Jana Richardson
Jana Richardson is the special events manager for the Capital Area Food Bank, the largest nonprofit hunger and nutrition education resource in the D.C. metro area. The food bank distributes 20 million pounds of food annually, and Richardson produces roughly 15 of the organization's larger food drives annually. She also produces the annual Blue Jeans Ball, its biggest fund-raising event. Richardson has been with the Food Bank for two years, before which she was an event manager for Hecht’s, a division of the May Department Stores Company.
Venue: “We’ve held the Blue Jeans Ball at the Marriott Wardman Park for the past four years. They have really accommodated us as the event continues to grow. We have about 30 restaurants that participate, [and] Marriott is so generous to allow us to bring restaurants into their hotel, because many hotels do not allow outside chefs or restaurants to serve as the main caterer of the event. This year was nice because we were able to use [the Marriott's] new Stone's Throw Restaurant and chef John Payne as part of the restaurant and chef lineup.”Decor: “A Vista Events helped with the decor this year, as well as on the very first Blue Jeans Ball. We invited them back because with the room change, we needed to enhance the look of the space. Kathryn Indrisano was particularly great because she was able to mesh our theme and color scheme with her own creative ideas. We had a very strict budget, and she really understood how to make it work.”
Flowers: “Yvette Prather and Ricky Nelson of TaLoria Yvette Prather and Associates have designed our centerpieces for five years. Yvette really understands the food bank’s vision and incorporates foods and vegetables into her displays, which adds an innovative twist that ties back to our mission. We give her little direction, and she takes the design to another level.”
Photography: “Mike Olliver has been with us for the past few years. He not only photographs the Blue Jeans Ball, but he also covers smaller events such as Paula Deen’s visit to the food bank. He’s the kind of photographer who takes charge of the situation and has a very creative eye. He gets the shot that he knows we need, especially when we are trying to pitch things to the media.”
Invitation Design: “We were happy to work with LM&O Advertising on this year’s Blue Jeans Ball collateral. They came up with a creative design and essentially branded the Blue Jeans Ball. The event never had strong branding before, so it was important that we developed one. All of the work was done pro-bono, which we were very excited about."
Venue: “We’ve held the Blue Jeans Ball at the Marriott Wardman Park for the past four years. They have really accommodated us as the event continues to grow. We have about 30 restaurants that participate, [and] Marriott is so generous to allow us to bring restaurants into their hotel, because many hotels do not allow outside chefs or restaurants to serve as the main caterer of the event. This year was nice because we were able to use [the Marriott's] new Stone's Throw Restaurant and chef John Payne as part of the restaurant and chef lineup.”Decor: “A Vista Events helped with the decor this year, as well as on the very first Blue Jeans Ball. We invited them back because with the room change, we needed to enhance the look of the space. Kathryn Indrisano was particularly great because she was able to mesh our theme and color scheme with her own creative ideas. We had a very strict budget, and she really understood how to make it work.”
Flowers: “Yvette Prather and Ricky Nelson of TaLoria Yvette Prather and Associates have designed our centerpieces for five years. Yvette really understands the food bank’s vision and incorporates foods and vegetables into her displays, which adds an innovative twist that ties back to our mission. We give her little direction, and she takes the design to another level.”
Photography: “Mike Olliver has been with us for the past few years. He not only photographs the Blue Jeans Ball, but he also covers smaller events such as Paula Deen’s visit to the food bank. He’s the kind of photographer who takes charge of the situation and has a very creative eye. He gets the shot that he knows we need, especially when we are trying to pitch things to the media.”
Invitation Design: “We were happy to work with LM&O Advertising on this year’s Blue Jeans Ball collateral. They came up with a creative design and essentially branded the Blue Jeans Ball. The event never had strong branding before, so it was important that we developed one. All of the work was done pro-bono, which we were very excited about."
