On Saturday afternoon, the planning committee for the 2010 M.P.I. Southeastern Education Conference took the reins from the 2009 conference leaders to orchestrate the kick-off luncheon for next year’s event. The 2010 committee, which will organize all the events and creative aspects of the conference, coordinated the lunch for the 300 attendees still at the conference for its last day at the Eden Roc.
“As events people we tend to fall back on what we know works, so we wanted to show people other ideas,” said committee chair Jason Carroll, who took inspiration for the mirrored decor from the concept of a palindrome, a word that's the same forwards as it is backwards. “This luncheon gives people the idea that [the 2010 event] is going to be a different type of conference.”
Grand Events of Florida LLC incorporated mirrors throughout the decor in the hotel’s Pompeii ballroom. Promotional phrases for the upcoming conference like “See Yourself Smarter, S.E.C. 2010” and “See Yourself Richer, S.E.C. 2010” branded the large mirrored panels on each wall. Additionally, small disco balls, mirror centerpieces, and small reflective accents decorated the tables. The menu also resembled a palindrome as the hotel served a salad, entrée, dessert, entrée, and another salad—in that order.
Eight-year-old piano prodigy Ethan Bortnick performed during the luncheon, mixing commentary and jokes with his renditions of songs made famous by Elton John, Louis Armstrong, and Aretha Franklin. For the finale, singers from Dorene Collier’s Event Show Productions performed "A Brand New Day” from The Wiz, with lyrical changes to reference M.P.I. and the Tampa Bay chapter, host of next year’s conference. In the middle of the song, the 2010 S.E.C. planning committee members stood up from their seats around the room and made their way onto the stage, playing silver tambourines in time with the music.
