Te3am,

Relationships will define and constantly refine our relevance and position in the communities we serve and the industry at large. Make no mistake that the effort you put in to building relationships will be paid back many times.

In fact, last week in Baltimore I had the pleasure of seeing the impact of a positive working relationship firsthand. Sitting around the table with the Mayor, other city leaders and key members of the business community, it was very rewarding and humbling at times, to hear the compliments that were being universally afforded Centerplate. Our relationship with the community has enabled Centerplate to transform from a new member of the Baltimore community to one of the most respected and revered. That is quite an accomplishment in 3 short years. Our thanks to John Dooley and his entire Baltimore team for making this happen.

Our challenge is to be a positive force for good in all communities we serve. Make sure you are talking with your client and city leaders often and participating in ways to better the community. It is not just about writing checks; it is about committing something much more precious than money, it is about investing our time to make our communities better.

Now “talking” about precious, this week’s Annual Conference in Denver was a mega precious event. From the first moment we entered the Colorado Convention Center, to our Welcome Reception at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, to our last session on Friday morning and all the events in between, Team Denver carried on the tradition of elevating and demonstrating our hospitality promise. Talk about creating a one-of-a-kind locally relevant hospitality program!

E3 moment of the week …

Our team in Denver for a continuous series of E3 moments throughout the conference! Team leaders Laurence, Todd, Justin, Chef Carmen and Chef Chris – you were all simply amazing. The torch and challenge will now been passed to our 2014 meeting site, to be announced shortly.

At the conference, as always, we saluted the best of the best in our company. The list of nominees gets longer and the award winner so much harder to choose. This year there were a few ties and quite candidly, while I like to be the final tiebreaker, it simply was not possible and we had double winners. Please take a moment and congratulate them and at the same time challenge your team and yourself to be on this Award list next year.

Our Step Beyond Conference Award nominees and winners:

• Line of Business Award, Sports – Safeco Field
• Line of Business Award, Convention Centers – Dallas Convention Center
• Line of Business Award, Entertainment – Water Country
• Line of Business Award, Restaurants – John Harvard-Framingham
• E3 Special Event – Cisco Live, San Diego Convention Center
• E3 Special Event – World Series, AT&T Park
• E3 Special Event – NCAA Final Four, Mercedes-Benz Superdome
• E3 Special Event – 2012 Stanley Cup Final, Prudential Center
• Build Beyond the Core – Michael Kaufman, Hadi Monavar
• Energizing the Brand – Peter Brown
• E3 of the Year – Kay Towner
• Rising Star Award – Lauren Gretzula
• Corporate Employees of the Year – Jeannine Beerman, Michael Krstovic
• Centerplate Promise Award – Peggy Daidakis, our client at the Baltimore Convention Center
• Comeback Award – Miami Beach Convention Center
• Culinary Excellence – Chef James Katurakes, Chef Blair Rasmussen
• Rookie of the Year – Darren Hubbard
• General Managers of the Year – Kernell Jupiter, Nancy Murgillo
• President’s Award – Doug Conner

I look forward to delivering greatness with you and dominating the Event Hospitality industry for years to come. What we have done in less than 5 years is remarkable – just imagine what we can do in the next 5 years. All I ask is that we all bring our A game everyday and deliver on our promise of producing stronger performance on every measure that matters to our clients that in turn delivers unprecedented growth for them and us.