All Dressed Up

October 31^st was a costume-filled holiday for the One Smooth Stone kids! Take a look at some of the outfits donned by stonies’ children, nieces and nephews…

Ken Haller's boys, Tieg and Kade, were dressed as reptiles for Halloween!

Lisa Hultmark and her family teamed up to create the cast of Wizard of Oz.

Megan's Manske's daughter, Skylar, was a princess who clearly likes to get her way!

Steve Koppel's two children, Adam and Genevieve, dressed up as a pirate and a chicken

Bethany Johnson's niece and nephew, Kylie and Tyler, walked their neighborhood as a witch and Nintendo's Luigi

Brad Zulke's nephew, Jonathan, enjoyed playing the part of Scarecrow at his school festival

Stephanie Selig's daughter, Cassidy, donned a "cheerful" pink butterfly costume to celebrate

Production...You! Webinar

Thanks to everyone who listened and participated in "Production...You!", a webinar co-hosted by One Smooth Stone and hinton+grusich on October 22nd. The session provided best practices and tips for “producing” the business meeting.

If you missed the session, complete audio/video has been posted at the link below for viewing. Feel free to pass this link along to anyone who might benefit from the content.

www.onesmoothstone.com/Webinars/Producer-You

Slides from the webinar, as well as a producer checklist, can be downloaded here:

http://tinyurl.com/Producer-You

Producer YOU! Webinar - October 22nd

Date: Thursday, Oct 22
Time: 11am (Pacific), noon (MT), 1pm (CST), 2pm (EST)
Audience: Any meeting planner who finds themselves in the role of producer

With budgets being reduced, you may find yourself using in-house A/V a bit more and needing to fill the role of “producer” for your business meeting. If so, our October 22nd webinar is just for you! Presented by One Smooth Stone President and Principal Kevin Olsen and Associate Producer Bethany Johnson, "Producer YOU!" will provide best practices for “producing” the business meeting…. everything from tips for managing graphics and providing simple recommendations to improve a presenter’s delivery to what questions to ask the lighting designer. At the end of the webinar, a check-list will also be provided to make you a pro in no time.

Interested in registering? Just click here!

One Smooth Stone featured in Successful Meetings Magazine...

How do you impress 900 top achievers and their guests? This was the headline for a recent article in Successful Meetings Magazine featuring One Smooth Stone's work on the 2008 Field Leadership Club incentive program for BMC Software. Our answer to the headlining question? Put a stage in the water!

On the Big Island of Hawaii in May of 2008, we constructed a fully-functional 60' x 32' stage entirely in the ocean at Anaehoomalu Bay. It was the first stage in the ocean in all of Hawaii and provided a performance venue for local and major name entertainment. The result? Guests were amazed and "wowed" with a memorable and truly spectacular experience.

Take a look at the full article to learn more about what went into this ground-breaking effort.

Celebrating a Stonie!

August was a big month for One Smooth Stone Project Coordinator Emily (Green) Miller and we had a lot to celebrate!

First, Emily was named a recipient of MPI Chicago Area Chapter's "Chapter Leader of the Month" award. Her hard work as part of the chapter's Leadership Development Committee and her efforts in putting together monthly conference calls and webinars for other leaders helped her stand out among the 13 members that were nominated for the award. Great work, Emily!

But the congratulations don't stop there... Amidst her MPI chapter work, Emily was also diligently planning a wedding. Emily and Jason Miller tied the knot on August 29th in a beautiful outdoor ceremony in Geneva, IL. The whole One Smooth Stone team was there to celebrate with her!

Emily and Jason Miller pose at their reception

A flower petal send-off

Passionate about giving back...

One thing that One Smooth Stone is passionate about is giving back. Whether its helping clients incorporate philanthropy into their events, participating in charitable activities as a company, or making financial contributions through our affiliate foundation...One Smooth Stone enjoys using its resources to impact a world in need.

Recently, Associate Producer Bethany Johnson shared her thoughts on Corporate Social Responsibility and incorporating philanthropic elements into events with Prevue, a publication for meeting and incentive planners. Take a look at the article here!

One Smooth Stone employee serves in Zambia

After his experience producing the Opportunity International Leadership Conference in Uganda this past March, One Smooth Stone Executive VP Gary Vlk decided he needed to venture back to Africa. During his experience in Uganda, he was touched by the need he saw and felt compelled to return with his family to make an impact. The Vlk family traveled to Zambia in July for 10 days with the non-profit Spark Ventures, an organization started by former One Smooth Stone employee Rich Johnson. The Vlks spent time playing with orphan children, helping kids with English reading, participating in a building project, and learning more about the impact Spark Ventures' is making in Zambia.

The Vlk's trip was recently featured in the newspaper in their hometown of Naperville, IL. Take a look! http://tinyurl.com/OSSZambia

The Vlk Family in Zambia

Gary with his reading buddy, John