A certificate of appreciation was presented to Nella Mirante for her outstanding work in organizing our National Board Meeting in Edmonton. Cindy Stewart, Alberta Region’s Director, is on the left and Carolina Avaria, President, is on the right.
A year in the planning! One year ago we discussed who could host the National Board meeting for 2018. I reached out to my regional board to see if they would support the idea of me hosting it at the Fairmont Hotel MacDonald and Don Mooney and Cindy Stewart gave me the go ahead!
And so it began! Negotiating with the Director of Revenue to check the occupancy forecasting then walking down the hallway to my General Manager, Garrett Turta, to get his thoughts on the idea? Of course there was some bantering back and forth, but we negotiated on the room rate and before you knew it, a BLOCK was created!
As the months went by; I began sending emails, connecting with local restaurants and service providers to see if there would be interest in sponsoring the National Board Meeting.
I was overwhelmed with the support I received from Hardware Grill and Joey Bell Tower , but the first to extend was my very own Fairmont Hotel Macdonald’s Harvest Room who wanted to host on the last night of the board’s stay. Full service, wine pairings and decadent desserts! Amazing!
Next up was to arrange room drops for my first time guests arriving to Edmonton. I also wanted to showcase some of our favorite local businesses! A massive thank you to:
- Holt Renfrew (perfumes, lotions, cologne, make up, men’s skin care) @holtrenfrew
- Ricci Hair (men and women hair care and travel amenity bag) @riccihairco
- Studio J Urban Spa (women’s nail polish and gift card) @studioj_urbanspa
- Cookie Love (1/2 dozen of decadent cookies with LCD logo on one of the cookies)
- Starbucks (Tumblers) @starbuckscanada
- Rostizado (featured speaker with housemade guacamole and salsa and chips) @rostizado_yeg
- Doughnut Party (featured speaker & their amazing doughnuts) @doughnutparty
- Jacek Chocolate Couture (hand crafted artisan chocolates) @jacekchocolate
- High Level Diner (featured speaker with their infamous Cinnamon buns, featured on FOODNETWORK’s “You gotta eat here”) @highleveldiner
- The Common (featured speaker & sweet housemade squares) @thecommonyeg
The amazing welcome amenties!
Nachos and guacamole from Rostizado!
Friendly staff at Joey Restaurant.
Doughnut Party!
The final sponsor was PRESTIGE LIMO Services @prestigelim_edm, who transported 19 members between the airport and the hotel! Receiving this confirmation was the most overwhelming email! To be supported from a major local limousine service was incredible! I was so happy by their generous offering for our National Board members and that the leadership and management team agreed to support this!
The attendees at the National Board Meeting at Fairmont Hotel MacDonald, in Edmonton!
I feel that this experience has really shown me the value and the awareness of networking with local services and industry partners. I am also very fortunate and grateful to have strong leaders and mentors to have kept me grounded and to encourage me along the way.
If I had to do it again on a larger scale, I would welcome the challenge and definitely know that I am on a solid platform and to never take for granted the support we have as a Les Clefs d’Or family with our sponsors and partners. Social media is a great way to give back to them! Next challenge– National Congress in Banff 2019!
Until next time,
Dedicated, loyal and always learning…..
In service through friendship,
In service through excellence,
Nella Mirante
Concierge
The Fairmont Hotel MacDonald
Vice-Director, Alberta Region
Les Clefs d’Or Canada
#yourkeytoeverything
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