Events = Exhausting Stuff!

Hi again,

I was super busy at the Association for the Blind of WA as I completed my 7th week of my internship. This week was filled with the final preparations for our participation in the Perth Fashion Festival (PFF). As community partners of the festival, Guide Dogs WA are the beneficiary of some of the events, which presented us with a number of tasks and free gifts (tickets!). I learned that the coordination of events is exhausting and stressful - because as my supervisor assured me - you cannot control what other people do, you just have to do the best you can and hope for the best!

Ticket allocation and distribution was one very important task that I was responsible for. Last minute drop outs from confirmed attendees was something I had become familiar with, and replacements were sought to fill the spot. We received tickets on Tuesday, and they needed to go out straight away to our attending clients, as the first event was Thursday night - giving us only 2 days to hope the mail system worked efficiently in! Before posting out all tickets, I photocopied all tickets just in case there was a drama with the post or someone forgot their ticket on the night - this is something i would definitely recommend for event managers, especially if tickets are sold through a third party, as it gives you that extra bit of assurance that your guests can attend.


On Thursday, the first event that Guide Dogs were involved in was held. The Restyle on the Runway event this year featured two of the Associations clients, Erin and Claire McGlew walking down the runway with their respective Guide Dogs. The event was a great success, and the girls and their dogs really did steal the show!! Alot of work was involved in the preparation for such a great outcome, both before, during and after the event. I worked alongside the girls and the organisers of the Restyle event to ensure everyone was aware of running schedules and start up times etc. I also worked alongside PPR, a consultancy public relations firm in WA who is managing the public relations for PFF to handle media enquiries about the girls. In the lead up to the event and after the event, I had to work closely with the girls to organise interview and filming times with media - Before the event, the girls featured in the nightly news on channel ten, and were interviewed by channel nine and Fashion One after the event. I was also responsible for taking photos during the event, and the photos had to be sent back to office so they could upload them onto social media - This task was much more difficult than expected!! However, as I said, the event was fantastic and everyone left smiling, including myself even though I was exhausted from running around taking photos and navigating the girls all day! Below is a link to some news coverage of the event - the last photo is one of the girls on the runway!!

http://www.novafm.com.au/article/perth-fashion-festival-2012-restyle-runway

Next on Thursday, we attended the Morrison rehearsal as we had to prepare our PR Guide Dog Gidgee for the runway! Whilst I personally didn't have much to do, it was good to see the backstage happenings of a fashion show- and I even ran into a fellow Curtin PR Intern whilst  I was there! I also took photos of Gidgee rehearsing for  the event so we could put them up on social media! All guests who attended the event had a great time and reports about the audio description were glowing!

The last event i attended this week was the Myer Fashion Luncheon - and boy was this a FANTASTIC event. With only a slight hitch in prior to the event starting, where rain was POURING down outside the venue and everyone who had gotten all dolled up was getting SOAKED the event went off greatly! After navigating our blind clients from the rain through the crowds into the venue, we organised the audio description - which was reported to be wonderful by all clients. All our clients had a fantastic time, being blessed by having exclusive photos with Mel B and Kris Smith! Boy was that exciting.

So after a very eventful week, all feedback has been glowing, and all my efforts paid off! I have learnt that organising events is an exhausting business, but provides a buzz like no other!

Thanks! Prue