Take Your Event to the Next Level

 

 

With technology advancing on a daily basis these days it’s time for conferences to incorporate these changing developments into their agendas. At Paragon Events we are  always researching the newest trends in attendee tracking and other event management apps to make the behind the scenes processes go more smoothly, but what about on the scene, in the middle of the hustle and bustle of conferences? As a way to answer this question, app developers have created the idea of gamification- the concept of incorporating games to traditionally non-gaming communities or in this case non-gaming conferences. Event planners have collaborated with this idea and have created competitions using these games at trade shows and lectures. For example, if the goal of the game is to make the most contacts, attendees at trade shows can use apps like EventMobi and Active Network to save the contact information from business cards, QR codes, and other displays. The apps track the number of connections you have made and by the end of the competition the winner is easily recognized. Another way these apps can be used for gaming competitions is by using QR codes and as the attendees scan certain QR codes they are presented with questions and the person with the most correct answers at the conference wins a prize. So if you want to create a more interactive environment at your next conference maybe you should think about gamifying your event.   

 

You can place QR codes essentially anywhere, even on t-shirts.

 

 

 

You can also embed your QR code into a picture.

Renee Attends the World Education Congress in Las Vegas

 

MPI's World Education Congress 

Last week our President and Managing Director, Renee Radabaugh traveled to Las Vegas for the World Education Congress hosted by Meeting Professionals International (MPI). The WEC is one of the biggest events of the year for meeting professionals and Renee had the privilege to be a speaker at one of the educational sessions as well as a panel member for the Governance Panel. She spoke on a topic she knows best, leadership and administration. She kept the session interesting with informative slides, cartoons, and engaging videos. It was a packed room, no wonder everyone wanted to learn from the best.

When Renee wasn’t leading the lecture, she enjoyed everything the event had to offer from participating in the World Series Poker Tournament, to eating delicious food catered from many famous restaurants and hotels like The Venetian, Caesar’s Palace, the Aria, and Mandalay Bay. Besides the educational sessions, the event also had many other activities for its attendees, such as a live performance from legendary singer Billy Idol, a meet and greet with Dierks Bentley, the Players Golf Tournament, and the Helping Hands Session where attendees learned the value of teamwork while they collaborated to build prosthetic hands for amputees in developing countries. It was five days packed with  fun, education, peer-to-peer engagement and teamwork and Renee was honored to be a part of such a fantastic event.

 

Click here to see more on MPI WEC 2013: http://www.mpiweb.org/Events/WEC2013/live

 

 

 

What better way to say welcome than with a fabulous theatrically costumed, 16 foot tall woman

 

Even though there were 70 mph tropical winds outside, the attendees at the WEC still had fabulous views from Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville

 

The new president and CEO of MPI getting a good luck handshake from Dennis, the dealer

 

Our President and Managing Director, Renee preparing to whip the competition at The World Series of Poker Tournament at The Big Deal

 

Dried Fruits and roasted pistachios, yum

 

Small Plate Dinner, hosted by The Venetian- A great dinner by the bite concept

Strip Steak at Mandalay Bay- To-Die-For Duck Fat Fries

The Chocolate Lady at the Payard

A Piece of Bliss on Top of a Mountain

The Wrigley Mansion

 

Ever wonder what the mansion of William Wrigley Jr., chewing gum magnate looks like? No, it’s not made of bubble gum, though that would be a tasty mansion. The magnificent architecture combines Spanish, California Monterey, and Mediterranean influences and sits atop a mountain in Phoenix, Arizona.

 

 

 In order to appreciate and take advantage of everything this mansion has to offer, Paragon Events President and Managing Director, Renee Radabaugh recently became a member of The Wrigley Mansion Club. Even though it is a private club, all proceeds from the club memberships go straight to charity. It is only fitting that this beautiful landmark would make a beautiful donation like this. Club members have a multitude of options when it comes to special events such as, corporate meetings as large as 1,500 people and picturesque weddings with the sunset behind you. With 13 different rooms and Geordie’s Restaurant and Lounge, party-goers or meeting attendees can enjoy all of the fabulous amenities this gorgeous mansion has to offer.

 

So the next time you are in Phoenix or plan to host a meeting in the area you should consider looking into the Wrigley Mansion. You will be awestruck by the superb decor and the striking views of the city below the mansion and the mountains beside it.

 

 

 

The Radabaughs Visit Key West

This past weekend the Radabaughs ventured down to Key West for some quality family time. They ate delicious caramel salt fudge, walked around Mallory, visited the southernmost point of the continental United States, watched turtle races at Turtle Kraals, and enjoyed a beautiful sunset. Here are some pictures from their weekend:

Sunset in Mallory Square- Renee and her son, Dakotah

The group departing for the sunset cruise

The group saw dolphins and sea turtles

Ernest Hemmingway’s House; home of the six-toed cats

Guest Blog: Melodie Visits Naples

 

 

A Weekend in Paradise

 

 

At 5:30pm on Friday I packed my car and headed towards Naples for my fun-filled, free two-night stay at the Waldorf Astoria. After a speedy check-in with friendly faces behind the front desk, my friend and I went up to our room where we were very impressed with all of the amenities. The room included a spacious bathroom with two sinks, a shower and a bathtub. In addition, our room had two very comfy queen beds and last but not least beautiful views of the Intracoastal and the white sand beach from our balcony. After some time on the balcony, we headed out for some dinner at a local Italian restaurant called Sophia’s, which is known for their homemade pasta dishes. Our dinner consisted of fresh baked bread, salads, chicken parmesan and cheese raviolis. It was so delicious we didn’t leave a crumb behind.

  We spotted a rainbow while on the beach.

 

The next day, my friend and I started our day with some delicious food once again. We enjoyed a plethora of food offered at the Buffet at the Aura restaurant located on the first floor of the hotel. The buffet consisted of every breakfast food you could think of from scrambled eggs, French toast, cheese blintzes, and numerous types of pastries. Stuffed from all of the food, we walked the boardwalk to the beach and relaxed for most of the morning taking in the idyllic views of the Gulf of Mexico. Once we were well rested, my friend and I decided to do something more active. So we decided to rent paddle boards from the activities desk on the beach. On our paddle boards we passed schools of fish below us and flocks of seagulls above us. We were definitely one with nature on our paddle boards. Next, we headed to one of the two pools where we slid down the water slide and enjoyed some time in the refreshing water. After some time in the pool we took advantage of the poolside bar and ate lunch where the waiter mixed the salad right in front of us. We then lounged on the Sunset Deck and soaked in some rays. After a relaxing couple of hours lounging and reading our magazines we headed to the state-of-the-art gym for a quality workout. The gym was complete with treadmills, ellipticals, free weights, and weight machines. While at the gym, I ran on the treadmill and took in the beautiful views. Those views made my run a lot easier.

  On my paddle board

On our last day we enjoyed the breakfast buffet at the Aura restaurant again and headed back home. It was such a relaxing weekend filled with friendly faces, beautiful beach views, and good food. The next time you are in Naples you should definitely plan your stay at the Waldorf Astoria Naples.

 

 The boardwalk to the beach

 

A workout with a view

 

 

One of the two pools

 

A lounge area in the hotel

 

The Royal Palm Banquet Room

 

Bullet to Your Next Destination

Blog post by Melodie Tamse

 It's no wonder it's called the bullet train 
with the front resembling a bullet.

Imagine a world where you can cut your travel time in half at a reasonable price. Well, you don’t have to imagine it, because China has created a high-speed railway line that can reduce a 24 hour travel day into just an 8 hour train ride for as low as $140. China plans to introduce this railway system to the public this month and release four different models that will operate on this railway.  During the testing period the trains beat the world record by traveling at a speed of 302 miles per hour. Anyone who gets motion sickness should probably stay clear of these trains, which will travel at speeds of up to 186 miles per hour. With speeds this fast, you could get from South Beach to Orlando in less than 2 hours when it normally takes about 3.5 hours to drive. This would make seeing Mickey Mouse a lot easier. Families could spend more time at the happiest place on Earth and less time in the car listening to the kids ask “Are we there yet?”  But until America creates a similar system, you will just have to go to China to travel at the speed of light.

A bullet train traveling through China.

Guest Blog: Melodie Gives Back in Los Angeles!

We are so proud of our communications intern Melodie Tamse, who spent a good chunk of her summer doing service projects in Los Angeles. She just arrived back in the office on Monday and is sharing her experience with us!

"For the past ten days I experienced Los Angeles from a unique perspective. Instead of just doing the traditional touristy activities I set out on an adventure with 17 teenagers and two other counselors and helped the communities of Los Angeles. 

On our first full day in Los Angeles we headed to Hermosa Beach. We biked along the bike path all the way to Manhattan Beach and watched the surfers catch some waves. That night we headed to Hollywood and saw the famous Hollywood sign and placed our feet in the footprints of the most celebrated celebrities such as, the cast of Harry Potter, George Clooney, Johnny Depp, and even Donald Duck. After a fun-filled day exploring Los Angeles we prepared for our first service project. 

The next day we worked with the Orange County Rescue Mission, which is a beautiful transitional facility for the homeless. The guests stay on the campus for 18 to 24 months and rebuild their lives. While at the Orange County Rescue Mission we met with one of the guests, Erica. She told us how her kids kept on being taken away from her while she was on the streets and finally she was sent to jail. After her time in jail she realized that she did not want to lose her kids again, so she decided to straighten up and apply for a spot at the Orange County Rescue Mission.  Since her time at the Mission, Erica has become one of the key admissions administrators and talks to perspective guests about how their lives will change for the better after entering the campus.  After listening to Erica’s inspiring story, we started our service project that would last two days. We ran a food drive at three locations, Albertson’s, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s.  After two days of collecting food, we received over 3,000 pounds of food donations for the homeless.

After two successful days of service at the Orange County Rescue Mission we headed out to our next adventure, Venice Beach. At Venice Beach we walked along the boardwalk and took in the sights. There were street artists, street performers, and even celebrities along the path. Some of our trip members met Frankie Muniz while he was filming a short film in the middle of Venice Beach. Also at the Beach, we saw the huge body builders exercising at Muscle Beach. Our day at Venice Beach was very exciting to say the least. 

The next day we started our second service project at The Boys and Girls Club of Harbor City. Before we started interacting with the kids we learned about the background of Harbor City. We learned how difficult the kids living in Harbor City have it. The directors of the club mentioned that they go into lock down whenever they hear helicopters hovering above the city because that means that the police are trying to find criminals that are on the loose. They then explained that they go into lock down at least twice a week. One of our trip members asked, “how do the kids feel when they go into lock down?” and everyone was surprised at Ebony’s response. She said, “It is a normal part of their day, they don’t  worry or get anxious because it happens so frequently.” After our talk with Ebony and Bobi,  we appreciated everyone and everything in our lives a little more. We then spent the rest of our day at The Boys and Girls Club playing basketball, jump rope, and foosball with the kids. 

As a way to celebrate a successful first day at The Boys and Girls club we drove to our next adventure, Temescal Canyon where we hiked to the top of the mountain and took in the idyllic views of the Los Angeles skyline on our left the Pacific Ocean on our right. The next two days at The Boys and Girls Club were filled with more fun as we played different games with the kids and held a Penny Carnival on our last day. At the carnival we all led different booths such as face painting, the cupcake walk, dot drop, and soccer shoot out. The kids’ faces lit up when they won their prizes at each booth. It was great to see the kids and the teenagers enjoy the carnival together. 

After our three fun-filled days at The Boys and Girls Club we celebrated at the Santa Monica Promenade and Pier. While at the Promenade we surprised one of our tip leaders, Teddy for his birthday by performing a flash mob in the middle of the Promenade. He was so surprised, all of our practice and preparation paid off. 

Finally, it was our last day and coincidentally the Fourth of July and what better place to enjoy our last day in Los Angeles than Universal Studios Hollywood. While at Universal Studios we took the studio tour, saw the set of Desperate Housewives, went on Transformers, The Mummy, and Jurassic Park. At night we had our banquet at Buca De Beppo where we reminisced about all of our fun times we had on our trip. Then in typical Los Angeles fashion we ran into another celebrity, Bella Thorne from Disney’s Shake It Up. And like a perfect allegory we watched as the fireworks lit up the Los Angeles skyline for the Fourth of July, just as we brightened up the lives of the homeless at the Orange County Rescue Mission and the kids at The Boys and Girls Club of Harbor City."