 |
| Songstress Katie Noonan Performs |
The evening of the 12th
September was where all our hard work culminated in the form of the 2013 Five
Chefs Gala Dinner for the Starlight Children’s foundation. It was an absolutely
magical evening and we were lucky enough to raise more than half a million
dollars to go towards Starlight’s “in hospital programs” – the most successful
Starlight WA event in its history.
The whole day was an eye
opening and educational experience, if I thought I had learnt a lot in the
weeks leading up to the event, this 18-hour crash course in event coordination
was something I will never forget. We began our day meeting with Starlight’s
hierarchy who had flown in from all around the country. The day was then filled
with setting up rooms, coordinating volunteers, picking up last minute items,
re-setting rooms, contacting last minute media, assisting in stage management
and product placement for our sponsors (breath!). It was a full on 6 hours. I
then had an hour to go home and get ready and look presentable and refined and
be back at the venue.
We had final briefings and
learnt every minuet detail of our event run sheet. On the evening I was
required to coordinate all media in attendance as well as assist and direct two
in house photographers. These elements required me to ensure the media were
present at the event at the correct time and left when required. I had to make
sure these individuals stuck to their delegated area as they were only
permitted to shoot and film during our pre dinner drinks and at our media wall.
When the guests retired to the ballroom for their meal the media were asked to
leave and were not able to access the area.
 |
| Our Five Chefs, From Left: Guy Jefferys, Todd Stuart, Jonathan Rohnan, Hadleigh Troy and Kurt Sampson |
As well as this I was responsible for all the social media
throughout the day and night including blog posts, twitter and facebook posts and
sending press release styled event alerts to media. Generally this job is
completed by Starlight’s head of Public Relations but unfortunately she was
unable to make it to Perth for the event so with her long distance assistance
the responsibility was placed in my hands.
I was one of two
coordinating the live and silent auctions and we were required to ensure people
kept bidding on the items as well as instructing volunteers associated with the
auction to ensure each bidder received their item and we received payment.
On top of all of this I was part
of our “talent wrangling” team as we ensured all of our celebrities and
performers for the evening were where they were meant to be at the right time.
This in particular was a more complex job than expected. At one point three of
our five chefs disappeared from the kitchen without a trace (and they were
expected on stage within the preceding 10 minutes). I frantically scaled every
nook and cranny of the Pan Pacific Hotel and eventually found the guilty chefs
in the loading dock of the hotel having an unplanned break of cigarettes and
flask swigs. These particular chefs will not be named. But not to worry! We got
them all on stage at the appropriate time!
 |
| Todd Stuart places the finishing touches on the first course in the kitchen |
Our event manager was
amazing, with the entire evening run to the minute. No dish was late to the
table, no presenter late to the stage and no lighting cue missed.
We were constantly running
for a good 10 hours – minimum but it was worth it to ensure the night was an
absolute success. This was a wonderful experience and I learnt so much about
event planning and coordination, media management and publicity.
This was an
excellent experience and whilst I don’t believe Public Relations is where I am
headed for my future career – I think this experience will ready me for the
journalism world. On the other hand I must admit the excitement and adrenaline
of this evening has actually made me reconsider my public relations prospects –
should I head into the events and media coordination elements of public
relations rather than the “dark side” that is Journalism?
Tune in to the rest
of my life to find out!
