Jarret Christensen is the senior event planner for USA Today, where he has worked for the past seven years. He coordinates about 30 national events annually, mainly focused on client entertaining and internal staff meetings. Christensen has been in the event planning industry for almost 13 years, and works out of USA Today’s headquarters in McLean, Virginia.
Catering: “I do a 100-person holiday event for a high-level client of ours every year, and no matter what, I’ll always use Design Cuisine for catering; they’re phenomenal. What’s so good about them is that they’re high-end in terms of quality service, and they know what I’m looking for. For instance, they know that our president likes draft Corona, so they always have that. I can almost use them as a full-service catering company; they assist me with decor, floral, and even entertainment. They do so many events in D.C. that I feel confident in their vendor recommendations.”Venue: “I love working with the Ritz-Carlton. We mainly work with them at the Tysons Corner location, but we’ve also started working with them on events across the country. They’re such a buttoned-up company—they really know their customer and appreciate their customer’s business. We were always under the impression that we couldn’t afford them, but they made a point that they are high-end but very competitive. We’ve started forming a bigger and better relationship with them, and their customer service is great at making sure our needs are met.”
Invitations: “Toni Footer of the Write Image is a local invitation vendor that I’ve been using since I started here [in 2000]. I use her for two to three major events each year, times when we need something really nice. She gives me suggestions and is up for any challenge. I always ask her to give me the world for very little money, and somehow, she does it. What I love about Toni, besides her creativity, is how detail-oriented she is. She knows that invitations need to be perfect, she’s very good with deadlines, and very up-to-date on styles and trends.”
Venue: “We’ve been doing theater events with the Kennedy Center for the past five or six years. They’ve recently become the place for the hottest new shows to come to town, and I’ve formed a great relationship with my contact there. It’s all about knowing your customer’s needs, and the Kennedy Center works with us when we take clients to the shows. They also typically do a pretheater reception for us with their in-house caterer, Restaurant Associates. The food always has a fabulous presentation themed to the particular show. I’ve already booked it for next year.”
Catering: “I do a 100-person holiday event for a high-level client of ours every year, and no matter what, I’ll always use Design Cuisine for catering; they’re phenomenal. What’s so good about them is that they’re high-end in terms of quality service, and they know what I’m looking for. For instance, they know that our president likes draft Corona, so they always have that. I can almost use them as a full-service catering company; they assist me with decor, floral, and even entertainment. They do so many events in D.C. that I feel confident in their vendor recommendations.”Venue: “I love working with the Ritz-Carlton. We mainly work with them at the Tysons Corner location, but we’ve also started working with them on events across the country. They’re such a buttoned-up company—they really know their customer and appreciate their customer’s business. We were always under the impression that we couldn’t afford them, but they made a point that they are high-end but very competitive. We’ve started forming a bigger and better relationship with them, and their customer service is great at making sure our needs are met.”
Invitations: “Toni Footer of the Write Image is a local invitation vendor that I’ve been using since I started here [in 2000]. I use her for two to three major events each year, times when we need something really nice. She gives me suggestions and is up for any challenge. I always ask her to give me the world for very little money, and somehow, she does it. What I love about Toni, besides her creativity, is how detail-oriented she is. She knows that invitations need to be perfect, she’s very good with deadlines, and very up-to-date on styles and trends.”
Venue: “We’ve been doing theater events with the Kennedy Center for the past five or six years. They’ve recently become the place for the hottest new shows to come to town, and I’ve formed a great relationship with my contact there. It’s all about knowing your customer’s needs, and the Kennedy Center works with us when we take clients to the shows. They also typically do a pretheater reception for us with their in-house caterer, Restaurant Associates. The food always has a fabulous presentation themed to the particular show. I’ve already booked it for next year.”
