Te3am,

Recently I had the opportunity to visit one of the many cities that Centerplate serves. Along with Chris and our regional team, I met with seven Commissioners, the Mayor and Vice-Mayor in a long day of productive discussions. The meetings were held to ensure they each know our hospitality record and that we are committed to their future and all were very successful.

The Commissioners knew our General Manager and Regional Leader. It was clear that our team has spent a lot of time out in the community getting to know their City Leaders and taking advantage of opportunities to highlight our capabilities. All of those we met had a positive image of Centerplate and our community efforts.

This reinforces that we cannot let any opportunity escape to get in front of our client and/or City Leaders and present them with a compelling case of why Centerplate is their best hospitality partner. This is a mission that every venue and every leader needs to commit to now so we can immediately begin to reap the benefits of these interactions.

E3 moments of the week …

Two of our key leaders at the Vancouver Convention Centre are now proud holders of their Bachelor of Hospitality degrees – congratulations to Jennifer Rafuse, Catering Sales Manager, and Mark Massicotte, Executive Sous Chef on their great achievement!

More than 4,000 meeting industry leaders attended the recent PCMA conference at the Orange County Convention Center. Deborah Sexton, President and CEO of PCMA, commented that the food and beverages were the “best ever’ and Kent Allaway, Chairman, said “Centerplate hit one way out of the park!” The opening luncheon was innovative with four different menus and style of service offered for the planners to choose from – comfort food served family style, small plate tapas presentations with attentive tableside service, a healthy menu totaling less than 800 calories, or French service featuring Chicken Wellington and Crème Brulee. Social media commentary came alive with numerous positive comments on the unexpected change in the traditional luncheon format. Great job by Michael Barrett, Mia Cangelosi, Doug Conner, Leo Cuasay, Laura Fanelli, Ivan Gaines, Jeff Goldstein, Gina Johnson, Chef James Katurakes, Cheryl King, Wes Libby, Danny Medina, Tina Neumann, Terry Ross, Ann Somers, Robert Thompson, Ziola Ulloa and our entire team in Orlando!

We cannot allow our competition to imply that they offer better services or greater relevance; it simply isn’t true. We know that our record is second to none and we must communicate this accurately and often.