I am often contacted by law firms whose large-scale or high-profile events are overwhelming their marketing team with the tasks and details needed to produce the event successfully. While I always recommend contacting an event planner before the going gets tough, I’ve learned that we can get-going with just 3-6 weeks notice if everyone has a clear picture of their roles and responsibilities. So we developed a quick-pick list of short-term event planning services to rescue our legal marketing friends, but helpful for other event planners as well:

REGISTRATION RESCUE

You need this if … you’re waking up in the middle of the night dreaming of clients out in the cold, standing on registration lines like tourists at the TKTS booth.

We arrive early, handle guest check-in at the registration desk, and clean up, so you can focus on developing relationships with your attendees, rather than managing logistics. Give us your guest list three days before and we’ll print and stuff your name tags too.

LOCATION RELATIONS

You need this if … you think the terms apron, boneyard and crescent all refer to things in the kitchen and you’d like to keep it that way.

Following your site selection and contract signing, we facilitate venue arrangements through clear and consistent communication in advance of the event and manage the needs that arise on-site during the event.

VENDOR RE-DEVELOPMENT

You need this if … you’ve talked to your go-to AV guy about microphones and a screen but can never seem to get through the estimate sitting in your inbox, especially since his equipment descriptions don’t contain any vowels.

We finalize proposals from vendors and manage their tasks through the event, including catering, consulting, destination management, entertainment, event design, graphic design, photography, printing, promotions, production (audio-visual, lighting, staging, videography), and transportation, among others.

The TASKMASTER

You need this if … every to-do on your legal pad is turning into you-do-two (because each task takes more steps than expected) or you-do-too (because swamped team members need more advance notice).

We lay out the list of roles and responsibilities in a detailed timeline, from the start of our involvement through the post-event debrief, and check in regularly with each person involved to report back as each task has been accomplished.

BRIEF RELIEF

You need this if … it all started with one partner, but nine others keep calling and sidelining your day as you go on a wild goose chase for just “one more thing” they need to know about the event.

We develop and update a Master Event Plan of all the services and event details, from the start of our involvement in the event planning process, and provide it to you as a reference on a regular basis.

When time and resources are tight, the key to producing a successful event is to have very clear, delineated roles, starting with the ones listed here. If you need to be rescued – or just need more info, including pricing for these services – email me at ginger@gingerdonnanevents.com.

On Saturday October 15^th, I was a part of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night Walk in Princeton, NJ.  Approximately 2,500 people were on hand in Forrestal Village to walk with lighted balloons and help raise money for the fight against blood cancers. It was also a day of firsts for me as an event planning assistant: my first all-day event and my first outdoor event. It was amazing to see exactly what goes into staging and executing an event attended by so many people. The walkers did not start arriving until 4:00PM, but the day started hours earlier, with tent setups and positioning mapped out and assembly of the tent city beginning.  Once I oriented myself to both the map and the site, I was educated enough to start answering questions and helping out where needed.

Three things that I used during the preparations:  a box cutter, a generator for a 12-foot high light tower, and an Allen wrench.   Here is what I found out about being the on-site planner for an event of this magnitude: it’s all about juggling!

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society staff had a vanload of disparate items, ranging from  signs, food donations, carnations, and what seemed like a million cases of water that needed to be unloaded and distributed.  This is where the box cutter came into play – three of the signs that were supposed to fit into metal stands did not fit. I found a box cutter from one of the tent guys and went to work.  They sure fit by the time I was done (and I’m happy to report, no injuries!). Next came the Allen wrench – there were actually two of them used to assemble the site map stand. I was able to manage that fine, but not knowing where to put them so that we would have them at the end of the day, I held them in my pocket for the next 10 hours – and do you know how hard it is to use an Allen wrench in the pitch-dark? Thank goodness for the lovely volunteer with a flashlight app on her phone! Whatever help I was able to provide on Saturday, as rudimentary as it was, I was certainly not going to lose the Allen wrenches.

“All hands on deck” would be a great way to describe much of the day – help wherever you can. Unload boxes, unpack signs, tell volunteers where to go, keep track of all the vendors’ deliveries, learn how to operate the generators for the  light towers, hand out balloons , and clean up, clean up, clean up! The coordination of all the volunteers was a massive undertaking – you want volunteers there early, but what if the equipment they are going to use is late? I guess there’s never a worry of too many volunteers showing up, but you also don’t want people standing around with nothing to do.  The 40 mph winds didn’t deter us too much – thank goodness they died down by the time the walkers began arriving. The balloon task was definitely labor-intensive – well over 3,000 balloons were blown up, then had to be distributed individually – and the wire cords for the special light-up balloons did not get the memo about not getting tangled!

It turned out to be a wonderful, successful day, and a really inspiring event. Volunteers, walkers and staff were all so engaged and supportive of each other, and the atmosphere was so upbeat.  Aside from being completely exhausted and having my first case of “event headache,” I felt privileged to see and be part of such a great event, and to be able to truly appreciate all the work that goes into it.

If you had told me a year ago that I would be working right now, let alone at an event planning company, I would have said you were crazy. I haven’t “worked” per se, in almost 8 years. Oh, I’ve worked, but I just have not been paid for it! I spent the past 8 years raising my three sons (cue the theme music!). Little did I know that all of the challenges that I faced during this time would hone my organizational and communication skills to such a degree that when the opportunity to join Ginger Donnan Events presented itself, I was ready!

When you have preemie twin boys that need to be fed every 3 hours, and it takes an hour to feed and change them, and you need to monitor who is wetting and dirtying their diapers, you find a way to get organized. For me, it was this special notepad that was designed to track all of these things – I wrote everything down! Couple that with extreme sleep deprivation, and I found myself trying to write things down in the middle of the night in the pitch dark that didn’t even occur. My sisters still make fun of me for that, but I did learn that my brain works best when I am as organized as possible. Write it down and it won’t be forgotten.

Several years later (and one miracle baby brother coming 18 months after the twins), I was still not “working,” but became involved in a number of activities for my boys. I am the Treasurer for the elementary school’s PTA, a Den Leader for the Cub Scouts, and I oversee/manage the boys’ homework and sporting and art activities – it all takes planning and organization!! Not to mention creativity and efficiency.

I have also been keeping busy over the years with volunteer work, most importantly running The George McDermott Memorial for 10 years.  After my father passed away, my sisters and I wanted to honor our Dad’s name in a meaningful way, so we started a memorial sports outing once a year. First it was a golf tournament and picnic, then it morphed into softball and a picnic. It was a great deal of work (managing mailing lists, tee time organization, menu planning, scheduling kids activities), but well worth it in terms of results. We had 150+ family and friends attend each year, and were able to raise more than $85K for the John Wayne Cancer Institute in my Dad’s name.

As Treasurer of a Parent Teacher Association chapter at an elementary school, I’ve heard it all. “Oh good, your husband’s an accountant, he can help you” and “You’re not afraid of numbers and money?” were two of my favorites as I began to do the daily finances for a school’s annual budget of $50K. Here’s what I found works as you handle the inflows and outflows of dozens of events throughout the year: communicate properly the details of making deposits and check requests. Repeat them constantly, to anyone who will listen. Help those who won’t listen. Count everything several times. Write everything down (by now I’ve graduated to spreadsheets, but for my money, nothing beats a paper and pen!), stay organized and focused, and everything will go smoothly.

And much to my surprise, when all my boys are in school for a full day, I discovered that event planning requires, among other things:  organization, communication, planning, and creative thinking, all skills I have been acquiring and honing over the past six years. Thanks to Ginger, who took a chance on a coming-back-into-the-workforce-Mom, I am able to put these skills into practice in planning events.

Fifth Annual Celebrity Chef Gala

October 3, 2011

The guest list and volunteers were organized for this successful evening at Cipriani Wall Street, where over 100 chefs cooked table-side, and helped to raise over $1.6 million.

Advanced Screening of Disney PIXAR’s “CARS 2″

June 11, 2011

In less than eight weeks, Ginger Donnan Events created the budget, drafted the invitation, and handled the gift distribution and all volunteer outreach for this exclusive screening of “CARS 2″ that was presented by John Ratzenberger. On-site, Ginger Donnan Events coordinated the volunteers and helped ensure the execution of the event went smoothly.

Tri-State Corporate Committee’s Inaugural Gala Dinner

April 15, 2011

For this event honoring David Penski, President of Zenith Media at Chelsea Piers in New York City, Ginger Donnan Events organized the guest list, drafted the invitation, program and auction package descriptions and executed the event planning timeline, including venue and production relations, on-site staffing and volunteer roles and auction check-out. This event opened doors into the corporate community to garner corporate support for the Walk Now for Autism Speaks program.

Ginger Donnan was the key person for organizing and executed our inaugural gala event for the Autism Speaks Tri-State Corporate Committee. She came on from the initial onset of the project and managed the event logistics and made it look so effortless so that the Corporate Committee members could focus on it’s goal to raise awareness in the NY Tri-State business community and raise over $400,000. In my opinion, she has been an tremendous asset to our Committee and I highly recommend her skills and services to others who want nothing less than a perfect event. – Salvatore A. Collemi, CPA – Chair, Autism Speaks Tri-State Corporate Committee, April 2011

Face-Off for a Cure

March 21, 2011

The guest list and volunteers were organized for this evening to benefit Autism Speaks & The Gillen Brewer School. Guests were joined at their tables by current and former NHL players.

Fourth Annual Celebrity Chef Gala

October 4, 2010

The guest list and volunteers were organized for this event, where celebrity chefs cooked for guests table-side.

Tip-Off for a Cure

April 14, 2010

The guest list and volunteers were organized for this evening to benefit Autism Speaks & The Gillen Brewer School. Guests were joined at their tables by current and former NBA and WNBA players.

Concert for Autism Speaks Featuring Lionel Richie

March 30, 2008

This sold-out event, held at The Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, raised $1.8 million to benefit Autism Speaks. Host renowned journalist and author Tom Brokaw introduced speakers Donald Trump, an event co-chair along with wife Melania, followed by Florida Governor Charlie Crist, and Suzanne and Bob Wright, the co-founders of Autism Speaks. The audience was on their feet for much of the concert that featured Richie’s most beloved and acclaimed hits, both as a solo performer and as a member of the Commodores.

Autism Speaks to Wall Street: 1st Annual Chef Gala

October 24, 2007

The first chefs’ tasting in NYC to offer table-side cooking to over 370 people, this event raised over $1.1 million for Autism Speaks. In addition to preparing and executing the run-of-show, arrangements for entertainers Darrell Hammond and Lisa Loeb were made and production was implemented $100,000 under budget.

Ginger Donnan was a go-to person for Autism Speaks during an important time of transition in our events department. One month before our first Chef Gala, she came on board to project manage the event logistics so that the committee could focus on it’s goal to raise over $1 million. Ginger then came on board to oversee the staff roles, timeline and logistics for the $1.8 million Concert for Autism Speaks featuring Lionel Richie and was instrumental in making the entire process flow smoothly. She has been an asset to our organization and I recommend her skills and services to others. – Glenn Tringali, Former Executive Vice President, Autism Speaks, April 2008

Nantucket Walk Now for Autism