As a membership intern in the development department, I get the chance to attend special members-only events almost every week. This has been one of the most rewarding parts of my time at ABT so far. I love watching as hours of planning and coordination come together into an extravagant event. And I really enjoy being a part of that process.
This week, we had a hugely important event for members; the Golden Circle Luncheon. The Golden Circle is our highest tier of membership, and the luncheon is held annually to honor our members at that level. The event is a reflection of ABT’s commitment to its members, and so we put a lot of work into making this event run as smoothly as possible.
In the week leading up to the luncheon, the office was the most hectic I’ve ever seen as we all rushed to perfect the last-minute details. I had all sorts of small odd jobs to do. I called to order more orchids for tables and called for more charter buses as the list of attendees grew. I purchased orchid stickers. I printed acknowledgment letters. I filed attendees’ payment information. However, most of my time was spent folding tissue paper for the 300 gift bags. It was just as fun as it sounds. But it had to be done!
Finally we got to the fun part, the day of the luncheon. We all showed up at the Plaza hotel at 9 am to prepare the gift bags, set place cards, and set up the check-in table for our guests. Everyone had a list of general duties, but I found it was best to jump in wherever the most help was needed. And so I ended up helping with check-in, chatting with members I knew, helping guests find their tables, selling raffle tickets, and bagging orchids for the guests who had won them. I loved the fast pace of the event. One minute I was welcoming guests, then all the sudden the entrée was being served and I had to rush out with the other interns to start selling raffle tickets before dessert came out. I had so much fun and the luncheon was a great success. I loved seeing the entire development department come together to pull off such a large event that meant so much to our Golden Circle members. And in the end, it was more than worth the paper cuts I got from a day of folding tissue paper.
Jacelyn Szkrybalo
Membership Intern, Summer 2013
abtinterns 
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