Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Hotelies Spotted Off-Campus!
In an attempt to persuade even its toughest critics that Hotelies do indeed, on rare occasion, venture beyond the confines of Statler Hall, HEC F&B function managers volunteered their time, talent, and good looks to stage a dinner event as part of the celebrations honoring the 60th anniversary of the Ithaca Youth Bureau.
The dinner, which served 150 guests, was held on January 28 at the Women’s Community Building in downtown Ithaca. Nate Maus ’10 served as chef, and used the opportunity to test out the menu he plans to serve for his Friday night dinner during HEC weekend. Any average group of cooks may have balked at the great challenges faced by the team—for instance, having to serve four courses in an hour and a half, including delicious vegetarian options for high-profile guests such as President Skorton and Newark Mayor Cory Booker…with time built in for speeches and performances. However, Statler’s Culinary Dream Team proved they were worth their weight in edible gold flakes and conquered the event without even a glitch. That’s why we pay them the big bucks! Oh wait…
The dinner preceded a larger, 1100-person event at State Theatre honoring the Ithaca Youth Bureau and its 60 years of service to Ithaca’s youth through recreational sports programs, youth mentorship, and support services. With the theme of “Bridging Racial and Cultural Divides and the Role that Youth Play,” the event featured a speech by Mayor Cory Booker as well as a performance by Uganda-born musician/peace advocate Samite (currently an Ithaca resident) and a breakdancing group from Ithaca High School. Booker, known for his passion for social change, bold ideas, and hands-on approach to service, was called the “Savior of Newark” by Time Magazine for his efforts to fight drugs and crime. He delivered an inspirational speech geared to both adults and youth alike, reminding them of their duty to improve their communities and help this nation live up to its promise.
Congratulations, team, on representing the Hotel School so well within the Ithaca community and for supporting such a worthy cause. Toques off to you!
12:12 PM | 0 comments
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
The Secret Life of the HEC Marketing Team!
If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably been wondering: Marketing Team? What is this, some kind of joke? You mean, students voluntarily sign up for the chance to create marketing plans as dense as War and Peace and then stage a trade show where they clamor for the attention of students and faculty like wild lions over a freshly-massacred zebra? Hilarious! (Maybe I’m still bitter about my 243 experience two years ago, what?)
Fortunately, these assumptions are completely wrong. So now you’re really confused… who is the HEC Marketing Team, and what do they possibly do if not create marketing plans and conduct trade shows? Luckily, I have obtained insider information about the Secret Life of the HEC Marketing Team to answer these questions and more—read on!
When they’re not cavorting with Kwortnik or catching a 30-minute nap on the floor of the Student Lounge the night before their project is due (yep, definitely still bitter), the HEC Marketing team, under Director Zachary Ruben, has been researching trends among students and guests, capturing video footage, taking pictures, and designing graphic visuals for HEC weekend.
Market Researcher Dan Silverman has been gathering data about Hotel School students, faculty, and alumni, such as arrival times and guest counts from the HEC Homecoming Tailgate. Dan’s next objective will be studying the effectiveness of quarter cards as a marketing technique. Bit of advice, Dan: all you need to do is look in the recycle bin in the Statler mail room.
Videographers Alex Lieberman and Mauricio Saucedo have been busy gathering film footage from a number of HEC-related events. Alex and Mauricio have posted some of these videos, such as their footage of the HEC Homecoming Tailgate, onto Youtube (the link to this video is also viewable in this semester’s first blog post). In upcoming weeks, Alex and Mauricio will compile more short videos based on events such as Culinary Team meetings. This leaves me with the question: Half-Baked…or Fully-Cooked? Pineapple Express…or Pineapple Upside-Down Cake?
Sarah Shim, Photographer/Chief Paparazzo, has been diligently taking photographs of HEC-related events and functions. Lately, she took pictures of all the HEC teams for the website. You can view her work on The 84th Annual Hotel Ezra Cornell Facebook group, in National Enquirer Magazine (I hear she has some good ones of Dean Johnson in Cancun), and soon on Flickr.
Ryan Afari and Eunju Park, Graphic Designers, have been busy designing banners, advertisements, and materials for HEC weekend. Ryan has created eye-catching concepts for door hangers, room cards, and even the legendary the HEC teddy bear (which you too can own—if you sign up to volunteer for HEC!). He also has created a number of flyers advertising the blog, which should be seen around Statler before too long. Eunju created the banner for the HEC tailgate as well as some amazing designs for door hangers, room cards, and the webpage design for this very blog.
If you’re curious about the HEC 84 Invitation, Zachary has now uploaded it to our website at www.hotelezracornell.com. Check it out!
Fortunately, the HEC Marketing Team is not just a group of crazed Hotelie overachievers eager to relive their 243 days (for whatever reason), but are a legitimate, fun-loving, hard-working, and good-looking group (needless to say). Keep your eyes out for the exciting projects described above—you should see posters slowly taking over the bulletin board in the student lounge—and get excited for HEC 84, sure to be “the best ever!”
12:42 PM | 0 comments