The weather held out, the company was fun loving and the competition strong… Once again the Greater Washington DC Chapter of ISES hosted a sellout meeting and event. Complete with cocktails on the rooftop, amazing tabletop décor, swearing in of the new board of directors for 2008-2009, an incredible dinner and a lesson learned on the history of table etiquette provided by The Etiquette Advocate, Nancy R. Mitchell; June 12th was a full evening.

For starters, we all convened poolside on the rooftop of the Liaison Capitol Hill for special made-to-order Mojitos and good company. DC ISES always provides its members an outstanding forum for networking and getting together with old friends and colleagues. After the cocktail hour, we headed back down stairs for the tabletop competition and voting.

This year we had 10 Teams of members who created the finest in table top décor. The designers were given one bare table with which to create the experience. Then the ISES members in attendance cast their votes for the area’s best designer! Wow! We truly have the best-of-the-best in the industry. The tables were incredible; everything from simple elegance to modern and contemporary.

However, in the end there could only be one winner...

	Team 9 consisting of Select Event Rentals, Patty Cakes Inc, DaVinci’s Florists & Lighting, and Rave Reviews, was the champion. The winners created “Escape to the Caribbean: An exotic dream table that whisks you away to a perfect, white Caribbean Beach surrounded by tropical fruit, flowers, birds and the bluest ocean”.
	1st Runner-up was Team 8 with DC Rentals and JLB Florist: “An oval plexi-glass table top that floats on a black tube base, surrounded by low-back stainless chairs, complemented with contemporary flatware, modern black and white china, and lime dupioni napkins, highlighted by stacked-sphere chrome lamps. The look is completed with lime green spheres of hydrangea, button mums, and carnations in varying sizes.”
	2nd Runner-up was Team 6 with Events By Design, Capital Party Rentals, and Holly Heider Chapple Flowers, LTD who developed a low lying ethnic work of art complete with red velvet cushions.

Click here to view the photo gallery, courtesy of Ralph Alswang Photography. And special thanks to DaVinci's Florist and Lighting for event florals.

A quick note from our President: Renee Stake, “The June Table Top Competition has become one of our most popular events and each year, the designers continue to raise the bar. The talent displayed at this year's event was indicative of the fabulous and creative ideas that our ISES members provide their clients on a daily basis.”

Once everyone had the opportunity to view the tables and place their votes, we went in to the ballroom for the swearing in of our new board of directors, the meeting presentation, and dinner. We would like to welcome our new Board of Directors:

President: Renee Stake President Elect: June Ring Immediate Past President: Kelley Gillespie VP of Membership: Karen Bridges VP of Education /Programs: Amy Guthridge VP of MarCom: Pat Ritchitt

Director of Archives: Taylor Strimple Director of Education: Monica Vidal Director of Programs: Jennifer Fontine Director of Students: Angela Lee Director of Membership: Dave Fritz Director of Sponsorship: Dave Markowitz Director of Newsletter: Lindsay Barber

This month’s feature presentation was “From the Cradle to the Table – the Table Etiquette you missed in Finishing School”. The keynote speaker was, The Etiquette Advocate, Nancy R. Mitchell. Nancy covered polite entertaining tips you might have missed in school.Why do you need all those forks on the table? How can you cover up that gravy stain on your shirt fast so your client doesn’t think you’re a slob? Nancy provided us with all the information needed to impress your dining partners. So, now we expect all of our members to be on their best behavior, using the correct utensils at all future meetings!