| Programs |  |
Click here to view a photo gallery of the event
It was a well-planned and delightful evening of dining and dancing, and “a goodly crowd was there that nigh filled” two ballrooms at the Blackwell Inn on The Ohio State University campus.
What it was wasn’t football, but the annual President’s Dinner of the Central Ohio IFMA Chapter on December 6, and some 100 members and guests donned their best “bib and tucker” to take part in the evening’s activities.
Next month the chapter will open 2003 with a presentation by Paul Williams, consultant and senior contract specialist with BASF Corp., on “Discovering Your Personality...the Key to Understanding Others and Improving Relationships.” This event will begin at 7:30 a.m. January 8 with a continental breakfast and networking opportunities at the Fawcett Center at Ohio State. Williams will speak at 8 a.m.
The President’s Dinner got underway at 7 p.m. with Mark and Alana Haberman in charge of registration and the continued selling of raffle tickets for an array of prizes that were donated by chapter sponsors in support of its Adopt-a-Family program. (More about that later.)
Once beyond the registration table, it was partying as usual: a table ladened with hors d'oeuvre, a well-stocked and open (two-drink limit) bar, melodious refrains from Arnett Howard’s Creole Funk Band, and at least 50 people talking at once as friends old and new greeted one another.
In almost no time it became nearly impossible to hear above the din of chatter, but no one seemed to mind because, to paraphrase Jim Yankle, it never rains when the IFMA chapter gets together to have a good time. As the number grew, the crowd began to disperse throughout the ballrooms and to find its way to tables of eight and hopefully an early selection for the buffet line.
But as one might suspect, there is always a little business to mix with pleasure, and Fred Timm, chapter president, officially welcomed all to the event, and thanked Program Committee co-chairs Brittany Hauptman, Mike Milenovic, and Sandy Stayrook for their efforts in organizing the dinner.
Timm jokingly stated he had some trouble in deciding where the apostrophe belongs in connection with the event—should it be “President’s Dinner or Presidents’ Dinner.” And while acceding to the former, he recognized past presidents in attendance—Mark Haberman, Craig Thomas, Tom Logsdon, Molly Ranz, and Vicki Simons.
Timm also paid tribute and presented certificates of appreciation to three members for their outstanding contributions to the chapter:
• John Cleland for his work as the driving force in getting the chapter established and for his continued support through the years.
• Donna Byrom for her hard work as a member of the Education Committee and as the chief promoter of the chapter’s facility management program at Columbus State Community College.
• Jim Yankle for being the “founder, leader, and director” of one of the chapter’s most popular events—the annual golf outing which will enter its 15th year in 2003.
Next came Vicki Simons, co-chair of the Associate Relations Committee, to thank the chapter’s many sponsors for their support throughout the year, and to announce the “early bird” sponsors for 2003, those who had signed up just prior to the dinner. They are, by category:
• Initiator Level—Chemical Abstracts Service, Continental Office, Corporate Interior Concepts, DuPont Flooring Systems, and Messer Construction.
• Facilitator Level—Bentley Prince Street Carpeting, Capital Services, Inc., Commercial Movers, Inc., Contract Interiors, Cort Furniture, Designed Moves, Inc., Fiber Seal of Central Ohio, Four Seasons Environmental, Inc., Nationwide Insurance Co., NBBJ, Singer Wallcoverings, and Urban Environments, Inc.
• Manager Level—Clara Brown Interiors, Inc., F.F. Leonard, Inc., HAWA Inc., J. Yankle Co., Kimball Office, King Business Interiors, Inc., Renovators, Inc., Siemans Building Technologies, and Timm Facility Management.
• Associate Level—Armstrong World Industries, Frank Novak & Sons, Inc., Karlsberger, OSERS Broad St., LLC, and The Art Exchange.
With the “really serious business,” disposed of, the drawing for prizes began under the direction of Angie Castner, Dorothy Lieberman, and Haberman. Gifts and winners were:
• Whole-house carpet cleaning, donated by Resource Ohio, won by Bill Whitmeyer.
• Cellular phone, less service initiation, donated by Verizon, won by Marge Craddock.
• $100 gift Best Buy certificate, donated by TAC Americas, won by Shannon Corly.
• KI folding table and four chairs, donated by Bill Thomason & Associates, won by Anthony Perry.
• Four tickets to an Ohio State basketball game, donated by Commercial Movers, Inc., won by Bob Davis.
• Cellular phone, less service initiation, donated by Verizon, won by Dick Allison.
• Four tickets to a Blue Jackets’ game, donated by Bentley Prince Street, won by Bill Weiss.
• Table for 10 at next summer’s Picnic with the Pops, donated by the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, won by Robin Whitmeyer.
• Geiger high-back leather office chair, donated by Continental Office, won originally by Lin Smirniotopoulos whose company donated the chair, and then by Sandy Stayrook. Smirniotopoulos took instead 60 yards of vinyl wallcovering donated by Singer Wallcoverings.
• Sony CD cassette player, donated by Interface, won by Adam Tee.
• $125 gift certificate to Martini’s, donated by Contract Interiors, won by Shelly Sensenbrenner.
• Gift basket, donated by Sanese Services, won by Joe Conley.
• Jeff Gordon racing jacket, donated by DuPont Flooring, won by Dorothy Leachman.
• $100 gift certificate for landscaping service/material, donated by Buck & Sons, won by Mike Spencer.
• Beanbag task light, donated by Hayworth, won by Bob Schisler.
• $50 gift certificate to Cameron Mitchell’s, donated by Thomas Ruff, won by Scott Hauptman.
• Four Blue Jackets’ tickets and parking pass, donated by Designed Moves, Inc., won by Jim Masucci.
• Four Blue Jackets’ tickets, donated by Frank Messer & Sons, won by Kimberly Murray.
• Two pieces of art, donated by King Business Interiors, won by Ron Austin.