The 2005 KCOBA Atlanta Christmas party held on Saturday, December 17th at the Omega World Center was a huge success. The customer experience reached a new high point and everyone had a wonderful evening. One attendee asked me if we are having it again next year as he did not want to miss it if we were. Others told me it was the best time they had in years!! We also cleared our break-even point with room to spare, so we have a few dollars with which to start the year 2006 on a high note.
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The Ladies: One essential difference this year was the involvement of "the Ladies" in the planning and execution. Alicia Adams and Arlene Barrett get full marks for pulling together Vee Callender, Jackie Edwards , Toni Laman , Norma Martin , Dr. Michele Pitter , Angela Richards , Calys Stewart , and Joelle Williams into a hardworking task force. Thank you, ladies, for a remarkable effort with the decorations, the 3rd and 4th raffle prizes and food handling.
Party over here !!
Photographer: Anthony Williams
Setup: Garfield got involved early helping with securing the venue; he was there too on the day of the event to help with setup and decorations and we called on him throughout the evening to deliver the food and stock the bar. Barry Miller also showed up at 10 am ready to work while Maurice Edwards brought coolers and ice. Anthony Williams brought the Christmas tree and the ladies were also on hand to take charge of decorating the hall. Garey Richards not only showed up for the setup but brought us professional help in the form of his sister, Hope , who is an interior decorator.
The Party: Many thanks to Earl Adams, Ricky Edwards and Barry Miller who handled the ticketing and monies; to Winston Stewart, Earl Pitter, Rory Mitchell and Conrad Jones for taking care of the bar and the Ladies for keeping up with the food and cleanup. The bar was completely stocked by donations and for this we thank: Ricky Edwards and Barry Miller for beer, Earl Pitter for Smirnoff Ice, Garfield who brought rum all the way from Jamaica , Sedley Morris who provided Hennessy and wine, Everton Barrett for whiskey, sodas and Alize and Conrad Jones for bottled water.
Thanks also to DJ Ambrose who provided the sound equipment and was at the hall very early to get ready and to DJ Meely who kept the crowd dancing.
Food Service: As usual, Captain Mike 's food was a hit. Folks have even asked me to pick up some jerk for them next time I am at the restaurant. Captain put in a lot of behind the scenes work and his deep commitment to our cause was evident. Thanks to all those who contributed money to the food fund including: Whylie Chambers, Barry Miller, Randy Carey, Errol Case, Harry Henry, Maurice Edwards, Kenneth Gordon, Sedley Morris, Dale Patterson, Earl Pitter, Johnny Walker and John Williams.
Our Sponsors: Tony Reid of Kool Runnings, as usual, came through with donations of Red Stripe, Heineken and Guinness for the bar. We also are grateful to Ken Chin of Royal Caribbean who provided patties and Jamaican hard-dough bread. Thanks are also due to Joyce Tomlinson of Air Jamaica who arranged for airline tickets as raffle prizes.
Promos: We should also mention that Paul Abrahams of WRFG and Glen Simmons of WCLK both gave us plugs on their respective radio stations and the Caribbean Star newspaper mentioned our event in their community section. We are grateful for their support.
Ticket Sales: It has become evident that a dedicated sales force is our best bet for staging a profitable event andso we appreciate the effort everyone made in selling tickets. The board of directors set the pace by making a commitment to sell or purchase 10 tickets each. Special mention must be made of Mark Callender who despite being a recent arrival to Atlanta from Jamaica , jumped right in and sold several tickets. Other members such as Kevin Boothe , Ray Lee , Rory Mitchell , Lascelles Lewis , Sedley Morris , Patrick Hector , Karl Stewart and Johnny Walker also stepped forward to help with sales. Honorable mention goes to Alicia Adams , Arlene Barrett , Annette Stewart and Joelle Williams ; These ladies also participated in our sales effort.
Lessons Learned: While the party was successful, there is always room for improvement. We solicit comments on what went right and what could be improved.
Again, many thanks to all who played a part in our success.
