I went to Baltimore to help out with the 2nd half of the Elev8 Fall Learning Institute, which was taking place at the Hotel Monaco. Specifically, one of my tasks was to work at the dine-around Tuesday evening. The group of 125 attendees at the convening was going to be broken down into 5 groups, and each group would be going to a different restaurant for an authentic Baltimore meal and experience. Each of the 5 restaurants already had contracts negotiated, details ironed out, and was visited the Saturday prior by Kathleen, the on-site member of GDEvents, to verbally go over details one more time.

My task was to take a cab to the restaurant I was assigned to, check in with the owner/manager, make sure the space was set up for the appropriate number of guests, etc. Then I was to meet the convening attendees at a middle school where their afternoon learning tours were ending, bring them on a bus to the restaurant, ensure they had a great dining experience, and finally get the guests back to the hotel in one piece. And I was going to be able to have a nice meal as well! I really thought that this would be an easy evening – yes, I was being introduced to another service that Ginger Donnan Events plans, but one – that with all the advance planning already done – would not be too taxing for me. I had a great book that I was ready to devour along with my fried chicken.

So here’s what actually happened: I take a car service to the restaurant, and it’s closed! I never thought that this was even a possible scenario, let alone the one I was living. I immediately text Kathleen, with my driver by my side. (By the way, if you’re ever in Baltimore and need a car service, I highly recommend Eco Green Ride – ask for Tia with the stilettos and the great stories.) I’m told the restaurant was opening up just for our party – great, except I’m standing in front of the restaurant, and it is dark with no signs of life. I knocked on every window and door around the building, called the restaurant and left a message, but nothing! Kathleen and Ginger decide that I will wait there until 5:15 (the bus full of diners was to arrive at the restaurant at 6:00) before we make the call to go somewhere else. Meanwhile Kathleen, who is completely prepared for anything, and completely unflappable in the face of any emergency, works with Ginger to book another restaurant for my group.

Tia and I waited for one hour until 5:15, periodically knocking on the doors and windows, and calling and emailing the restaurant to no avail. Now I am tasked to get to the new restaurant before the bus does (thanks, Kathleen and Natalie D for getting all parties onto the correct buses!), make sure the dinner goes smoothly, and be available for anything that comes up. Since the new restaurant was down the street from one of the other dine-around restaurants, I went back and forth between the two for the evening. I made sure that the buses were waiting once the dining was finished, and got everyone back to the hotel in one piece. The only downside? My two restaurants were Lebanese food and seafood, and since I am an extremely picky, unadventurous eater, I had French fries from room service at the end of the night!

What can be learned from this experience? What looks like a simple evening out can easily turn upside down. Kathleen has worked on hundreds of these group reservations in her event-planning career - not once encountering a closed restaurant – but she was prepared for any eventuality, including having on hand the list of restaurants that were originally vetted for the dine-around, but not ultimately chosen for this particular evening. And she never panicked; she just calmly worked out a new plan, apprised me of the details, and checked in on me periodically to make sure I was secure and comfortable with what I was doing.

Unflappability, grace under pressure, and over-preparedness – Kathleen has it, and one day, hopefully I will too!

Select teams of 25 individuals from each of Elev8’s four sites around the country –  Chicago, Oakland, Albuquerque and Baltimore – came together along with representatives from Public Interest Projects and The Atlantic Philanthropies for an unparalleled learning opportunity: to share experiences, to build partnerships across Elev8 sites, and to expand on the expertise of all Elev8 participants.  Ginger Donnan Events coordinated all arrangements for this convening, including registration, travel booking to Baltimore, communication with attendees, as well as on-site management of 2 ½ days of workshops, learning tours, and dine-arounds.

This autumn was our busiest yet with seven single day events in New York and New Jersey and three multiple-day conferences in Chicago, Philadelphia and Baltimore.

We started the season by helping a law firm with a client conference at the Harvard Club in NYC when they were short-staffed. Ten days later we moved downtown for the Autism Speaks to Wall Street Chef Gala to manage the check-in process and volunteers. Then, mid-October, it was time for the five New Jersey Light the Night Walks that take place on two simultaneous Saturdays. One of our biggest projects of the year, we started working on the logistics for these events back in March and were thrilled to see the growth in attendance and funds raised by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

This month, we executed two more of Public Interest Projects’ convenings, including our third for the U.S. Human Rights Fund and our first for the Elev8 middle school initiative, a conference that ends today. These events included booking travel for over 100 people each and coordinating meeting, meal and transportation needs.

None this would have been possible without the help of such a dedicated team. Now it’s time for the rest and recuperation that comes with the holidays and planning for 2012 events, including the 5th Annual Communities for Education Reform Convening.

What events are on your horizon?

Last night I returned from handling the logistics for the U.S. Human Rights Fund’s (USHRF) convening in Philadelphia. For the past three years, this event has brought together funders and advocates working towards common goals such as criminal justice reform, racial equity and developing youth leadership for social justice causes. Much of the convening was devoted to small-group workshops but the first day was devoted to a motivating opening plenary, followed by a presentation of the first USHRF Human Rights Hero Award to Jessica Lenahan.

Prior to working on this convening, I had never heard of Jessica Lenahan. But before I made the travel arrangements for our VIP, I knew I needed to know more. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights showed up first on google with this information:

“Jessica Lenahan…obtained a restraining order against her ex-husband from the Colorado Courts in May 21, 1999.  Not knowing the whereabouts of her daughters, Jessica Lenahan had eight contacts with the Castle Rock Police Department during the evening of June 22, 1999 and the morning of June 23, 1999.  In each of her telephone calls and discussions with the police agents, she requested efforts to locate her daughters and she informed them that she possessed a protection order against Simon Gonzales. Her contacts were met with a police response that was fragmented, uncoordinated and unprepared, and it did not respect the terms of the restraining order. That morning, Simon Gonzales drove his pick-up truck to the Castle Rock Police Department and fired shots through the window. There was an exchange of gunfire with officers from the station in the course of which he was fatally wounded and killed. The deceased bodies of the three girls were found in his truck.”

Luckily, I was sitting down when I read this and when I learned the rest of Jessica’s story while at the convening. I thought that what had happened to her was a blow so fierce that a person would never be able to withstand more hurt and heartache within their lifetime. But it was only after viewing this video at the convening, did I learn that Jessica’s struggle only just began with that violent day in 1999:

Jessica has spent the past 12 years fighting for women’s and children’s rights against domestic abuse and for enforcement of the laws that were meant to keep her family safe. It was a humbling honor to help to bring together a group that will use Jessica’s story as inspiration for their ongoing human rights advocacy.