As producers of corporate incentive programs, we know the value these events provide an organization. Click on the USA Today button to read their latest report on the reemergence of reward travel:
Biz Bash Recognizes One Smooth Stone
We are happy to announce that One Smooth Stone brought home the award for “Best Corporation or Association Event Concept (Budget over $50,000)” at the 2011 BizBash Chicago Expo & Awards for Infinium Capital Management’s Vision Day.
The goal was to create a teambuilding exercise to kick-off the New Year. So a flashmob was designed and rehearsed, prior to 250 Infinium employees donning bright orange ski-caps and performing a 3-minute flash mob at the Millennium Park ice skating rink on January 8. Orchestrating all aspects the day, from the “how to dance” video that went out to employees beforehand to the CEO’s kick-off address and post-mob-celebration dinner at The Field Museum, Gary Vlk and team pulled off a stellar event.
Thanks Infinium for trusting us to create a highly memorable experience and an enjoyable process, despite the short time frame. Your trust in our ability to deliver beyond your expectations is what truly made this a success!
See the entire story:
http://onesmoothblog.wordpress.com/2011/01/25/infiniums-flash-mob-kick-off/
Kevin Olsen Named Chairman of the MPI Foundation
The MPI Foundation is dedicated to bringing vision and prosperity to the global meeting and event community. Kevin Olsen, after serving for seven years in various roles with the MPI Foundation, including its executive committee, started his first responsibilities as the new chair for 2011-2012 fiscal year at MPI’s 2011 World Education Conference (WEC) in Orlando. Fresh from WEC, we spoke with Kevin about his new role:
Tell us about your role as Chairman.
“Like any leadership role, it will require time, effort and planning. Our board and council members are incredibly experienced and talented industry veterans, so my primary role will be to align our collective efforts around a common vision, message and outcome. I also look forward to growing the awareness of the continued investments by the MPI Foundation which further a more prosperous industry.”
What is your vision for your term?
“I want to be a part of an industry that’s strong – even bullish. One that drives change and innovation within organizations and is known for strategic relevance and compelling returns on its investments.
I want our industry to find its voice so that we won’t be marginalized by politicians who speak out of ignorance, not knowing the economic impact our industry delivers, or by corporate leaders who have never galvanized an audience to achieve greatness through the POWER of business theatre.
I want to be part of a smart community, where members can connect the dots between their ‘to do’ lists and the business outcomes that are achieved.
And, finally, I want to be part of a community that’s benevolent and caring, helping those in need. ”
What makes the MPI Foundation unique?
“We invest back into MPI and our industry. In the last 2 years alone, we’ve invested nearly $2.5 million in results-oriented initiatives, research and scholarships. We don’t have an endowment. We invest all the resources given by our Thought Leaders, Pioneers and Contributors every year in order to strengthen our global meeting and events community.”
I heard the MPI Foundation is having an event at IMEX America?
“It’s going to be THE networking event of IMEX AMERICA. It will be a night of PURE entertainment and PURE fun at the hottest nightclub in America with tons of Hosted Buyers! There will also be ‘VIP private room’ opportunities for sponsors. With four different venues within the club, killer views and a vibe you only find in Vegas, we’ve already had an overwhelming response for this event at PURE in Caesar’s Palace on October 12.”
Sounds like a not-to-miss event…anything else?
“It’s an honor to lead such a talented and experienced group of leaders. These collective efforts can be so significant to the industry. It’s cool to see this kind of passion focused around a singular purpose.”
We look forward to supporting Kevin as he takes on these new responsibilities and can’t wait to see what his leadership brings to the MPI Foundation!
Cvent Great Event Photo Contest
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We have submitted four photos of our events to the $10,000 Great Event Photo Contest on the Cvent Facebook Page. (active link!) Beginning August 9th, visitors to the Cvent Facebook page can vote once per day for their favorite uploaded photo, and the 25 photos with the greatest number of fan votes by August 22nd will be named semi-finalists. Then, a panel of Cvent judges will select a grand prize winner and 10 runners up among the 25 semi-finalist entries. The winners will be announced in Cvent’s email newsletter on August 25th (so make sure you sign up for the newsletter when entering the contest)! A cash prize of $10,000 will be awarded to the Grand Prize Winner, and 10 additional runners up will each receive a cash prize of $1,000. Please click below to vote now and vote often (but no more than once a day!!) Thanks!!!
BMC Maui Final Night Dinner
BMC Big Island Welcome Dinner
BMC Big Island Final Dinner
BMC Lanai Welcome Lunch
“Chefs for Charity” Supports the H Foundation
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Keeping with tradition in the company kitchen, this July 29th One Smooth Stone hosted a “Chefs for Charity” lunch. Each month, an employee is given the opportunity to prepare lunch for their fellow coworkers. The money that staff would typically spend on lunch is then given to a charity of the chef’s choosing.
This month Kimberly Medaglia, with the help of several fellow Stonies, prepared a delicious spread on behalf of the H Foundation, an organization dedicated to raising money for Basic Science Cancer Research. Members of the H Foundation were present to participate in the fundraising effort and discussed the history of their organization.
Founded in 2001 as a small effort to support two co-workers in their battle against cancer, H Foundation members have been able to raise nearly $3.5 million for Basic Science Cancer Research. Partnering with the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, the H Foundation can ensure that their contributions go directly towards cancer research. Their annual fundraiser, the Goombay Bash, will take place this August 6th at Navy Pier. For more information or to order tickets to this event, you may visit: www.GoombayBash.com.
At her “Chefs for Charity” effort, Kimberly prepared a delectable menu of Chicken Satay with Thai-Noodles, Mango Jicama Cucumber Salad and Asian Slaw. The meal concluded with handmade Fruit Popsicles; a perfect way to beat the summer heat.
In addition to the employee contributions, One Smooth Stone will match all donations made during the lunch to support the efforts of the H Foundation.
And if you’d like to make your own popsicles, here’s Kimberly’s recipie:
Fruit Popsicles
· 3 cup fruit or a mix of fruits (We used honeydew melon…YUM!!)
· 1 cup vanilla yogurt
· 2 T apple juice concentrate
Blend in a blender until very smooth. Taste. Adjust sweetness or flavors as needed. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze.
Thanks for reading and enjoy the great photos!
See Stonies @ MPI-WEC
Kevin Olsen, Stephanie Selig and Andrea Huntzicker are heading to Orlando today, Friday, July 22 for what promises to be a fabulous MPI-WEC event!
As the 2012 MPI Foundation Chairman, Kevin will have a chance to share his vision for the foundation at the Closing General Session. You may also be able to catch Kevin at the Chairman’s Reception, Foundation Appreciation Reception or the Chapter Leader’s Forum. And would you like to know more about Virtual Hybrid events? Kevin can also be seen as a part of the Executive Panel taking place Sunday, July 24 at 2pm in Convention Center Room S320AB.
If Stephanie and Andrea can tear themselves away from the puppy cuddling activity (Who would want to leave?!), they will be attending workshops, general sessions and networking activities. Since this is their first time attending WEC, they would love to meet up with you.
Let us know if you are going by entering your comments below. The feed goes directly to Andrea’s email.
One Smooth Stone Meets Molten Lava Rock
From Chicago to Istanbul, Sardinia to Brussels, our travels at One Smooth Stone keep us blessed with worldly experience and filled with tales of adventure. Returning from a recent program in Hawaii, Ken Haller shared his experience visiting Jack Thompson’s house; the one remaining home in a Hawaiian subdivision destroyed by volcanic eruption.
In the early 1980’s, Jack Thompson (in his mid twenties at the time) built his dream home in a new subdivision on the southeast slope of Kilauea. Four miles from the ocean, the view from the property is a breathtaking blend of sprawling forest and bright blue water.
The day after the last window of Jack’s new home was installed, a series of eruptions began on Kilauea and continue to occur to this day. 189 homes have been destroyed by the eruptions, and yet, amazingly, Jack’s house still survives. A small, unrecognizable mound uphill of the house acts as a dam, diverting the many lava flows to either side of Jack’s property. Jack lives, cut-off from the outside world, as Puna’s only remaining resident.
Jack’s existence on Kilauea comes with several challenges. Simply getting to town for supplies involves an eerie, risk-filled trek across three and a half miles of lava to the nearest road. Jack runs a generator for power a few hours a day, and collects rainwater in a large tank to serve as his water supply (a common practice in the remote areas of Hawaii). Jack has satellite television and a cell phone, which he uses mostly for conversations with reporters or helicopter pilots from the mainland, who call to inquire about the weather in Kilauea..
If you’d like to witness Ken’s helicopter ride to and walk through Jack’s property, you can view Ken’s video HERE:
We thank Jack for the hospitality and look forward to the next adventure our work may bring!
Happy 4th of July From One Smooth Stone!
In honor of Independence Day, One Smooth Stone would like to thank all of our Veterans and current military personnel for their selfless and dedicated service. We wish everyone a fantastic extended weekend, full of food, friends & family and FIREWORKS!!
The Use of Social Media at Events
One Smooth Stone’s Kimberly Medaglia recently attended “Social Marketing to the Business Consumer”, a workshop given by Eric Schwartzman at the Event Marketing Summit. Sharing ideas from his recently published book, Eric provided practical ways to use social media to market events, all of which are cost-effective and could be implemented immediately. The key to using social media applications is, simply, communicating about the use of the technologies and encouraging event attendees to use them. Here are just a few ways Eric recommended leveraging social media sites:
Four Square 
Register your event and its various sessions on Four Square, allowing attendees to “check-in”. These “check-ins” are then posted on additional social media sites.
iTunes 
http://www.apple.com/itunes/podcasts/specs.html#submitting
Create a podcast of key speakers which can be posted immediately to a social media site (or to your company website) for download through iTunes.
Facebook 
https://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/like/
The “Like” button lets a user share your content with friends on Facebook. When the user clicks the “Like” button on your site, a story appears in the user’s friends’ News Feed with a link back to your website. Register your event and its sessions, so people can choose to “Like” it, garnering more exposure for your event.
HootSuite 
http://hootsuite.com/
HootSuite is a very broad application, but the most intriguing feature is “Track Results.” This allows you to measure all activity from your social media efforts in one place. HootSuite offers an insightful download on the ROI of social media: http://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-roi-sales-funnel/
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Fun Fact
Did you know the most people are on Twitter at 2pm Thursdays (EST), and the majority of Twitter users are on the East Coast?
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If you want to dig deeper, check out Eric’s book Social Marketing to the Business Marketer. It is the only book to address social media applications that is geared towards a business-to-business audience. You can download a chapter for free at: http://ericschwartzman.com/pr/schwartzman/b2bsocialmedia.aspx
One Smooth Stone Gives Back: Loaves and Fishes
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On June 17th of this year, employees from One Smooth Stone continued the company’s tradition of “giving back” by donating the afternoon to the Naperville-based food pantry, “Loaves & Fishes”.
Founded in 1984, “Loaves & Fishes” has been helping those in need to connect with local food, education and counseling resources within their community for years. Recently relocated, “Loaves & Fishes” has expanded their inventory to include meats, fresh fruits, dairy products and vegetables, with the hopes of contributing to a well-balanced diet for their clients. This May they were able to assist 6,209 people, a remarkable feat.
One Smooth Stone’s efforts came at an ideal time for the pantry, as they were preparing for their “Day Without Hunger” event, taking place the next day. Over 500 people participated in this event, which the pantry touts as a “celebration of community spirit, collaboration and hope”. Our staff assisted with room and tent organization, cleaning of the facility and preparation of activities, including the pantry’s touching “Day Without Hunger” photo-montage.
If you would like to learn more about “Loaves & Fishes”, you can obtain information and make donations by clicking HERE. We are grateful that we were able to serve the community in this way, and look forward to more opportunities!
