Big Fish, Little Pond

2038-01-19T03:14:07Z

While Americans stateside were celebrating the Inauguration of our new President, I am residing overseas. Friends have been posting their Day at the Mall pictures and other Inauguration activities and festivities on facebook, making me homesick.

Walking out of Mike's Place after the election was called, 6:30 am local time, I began to fantasize about an Inauguration Party. As the Master Party Planner, this was definitely cause for such celebration.

It was a combination of this anticipated and actualized homesickness and my recent involvement in Democrats Abroad that assured me the position of Democrats Abroad-Israel, Inauguration Event Planning Committee Chair. If going to a party is important to you, then you will throw the party to ensure that there is one to attend. I traveled to Tel Aviv in mid-December to the DA internal elections as a way to learn more about the organization and I came home as the Event Planner.

Party Planning Begins

Things started off rocky, leading me to doubt that the party would happen. My supposed partner was no longer available/willing to co-plan the event. If I couldn't replace her in a few days, the event would not be. An acquaintance and fellow J-m resident appeared out of the woodwork, expressing interest in co-chairing with me. Unlike me, she was a long-time Obama supporter; like me, she could not imagine that there would not be an Inauguration Event.

We got to work really fast. We determined that we had to secure a location in less than one week in order to have time for publicity and other preparations. We identified the critical features and the desirable features in a possible venue, and then brainstormed places that would fit our stated criteria. Multiple TV screens was critical; kosher food was desired. Of the three places, two were already reserved for private parties that same night. We visited a fourth due to its proximity to my home (nixed: Only one TV screen, not kosher food, and they would require an advance deposit). The remaining place had their phone off the hook, not a good sign. En route to the place with its phone off the hook, a waiter tried to entice us to eat in his restaurant. We were not looking for dinner, but we got a tour of the facility and their capacity to host our event.

After some more scouting and negotiating, we decide to go with the venue that didn't make it onto our initial list, Zollis in Nahalat Shiva. They had many TV screens, a kosher, mehadrin meat menu (who knew that pubs were Mehadrin?), and the bar consisted of 6 separate rooms. This enabled us to reserve one room for our private party, but would not require the pub to close for us. Hence, no deposit. Without the deposit, they didn't want to do cash bar, because they wanted to guarantee income from the event. We negotiated that we would charge a cover that would include dinner and drink; all payments would be cash at the door. This arrangement guaranteed the pub a per head sum, we don't have to lay out any money in advance, and we don't have to be bothered with arranging payment prior to the event.

The Planning Continues

Now that the basics were resolved, we could start advertising: Where, When, How Much, etc. An email message was sent out to the DA-Jerusalem list seeking volunteers. There is no budget, so all advertising is on email listservs, facebook, and home-printed signs. The DA Chair sends out a press release to her media list. We are also confronted with conforming to FEC regulations, as an official arm of the Democratic Party. Proposed solution meets the approval of our legal counsel, who is incoming DA-Internation Treasurer.

I could expand this section, but it would be boring.

The Event Is Only 48 Hours Away!

By Sunday, 18 Jan the RSVP was exploding beyond expectation. The first negotiated room could sit 50 people. More than 180 advance RSVPs were registered and in classic Jerusalem fashion, we were expecting a sizeable group of walk-ins. Among the RSVPs, 7 media networks had confirmed attendance. A problem, but the kind you love to have. The Obama banner that originated in Washington and was being mailed from DA-Spain had not arrived. Calling Plan B on the decorations!

FYI, the market for party decorations in Israel (Jerusalem?) is hopelessly underdeveloped. Any oleh or entepreneur looking for a niche- highly recommended. There is no Hebrew word for streamers, b.c there are no streamers. There are no Mylar balloons that don't say Happy Birthday, It's a Boy/Girl!, or I Love You. How about some generic Congratulations, or just festive looking without words?

I went to a hobby store and bought red, silver, and blue tinsel; I found a floral shop to arrange red-white-blue balloon bouquets; someone guided me to a website with a file of an Obama poster in Hebrew.

On Monday evening I went back to the pub to do a check-in. We told them the week before that we were growing and needed to occupy more space. This time I told them that we needed the whole bar. Interestingly, the adult daughter of the flower store owner said that she knew the venue and was buddies with the manager- a name I did not recognize. When I got to the bar, the manager said he only had a few minutes, at which point another guy said, "I'll talk to her; I'm handling the party, anyway." Apparently, this second guy is the one who the flower store owner's daughter knows, and he is the one we should have been talking to the whole time. I had to tell him what we agreed to with his partner and the changes we wanted. He did not realize that he promised us the whole menu, not merely the hamburgers, or that we grew past the initial 50-70. I told him to expect between 250-300 guests, predicting that the nearly 200 RSVPs would become a 250 turnout. He started plotting with another manager increasing the food order before the next day, retrieving additional screens from storage to hang, and other early preparations. One word: Phew! Had I merely arrived 2 hours before the event like planned, I would have been stuck...

The Big Day

I wake up giddy with excitement! When leaving my house, en route to work, I notice a media truck parked in front of my building. I approach the gentlemen and ask if they are attending my party. They identify themselves as AP-Israel (I hadn't realized that AP was also television) and they interview me; I doubt that my interview made it past the cutting room floor. I hand them one of my last fliers, but they don't commit to coming. They explain that they get sent on assignments, they don't choose them. But, they assure me in apologetic tones that their boss is likely to think my party is newsworthy.

As the day progresses, I get additional inquiries from media asking for information about the event. I leave work early; have a fashion crisis- the dress I planned to wear looked better on me a few pounds ago; get to the pub at 4:20 and doors open at 5:30. Showtime- 7 pm local time. When the manager tells me in disbelief, you won't believe the media interest we are getting, I point out that all phone calls he's been getting from media are due to my giving out his phone number. The truck from Israel Channel One (Arutz Ehad) is already parked nearby and other TV media are trickling in, securing good spots for their equipment.

The volunteer team came earler than the requested 4:30 arrival time, due to obvious excitment and enthusiasm. I went straight into managing mode, and began giving orders as pleasantly as I knew how. We were scrambling to get the space in order, when the first guests started arriving at 5:10. Egads! Why are they so early? For the same reason the volunteers came early and I was jittery all day- this a big deal! I was convinced that people would not start coming to 6 pm; guess I was wrong. Some of the early-early birds were put to volunteer tasks and others were herded into one room so that their early arrival would not mess up our check-in system. We were not yet prepared to take their money.

There were two entrances with two people registering guests. Arrivals were checked against the RSVP list, walk-ins had to supply their names, all were asked if they were US citizens (as per the FEC compliance issue), and they paid in cash the early bird or the regular rate. Guests were then given two stubs: one good for a drink and one for dinner. Both stubs had Obama's face and a notation that service was not included. Since they paid for their food with the stubs, when it was time to leave there was no reminder that they needed to pay tip :( Media were waived out of the cover charge, and had to pay for all food out of pocket. This way they were given more flexible entry, but not on our tab.

Once the doors were officially open, I was in even more intense manager mode: checking on the entrances, getting small money to make change, and referring comments to the managers and the sound guy as necessary, etc. And then the moment arrived. It was 7 pm, all six rooms were filled and Biden already took his oath. No ordering was allowed during Obama's oath or speech, which gave me the opportunity to sit and enjoy the cause that brought all of the assembled strangers together.

Let me note here that 17 media networks were in attendance. They were:
Israel: English HaAretz, Hebrew HaAretz (different staffers), Arutz Ehad (Israel Channel One- said they were doing a live broadcast, but I don't think it happened), Kol Yisrael (Israel public radio), Ynet, the internet edition of Yediot Ahronot and they did a great video;
American: CNN, AP-Israel, ABC (radio), Palm Beach Post, an Atlanta-based news service;
International: BBC, Russian television (I think for Russia, not the Israeli Russian channel), French broadcast, French print, Brazilian television, International Jewish Press (are they really international or just American?), and drumroll-- Al Jazeera in English.

Amazing! Just amazing. Since I don't read or see many of these, it's hard to gauge how far the coverage actually reached. Here are some indications: the LA Times bought the AP-Israel photo. I think there was no accompanying story- just the photo. The Colbert Report has a segment in which he screens a news service's broadcast of our party before delivering a joke. I wonder who else picked up our story and photos beyond those who were there.

The crowd dispersed on the early side, and the co-chair and I were there counting the money and paying people. Our internal photographer had burned nearly 350 photos onto a CD and brought it to the pub.

I went home euphoric, but staring to crash. The party was a success, by all indications: the mood and atmosphere, the effusive thank yous, and the gracious acknowledgements. However, I was working the whole night and and not relishing in the historic moment. When reading the summaries and watching the playbacks, it did not look familiar to me. I was watching the oath, the benediction, W fly to AAFB? How did I miss these things? Instead of enjoying the night, like those photographed, I was in business-efficiency mode. Many of the guests, especially those with the strategic seating, gave multiple media interviews; I gave none. If I had inserted myself, I'm sure it would have been easy to be interviewed. I was wearing a name tag that said "Organizer." But, the media were content organizing the guests. I spent the whole night running around, as documented by our internal photographer, and the media were content talking to the other 175 people there.

After getting over the disappointment of not being interviewed, I relished in the euphoria of the night, the compliments, and the post-event media coverage. Given our no-budget advertising, we drew a large crowd, the media interest conveyed that this was The Event, in short, I am a Community Organizer. This satisfaction soothed my non-interview status.

As a Community Organizer, I wish Obama the strength and wisdom to actualize the dreams that he and all Americans have for our beloved country. I also wish that Israel could produce a political leader that generates the same level of enthusiasm for government and hope for change.

Epilogue

I went back to the pub a few days later to tie up loose ends. I got a hero's welcome. They are in love with me (and my co-chair). They profited handsomely on an early Tuesday evening- like free money; they had 200 new people come to their establishment, and hopefully become repeat business; the media was all over the the place, giving them an extra boost. I felt like I was Norm at Cheers.

From Nation's Capital to Nation's Capital: The Azza Street Spy

Big Fish, Little Pond