June 6, 2014
CEO Newsletter
Te3am,
This week my brother-in-law forwarded me an awesome quote that we should take to heart, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” – Peter Drucker
At Centerplate we have a sound strategy. We don’t buy business and our vision is to be the most admired hospitality company in the world. We universally commit to Making It Better To Be There but, like Drucker, I firmly believe that our culture is our best asset. We have a winner’s mentality. Make sure that you are living the Centerplate Way and truly inspiring, coaching and developing your team and yourself to deliver better results tomorrow than you achieved today. Are you and your team active in the local community? Are you focused on building your relationship with your client? Are you and your team striving to elevate and enhance the key elements of your venue or department? Continuous improvement is a mechanism that will ensure we have a winning culture for years to come.
Great news on the new business front this week! We have inked a long-term partnership with the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and The Mid-Ohio School to handle all of their on-site hospitality services. Mid-Ohio’s season-opening event, the Mechanics Bank Vintage Grand Prix, takes place at the end of this month. Congratulations to Ashton Sequeira and all involved in getting the deal done!
A total team effort garnered Centerplate a lot of great media attention going into the Belmont Stakes this weekend. Gary Prell and Senior Executive Chef Orlando Morales spearheaded menus and coordinated with Executive Chef Scott Hauser, Chef Morel Mouflet and Chef Corey Wallerson to capture incredible food photos to fulfill media requests in advance of the race. Meanwhile, in the midst of all of the intense preparation, Pat Bruhn, Executive Chef Chris DeJohn (Denver), Peter Matra, Gary Prell, Chef Walter Perez (DC) and Drew Revella all made time to grant interviews and even present live cooking show spots beginning at 5 am at the track for the local morning shows. Kiersten Seufer of Café SFA at Saks Fifth Avenue stepped up at the last minute to accommodate a live in-studio spot to mix Centerplate’s Belmont Jewel cocktail on Fox 5’s GoodDay New York, learning everything she needed to know about the drink and race in less than 10 hours and presenting it flawlessly on live TV. Links to the various media appearances and articles are posted on our website – be sure to check them out. With great weather predicted and Centerplate Making It Better To Be There for the 130,000 racing fans expected to watch California Chrome race for the Triple Crown, there is no doubt it will be an amazing day at Belmont!
I’d like to finish with another quote that caught my eye about winning organizations, “The most ‘winning’ organizations don’t just make great products or offer spectacular service, they stand for something.” We don’t just stand for something. At Centerplate we stand for making the communities in which we live and work better and for our clients and our guests we are simply Making It Better To Be There. We will not stand for anything less than being the most admired company in hospitality. Make sure that you and your team are actively driving to attain “A” team status and we will be in very good shape in the years ahead.
E3 moments of the week …
Sacramento Convention Center was proud to host the Amgen Tour of California Opening Ceremony Gala. It was an elegant evening with community members and cycling fans welcoming the professional cyclists, racing officials, celebrities and VIP’s to the kick-off of the 8-day event. Sacramento’s CVB President was very pleased, “The Farm-to-Fork inspired menu was well prepared and thought out. We’re always excited when you’re preparing the food for one of our events because I never have to worry about the guest experience. The culinary and serving staff went above and beyond expectations while delivering a gastronomical experience fitting of a truly magical evening.” Job well done to Judy Collinsworth, Clayton Davis, Michael Hagerty, Vickie Housholder, Heather Johanson, Alan Lee, Josh Newell, Dominic Sirianni, Dennis Walczak, Kim Whittenburg and our entire team in Sacramento!
Our team at the Javits Convention Center hosted 300 of our new friends at the official Atletico de Madrid supporters’ club of NYC for a watch party of the Champions League Final. The highlight was a fresh fruit and Spanish cheese display with cookies and carved centerpieces with the logos of the team and Champions League, which was photographed by everyone with a camera phone and sent to 400,000 twitter followers by ESPN’s Darren Rovell. Special thanks came from the NYC Club Presidents as well as our client from the stadium in Lisbon. John Erickson, Chef Scott Hauser, JoAnn LaRouse, Chef Ricardo Morgan and our team at Javits all Made It Better To Be There!
Executive Chef Alex Reyes of Fifth Dining will participate in the Annual Chefs’ Tribute at Rockefeller Center benefitting New York City’s Citymeals-on-Wheels program. In addition to offering 1,100 tasting portions of his twist on the Catalan classic, Calçotada, one of his favorite summer traditions in honor of the “Summer By The Sea” theme, at the event next week, Chef Alex also prepared and delivered 500 meals to residents of the Citymeals-on-Wheels program today. A great example of community spirit by Chef Alex!
Here’s to continuing to build our Centerplate culture!
Onwards!
