Fancy Meeting You Here

Me, as Executive Director of a Main Street organization, running a black tie fundraiser gala:


I remember being whisked away by the lovely ladies at the local salon. They literally kidnapped me off the street (thank you Melanee and Charla!), fed me champagne and went to work: plucking and tweezing, brushing and crimping, spraying and sponging, gluing and glittering until I came out perfectly glossy and gorgeous. And with eyelashes!! It was magnificent. I was Cinderella at my own ball. Only instead of losing a heel, I willingly gave them both up once an hour, donned my Nikes and dashed around town to ensure the logistics of my event were still holding up behind the scenes.


Also me running a black tie fundraiser gala:

I remember the year the rental company called the morning of the big event to let me know they couldn't deliver my tables and chairs due to staffing issues. Oh hell no! I jumped in our local realtor's box truck (thank you, Loni!) and drove 45 minutes out of town to pick them up my-damn-self! Every year, no matter what was thrown at me, I felt like such a badass. I could handle anything - didn't matter if I was dressed as a lumberjack or a fairytale princess. Except that first year. Dear lord, that first year was a mess! 
Also me running a black tie fundraiser gala...

Ok - admittedly, this is a photo from year two...there's no actual photo evidence that I was even at the gala my first year as ED. And with good reason! We got all the way through set up and were just about to open the gates for guests. So far, so good. Until...I opened the cash boxes to double-count the money to give to each gate/ticket volunteer...and no cash! $700 stolen by lord-knows-who the day of the event. So...I spent the next two hours (while the event was going on with out me - thank God for good board members and volunteers!) crying on the patio outside my office while the police department took my statement and investigated my office. That poor officer. He was so kind - I literally cried the whole time, lamenting, "You don't understand. I JUST got this job!! They're going to fire me!" 
In fact, they did not fire me. Luckily. I have no idea why, but I'm grateful they were so supportive, understanding and continued to have faith in me. 
That terrible night taught me a lot about running events. And a couple of life lessons: 
One: always lock up your money in a place no one knows but you!
Two: no matter how well you plan, there will always be something that happens that is completely beyond your control. If you've done a good job putting in all the hard work up front, it will likely be something no one but you and a select few of trusted individuals (saviors!) will ever know.


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