TD Bank hosted its C.E.O. Wow! Leadership Awards dinner, part of the company’s incentive program, last night in the Knight Concert Hall of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County. Following the merger of TD Banknorth and Commerce Banks, the number of employees honored at the newly-named TD Bank awards dinner quadrupled, resulting in more than 425 attendees, compared to 100 in 2009.
“Last year [the dinner] was all about decor and the one large amoeba table [which sat all attendees], and this year it was all about how we were going to present the awards,” said TD Bank’s Philadelphia-based vice president of event management, Jennifer Savica, who added that the 2009 event had 50 honorees and this year had 200. “The challenge was, ‘What do we do to make these people feel how the 50 felt last year?’"
Savica had guests enter through the back of the concert hall, where posters showed details from the feeder events honorees attended before reaching the awards dinner. The cocktail reception took place on the stage of the concert hall, where large pillars listed the names of all honorees. Dinner took place at tables on a platform covering the house seats.
Between each of the dinner’s three courses, the lighting changed to spotlight award presenters standing at various points around the first tier of the balcony. The recipients’ names appeared on four screens mounted along the balcony. The segment ended with the company’s C.E.O., Bharat Masranii, standing on the stage as the names of all 200 honorees flashed on the screens around the venue.
The night wrapped up with guests returning to the stage for a dance party before buses transported them back to their hotel, the Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort & Club.
Correction: This story has been updated to more accurately reflect the merger between TD Banknorth and Commerce Bank and the role of its executives.
