G. Greene Celebrates 50 Years

Written by Nicole Mitsakis

JLH Ventures was honored to work with G. Greene Construction this week on their 50th anniversary celebration! The company is a highly respected and well known construction company in the New England area working on countless high end projects over the years.   The event took place at the The Hyatt Regency in Cambridge which has special meaning to them as  G.Greene Construction converted the legendary Spinnaker Lounge into the Charles View Ballroom in 2006.  It just seemed fitting that they would come back to celebrate in a room that has some of the best views of the city and that they worked on.

The look and feel of the night was a throwback to the 60’s and what better way to celebrate then with the Mad Men theme!

The celebration started when guests walked down towards the ballroom passing by a series of 7 custom designed banners that captured some of G.Greene Construction’s memorable accomplishments.

Prior to entering the main ballroom guests were treated to a signature drink cleverly named the Greentini (Apple Martini).  The main ballroom space was anchored by a large custom black wooden bar designed by Reserve Modern, it was a perfect spot for guests to gather and talk.

Guests were are also given the opportunity to pick out their own pair of Maui Jim sunglasses…this was a big hit!

One thing we all realized after working with G.Greene for the last couple of months is that the importance of family is a large part of their company this leads me to what I think was an amazing element at their celebration.  They had all these incredible photos from when the company first began in 1966 out of Gabe’s home in Cambridge, MA and we wanted a way to showcase them.  We decided a dedicated spot in the ballroom to act as a living room set in the 1960’s, with the focal point being a vintage black and white TV built by Reserve Modern.

 

 

The unique feature about this TV is it actually played a movie of these meaningful photos.  It was really moving to watch the guests and family members sit in this living room and take a trip back to a time that meant so much to this company.  You could feel the sense of pride amongst the family at how far this company had come since 1966.

Thank you to everyone at G.Greene it was an honor to be part of this celebration and you made us feel like part of your family…here’s to another 50!

 

Vendors:

Venue: Hyatt Regency, Cambridge

Event Management: JLH Ventures

Lighting: Suzanne B. Lowell

Event Favors: Maui Jim

Decor & Furniture: Reserve Modern and Peterson Party

Photographer: Gerry Evelyn Images

{NEW TREND ALERT} Mobile Screen Printing

Written by Nicole Mitsakis

JLH Ventures is obsessed with forward thinking not just for our events, but for the clients we work with.  New items hit the market everyday that you can incorporate into your events whether it be the food, decor, tourism or tech we have it covered.  I will not keep you in suspense on our latest find…Mobile Screen Printing was just listed as a new product/trend to have on your radar this spring and I can totally see why!

Meet Frankie and Sherry Meneses a husband and wife team and owners of Soul & Ink based out of Washington, DC.   After seeing how excited their friends were about the screen printing parties hosted at their home they were inspired to create a mobile screen printing set-up and take it “on the road”.  Soul & Ink can personalize just about anything allowing your event guests to create a take away that they helped design and is a one-of-a-kind piece.

 

 

 

Check out their cool video HERE of how the process works.

Click HERE to see their LIVE set up.

{Industry News} Events in the Middle East

We wanted to share this informative “Industry Article” from EVENT MB that highlights some helpful tips when planning events in Dubai.  JLH Ventures spent 9 days throughout the Middle East for a Real Estate Certified Trade Mission. Our team and 8 General Parters from various companies traveled to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and Oman and it was a unique experience.  We’ve traveled internationally plenty of times to execute events, but it is slightly different when doing it in the Middle East.  This article is spot on, especially the section on 6 Quick Tips for Event Planning in Dubai.

{Industry News} Technology & Events

We wanted to share this great “Industry Article” from EVENT MB that explains what you should be asking your Tech Event Supplier.  We have found with our clients over the years that more and more are wanting technology at their events.  This can be both exciting and terrifying…I always say “technology is wonderful until it doesn’t work”.  You need to really research and do you homework on who you plan on hiring to handle the technology at your event.  CLICK HERE to read the full article.

Old Hollywood Holiday Party

Written by Nicole Mitsakis

This post is a bit of a “throwback” to 2014.  It was a not-so-typical Holiday Party for one of our corporate clients.  The theme was “Old Hollywood” and it came together seamlessly!  The ballroom and foyer of the Four Seasons Boston was transformed back to an era of style, grace and class.  Guests walked the red carpet that had a professional photographer acting as paparazzi.

Once you entered the pre-ballroom space you could not miss the custom elegant gold and black bar that was built.  From the color palette, to the decor you definitely felt like you were in “Old Hollywood”, but it was the talented actors and dancers from Touch Performance that really brought this holiday party to the next level.  During the cocktail hour guests were greeted by, and interacted with their favorite stars from Hollywood’s Golden Age.  The stars acted as live statues, told stories and stood for glamorous photo opportunities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During dinner guests were treated to a performance of West Side Story, followed by a duet of Singing in the Rain then things ended with Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend.

 

 

The night could not have been more fun, and by far, one of our favorites to date!

Venue: Four Season’s Boston
Photographer: Photography by Nikki Cole
Florals: Flouer
Lighting: Suzanne B. Lowell
Performance: Touch Performance
Rentals: Rentals Unlimited and Peterson Party Center
DJ: Murray Hill Talent

{VENUE SPOTLIGHT} Sea Oats

Written by Nicole Mitsakis

Sea Oats says it best… “Your company may never be the same after the productive strategy sessions you have a Sea Oats”.

Another great find from our day at the Luxury Meeting Summit…this is now on my list of Top 5 Venues that I need to visit.  Sea Oats Captiva Estate sits North of Sanibel Island and is a private estate with upscale amenities in a peaceful island setting.  An ideal spot for a corporate meeting or team building excursion plus the added bonus of  business grade WiFi network with hotspots throughout the property so you’ll have no issues conducting business…even if it’s by their tranquil pool.  The amount of things for your clients to experience once the meetings conclude are endless.  Just to name a few…fishing, kayaking, boat tours, golf or they can lounge poolside or kick back on the beach.  There is also plenty of concierge services and professional staff available to make your event and stay seamless and relaxing…truly a must visit!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

{VENUE SPOTLIGHT} PGA NATIONAL RESORT & SPA

Written by Nicole Mitsakis

This past week the JLH Team attended the Luxury Meeting Summit in Boston at the Hotel Commonwealth.  In two hours we met and spoke with over 40+ hotels across the US and Canada.  Events like these are important for our industry as we are not always able to meet and visit every venue in every state (although we would love too).  It’s no secret that the sport of golf and corporate deals go hand in hand, therefore, we get quite a few requests to plan golf outings for small groups or large corporate events.   I am thrilled to share with our readers the PGA National Resort & Spa.  Our team went over our allotted time because Ray Bopf, the Director of Northeast Sales, had so much to share with us about their resort.  At the PGA National Resort & Spa GOLF is more than just a game, you can play on any one of their five courses including the Jack Nicklaus-redesigned Champion Course, the host of the PGA TOUR’s Honda Classic.  I told Ray that I’m more of a mini-golfer than anything, but he assured me that they have that covered because of their full-service spa and salon with more than 100 ways to indulge, all part of their 125 million-dollar, resort-wide renovation.  This resort has something for your entire corporate group and if needed their families as well…a win win all around!

 

All photos via PGA National Resort & Spa

{Trend Alert} The Virtual Swag Bag

Written by Nicole Mitsakis

 

It’s hard to believe that this is the first time I am hearing about the virtual swag bag!   Most of us have attended many corporate events and conferences that provide you with a take away gift on your departure – a lot of logo’d items that unfortunately end up in a closet or in the trash. Also, since many of our attendees have flown in, we find many people defer the gift, as it’s too bulky to fit in their carry on or isn’t allowed through security.

The option of a virtual event swag bag changes the way many companies will do business, especially as it will positively effect the bottom line. Attendees will now be the driver of what gifts they’d like to take home by either going on line or checking into a station at the conference to choose what they would like put in their “bag”.  They can either be sent to the person after the event or picked up at a dedicated kiosk during the event.   The most important sell to your vendors is that they will now have a real time, updated mailing list of consumers that are actually interested in their services.

Imagine an event where everyone leaving is happy with their swag (and we know how hard it is to please everyone).  Less waste, event staff with more usable time (because they’re not stuffing bags) and sponsors saving millions of dollars on marketing ending up being thrown away make this idea a winner!

Where Will You Find Growth in 2016

Written by Nicole Mitsakis

JLH Ventures is very excited to be gathering information about future Certified trade missions for 2016.  Certified trade missions are organized by JLH Ventures, the certified trade mission organizer, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Commerce International Trade Administration (ITA) as part of President Obama’s National Export Initiative to help you, the GP, export your management services to the world’s foremost institutional investors.

Excellent video from Natixis that discusses where investors will see growth.

A key driver of this mission is to provide non U.S.-based institutional investors with first-hand knowledge and face-to-face introductions to leading U.S. based alternative asset investment partners. Many institutional investors find private equity funds of extreme interest, yet due to the lack of exposure they often lack confidence and knowledge about the process and opportunities in the United States. This certified trade mission is an efficient, highly focused approach to meet and start an initial exploratory dialogue. The interactions also represent an opportunity for limited partners and general partners to exchange ideas and strategies in an open, interactive forum.

To learn more about the General Partners benefits CLICK HERE

The New Look of Corporate Team Building

Written by Tania Atkinson

Building “office moral” is a phrase corporate event planners often hear when working with their corporate clients.  In a more comfortable economy, companies are looking for new and inventive ways to improve office moral through company team building events.  The days of the “Trust Fall” are long gone! Entire corporations are sending their employees to team building “Experiences”, not unlike the summer camps we went to as kids, but ampted up to a more “extreme level!  From duck herding to blind driving, companies are bound and determined to bond their employees at the risk of looking utterly ridiculous doing it!  Looking ridiculous or not, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive on the part of employer and employee, so much so, that there is a specialty within the event planning world focused entirely on such experiences! See if any of these experiences could be the theme of your next corporate outing.

UK based Grandslam Events offers Duck Herding as one of their most popular team building events.  Groups learn basic herding commands with the assistance of dogs to get ducks out of a pen and through a series of obstacles.

But if that sounds too tame for your company, Grandslam also offers Extreme Sky Bow Archery, which combines skeet shooting with much larger (and more colorful) targets.

Boston based TeamBonding offers “Live Action Team Adventures” where teams are given clues, tools, witnesses and a mystery to solve all using your local city as the set.  This adventures requires critical thinking, as well as a good dose of humor!

If these experiences seem to tame for your company or team, the Ireland based Teambuilding.ie  and England based Eventurous may have the answer for you.  They offer blindfold driving for teams as a half or full day adventure.  Teams select a driver (who is, in fact blindfolded) and the rest of the team sits in the back seat giving verbal commands to direct the driver of the 4×4 vehicle through a variety of obstacles.  A tip: The first driver is definitely the guinea pig in the group!

So if you feel your company outings, team building exercises or company moral boosters aren’t getting the results you’d like to see, maybe it’s time to try some of these creative, out of the box and down right hilarious ideas may be the way to go.

 

Some featured images from Altitude Events