Both Chapters decked their venues out in red, white and blue, used video and social networking outlets such as Twitter, YouTube and Skype to turn two chapter events into one continuous experience. On the afternoon of the New York event, London attendees connected to New York via Skype and Will Broome, ISES UK President sent well wishes to New York for a successful event. During the evening our UK friends were on standby calling in to pass the torch to New York to begin our part of the fundraiser.
As guests entered the venue at the chic Hudson Terrace, they were greeted by London Bobby's along with life size London Guards created out of balloons. Throughout the evening guests were delighted by fabulous entertainment , while dining on delectable tea sandwiches and hors d'ouevres.
A unique element of technology was used in the event, a digital silent auction. Wireless keypad technology provided guests with a digital bidder card to use throughout the evening to both bid on auction items and make personal donations directly to the SEARCH Foundation. Silent auction items and bids were displayed throughout the evening on multiple plasma screens.
Aside from heading the Twin Chapter Committee, my company, C. Brower & Co Creative Events, sponsored the authentic London decor elements—purchased while I was there for the UK REC! A Twin Chapter ice sculpture added to the hip London club atmosphere. To carry on the theme, Twin Chapter Committee members wore Mind the Gap and Union Jack Flag t-shirts, also collected while I was on holiday in London!
A special thanks to the evening host, Michael Cerbelli, Immediate Past Chairman of the SEARCH Foundation and to our special guest Larry Green, current Chairman of the SEARCH Foundation. As our DJ spun some London tunes to close the evening, the perfect end to a perfect night was Larry Green purchasing the winning key to unlock the box to win a diamond. As guests departed the event they were treated to a dazzling party favor from Swingbox gift box which included custom branded ISES NY Metro and ISES UK M&M's by My M&M's.
Here I am pictured with Michael, Alex Virvo from Swingbox, and Altair Rasco, a Twin Chapter Program Committee Member who is also part of my freelance team and a tremendously hard worker. Behind the scenes, she and I spent hours putting the program together. Up through her Stage Managing on the night of the event, she quickly became my right hand and was truly instrumental in making this program happen.
I have to say, the event would not have been possible without the help of my amazing team, some of whom are pictured below. It was such an honor and a pleasure to have worked with them. The event brought a lot of awareness in both the UK and the US about the Twin Chapter Program.
Collectively the Twin Chapters, ISES NY Metro and ISES UK, raised $8000 for the SEARCH Foundation! The event made ISES history as our first transatlantic event of its kind. I am so proud of what we were able to accomplish, that we had the turn out that we did, and that the event was so incredibly successful! Cheers!
All of the photos in this blog are from our fabulous sponsor, Christopher Duggan. To view all of the official photos from the Twin Chapter Event by Christopher Duggan of Threshold Visions Photography, click here. (Password: ISES)
To view the YouTube messages sent to the UK filmed and edited by My Tech Guy and Hi! Hello!, click here.
To read the UK article about the event featured in Events Magazine, click here.
