Spotted at CaterSource 2010…

Blackberry Addicts Anonymous….

And yet now, not so anonymous.  Hi, our name is A Joy Wallace Catering Production….and we’re addicted to our Blackberries.  We can’t live without the svelte design, our Grease Lightning speed email, 24/7 contact syncing, and the peace of mind that comes with knowing every problem coming our way…has an App solution! :-)

But most of all, we love our Blackberry Messenger, the inner circle smart phone instant messaging fever sweeping the nation.  And it came in quite handy while talking to Cary (Operations Coordinator) at the CaterSource Conference last month:

Saturday

Elgin 8:08pm: Viva La Vegas!

Sunday

Cary 9:07AM: How’s the city? Are you even awake?  Still have money in your pocket?

Elgin 11:03AM: Jetlagged, excited, conference time, Joy’s DIVAS Seminar. And the pockets are still full!

Cary 11:09PM: Ooooh, long day! Took a gamble with Carnival on the Mile with BBQ, we did amazing, GREAT FOOD!

Monday

Elgin 12:03PM: Reconnecting with old friends, met some new caterers, sickest thing ever, I watched an hors d’ oeuvre FLOAT, David Blaine style!

Cary 2:01PM: WHAAAAAT!?!? PHOTOS PLEASE!

Elgin 2:10PM: Yep!  More importantly, wardrobe dilemma! Joy just told me I can’t wear my chef coat with heels to the CATIE Awards, LOL!

Cary 7:00PM: In what world did you think that would fly?!?!?

Elgin 7:30PM: Whatev, thought it was worth a shot. Went with the gold dress, you’ve seen it.

Cary 8:00PM: Thank goodness, have fun and good luck!

Elgin 11:45PM: WE WON TWO AWARDS!!! WHOOO HOOOO! MARKETING ROCKS!  Party time!

Tuesday

Cary 8:58AM: Sales Meeting time, SO not awake. :-/  But lots to discuss so it’ll move fast.  We miss ya’ll!

Elgin 9:30AM: Ha! Why so tired, trying to outdo our Vegas trip? LOL! Take notes!

Cary 10:00AM: Hush! I’m taking notes, cause we booked ALOT of parties this week. Don’t stress, I’ve got you….for a fee!

Elgin 9:30PM: At Anthology, Cade Nagy and Domenic Chiaromonte’s party. Crazy ideas, 1800 people, and butter in a chapstick tube.  I’d save you one….but it might be gross by tomorrow.  Party time again!

 

Cary 9:50PM: Butter chapstick? Uh, I’ll pass. :-/  Glad you’re having fun!

Wednesday

Cary 10:03AM: Week picking up, Cook It Up For Kids this Saturday, must be an awards weekend, Joy’s getting recognized at the event.

Elgin 2:13PM: Very cool.  At the Trade Show, picked up some cool platters and products you’d like!

Cary 2:14PM: Aw, you shopped with me in mind? How sweet!

Elgin 8:00PM: Of course! Just had dinner at Twist, great treat from Joy!

Cary 10:00PM: Awesome, have a safe flight back!!!  NO REDEYE EXCUSE TOMORROW, we gotta hit the ground running!

And the winner is…

Kristina Raines & AJWP!

Ahem, ahem, is this thing on?  Ladies and gentleman, I am proud to announce that the AJW Team returned victorious from the 2010 Event Solutions Conference & Tradeshow!  It was held at the Paris Hotel in VEGAS BABY! (Can you really say Las Vegas without the “baby”?!?!) While there was nothing shy about Kristina’s outfit, she IS shy about her achievements. Reminds me of this equally shy Peruvian chef I know…. :-) Anyway, one of the week’s highlights was the Event Solutions & CATIE Awards Gala, where we took home two gorgeous trophies that evening!

Ms. Kristina Raines, who is responsible for our Creative Media Marketing, won Event Solutions Spotlight Award for Marketing Professional of the year!  A tremendous achievement, we congratulate her heartily on her success!  Kristina has been a driving force behind the new face of A Joy Wallace Catering, and it’s great to see her work rewarded at a national level.

Here’s a shot of her back at the table after her speech.  Much to her embarrassment, all of us on the east coast keep messaging her our individual “Congratulations!”, and her Blackberry was blowing up.  And yours truly actually called. Oops! :-) 

Our second award of the evening paid a credit to Kristina again, as we won the CATIE Award under the category of Best Marketing Collateral for “A Taste of Joy: An Artist’s Paint Box”.  The concept was to introduce potential new clients to the flavors of A Joy Wallace Catering in the form of an Artist’s Paint Box.  Paint Jars were filled with colorful spreads, honey and marmalades. Each jar labeled and branded with the Joy Wallace Logo. Petite paint brushes wrapped in Joy Wallace ribbon were provided for each sauce but for a quick dip Chef Elgin baked Homemade Grissini coated in Fleur de Sel.     As with all of the Joy Wallace marketing campaigns our creativity is inspired by a message.  The attached card read “We invite you to paint your palette with the kaleidoscope of flavors that is A Taste of Joy.”

Congrats again to Kristina, and a special thank you to her partner in crime/man behind the lens, Ryan Oswald (Event Graphics) for his amazing graphic design, photography abilities and overall comedic take on life. He makes her job, (and our job), a pleasure! 

Great work team! :-)