investment firm in 1996, planning its events was a one-woman job. She spent her first few years running 35 big events a year on a shoestring budget and eventually implemented a standard by which all iStar events are produced. Glover Wilson now has oversight of all meetings and event initiatives nationwide, so whether someone in her department or an administrative assistant plans them, they should deliver a consistent brand message and use her proven cost-saving methods.
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Traditional Spanish paella Photo: Courtesy of Embrujo Flamenco
Embrujo Flamenco—a Spanish tapas restaurant run by sisters Jais, Mali, and Amalia Fernandez—will begin offering private cooking classes in August. Suitable for groups of as many as 10, classes can be tailored to accommodate corporate teambuilding functions and social events. Groups can book a single class to learn how to make a traditional paella or a series of five classes that will focus on tapas dishes such as gambas al ajillo (garlic shrimp), entrées like paella Valenciana (a saffron-flavoured dish made with bomba rice, shrimp, mussels, clams, chicken, and chorizo), and a selection of Spanish desserts. Classes cost $50 per person. Tastings for larger groups can also be arranged. —Susan O'Neill
Cost Savings Nothing speaks to employers like the bottom line, so you should already be keeping track of how much money you’ve managed to save through negotiations, partnerships, and minor budget-saving adjustments.
“Even more than the economy today, people are worried about future money,” says Gen Art New York event director Kaki Stergiou. “Something I would have hired a freelancer for, I’m now hiring volunteers [to do], on the promise of partnering with them on something else. And for venues that are hesitant to give a low rate, I’ve gotten discounts for signing on to do two [events] in a year instead of just one.”
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FROM LOS ANGELES After Michael Jackson died suddenly on Thursday afternoon, BET worked fast to transform its already-scheduled awards on Sunday at the Shrine Auditorium into a tribute to the pop star. And, in addition to being what some would consider an appropriate format change for a show celebrating black entertainment, the modified broadcast was also a boon for the network: It was the top-watched cable telecast this year and BET's biggest audience ever, according to a press release from the network.
The live broadcast, hosted by Jamie Foxx, drew 10.65 million viewers. About 10 percent of televisions that were on during the broadcast period were tuned to the awards program, uncommonly high for a cable network, according to Nielsen Media Research findings cited in The Los Angeles Times.
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Although Audi Canada recently opened a new Toronto showroom, the German automobile manufacturer chose to hold the launch of the new Audi R8 V10 sports car and the Canadian edition of Audi Magazine inside a tent in a downtown parking lot Monday. "We wanted to have a good central location with enough space," Karsten Ruwoldt, director of marketing and product management for Audi Canada, said of the Mercer Street venue, located across the street from Hotel Le Germain. "We also have a marketing partnership with the hotel. It's a great partner for our brand and a very good fit for us."
Audi called on InField Marketing Group to plan the event and invited 600 people—owners, dealers, prospective clients—to the cocktail reception, set amid a range of Audi vehicles.
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Performers break dancing at Cisco's gala Photo: David Fox
FROM BOSTON Global networking technology company Cisco held its annual Partners Summit in Boston June 2 through June 4, when it looked for ways to wow its sales partners on a significantly reduced budget.
"The whole program was scaled down from years past," said Richard Toscano, director of special events at George P. Johnson, who worked with Cisco to plan the summit. "In the past we’ve had 4,000 to 5,000 attendees—this year it was cut down to 2,000."
A smaller event meant a more exclusive crowd. "We strategically scaled back to a more executive level," said Stacy Glavinos, event program manager at Cisco. "We went from 43 percent executives last year to 59 percent, so everything had to be tweaked to that executive level."
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The Robert Mondavi Winery partnered with the TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival to bring its Discover Wine Tour to Canada for the first time this weekend. The event, which kicked off with a V.I.P. cocktail reception hosted by Margrit Mondavi on Thursday evening, included three days of wine tastings, food pairings, and seminars in a pavilion designed to replicate Robert Mondavi’s Napa Valley vineyard at Nathan Phillips Square.
“The event here is extraordinary," Mondavi said of the jazz festival. "I’m very happy to be here and to celebrate, as I always do, my wonderful husband, who was such an inspiration and had such a passion for wine." Mondavi's attendance at the event marked the first time she has joined the tour, now in its third year. In 2009, the tour has visited Phoenix, Dallas, New Orleans, and the Food & Wine Festival at National Harbour near Washington. The tour will also stop in Seattle, Chicago, Atlanta, and San Diego this year.
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Registration Is Open for Our Chicago Expo August 20
