ISES DC capped the most successful events season ever with our 2nd Annual Tabletop Design Competition. More than 130 members attended our June 19 monthly meeting hosted by the Crystal Gateway Marriott. A special thank you to Laren Haver, events manager at Crystal Gateway, for opening up their new spaces to ISES! The newly renovated hotel showcased several event spaces to us for our volunteer reception, cocktail party, Tabletop Design competition and our evening speaker. Along with the decor provided by our tabletop design competitors, Select Event Rentals provided linens with an island feel for our cocktail space and DaVinci Florist provided beautiful arrangements to complete the tables. Island music was piped through the new atrium-ceiling loft area. A special thank you also goes out Rick Martin for photographing the event. Members and guests mingled and dined on the hotel's signature Mez salad as well as quesadillas, paninis, pizza and more. The drink of the evening; a margarita, of course!

Our second annual Tabletop Design competition was a great success. Thanks to our fabulous team who provided exotic décor and really showcased their creativity:
Team 1 Multiflor and DC Rental
Team 2 Creative Parties, Galleria Florist and Select Event Rentals
Team 3 Janet Flowers Wedding and Event Designs with DC Rental
Team 4 Capital City Events
Team 5 Party Rentals, Ltd. with Amaryllis

By mid evening, our guests had voted and the winner was selected: Janet Flowers Wedding and Event Design with DC Rental.

Our speaker, Sonny Ganguly, gave us a lot to think about over the summer. Sonny, Chief Marketing Officer for Wedding Wire, discussed how to effectively build brand equity in today's marketplace. Sonny gave examples of innovative marketing campaigns, like the Starbucks magnet coffee cup placed on top of taxi cabs. He also outlined 12 ways to build brand equity and 8 free ways to reach your customers, through online sites, chat boards and web pages. Guests were excitedly taking notes, realizing that Sonny was providing a gold mine of take-home information for their businesses.

Finally, past ISES DC Presidents Lori Hill, Ray Bialek and Pam Burton conducted the induction of our 2007-2008 board. Fresh faces raring to go promised an even more successful year than last. Please check the web site for a yearly calendar of events beginning mid-August. See you next year!

Special Thanks to our June Vendors.