The event had all the elements of an exciting reality TV competition: enthusiastic teams, a random drawing, earning points for access to resources, professional guest judges and a celebrity host who was also a judge.
The competitors in the Design Challenge are students in the Club Management class in Ը University’s Hospitality and Event Management Program. The competition was produced by Ը’s Hospitality and Event Management Advisory Board and Event Source. Event Source is a local company specializing in renting furniture, cooking equipment, tableware and other supplies for events.
Valuable Hands-On Learning Experiences – and Fun
The challenge was staged in early November in the spacious, sunlit Donald S. and Johnna F. Grant Atrium of Crawford Hall, the home of Ը’s Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship. Joe Mineo, an event planning legend with 37 years of hospitality experience with upscale events at venues like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, served as master of ceremonies, a judge and a source of tips and advice for contestants. He’s the owner and creative director of Joe Mineo Creative and the author of “It’s My Party,” a highly regarded book that shares his expertise and experience. Mineo also is a member of Ը’s Hospitality and Event Management Advisory Board.
Mandy Ulicney, associate lecturer in Ը’s Hospitality and Event Management program, who teaches the Club Management class, hosted the competition and facilitated the gameplay. She serves as faculty advisor for Ը’s student chapter of the Club Management Association of America. The professional organization provides funding for members of student chapters to attend conferences and opportunities to connect with event planning professionals.
The competition began with students being divided into teams that included industry professionals: members of the Club Management Association of America who work as event planners at four area country clubs: the Lakewood Country Club, the Country Club of Hudson, Congress Lake Club and The Country Club (Pepper Pike).
The challenge for the teams would be to create a themed table setting for a club event, drawing from a supply of furnishings and tableware provided by Event Source. Caitlyn Jaworski, product procurement manager, and Matt Gross, account executive, represented Event Source at the competition and assisted teams in retrieving items they needed.
The teams then drew numbers from a bowl to determine which team would get first, second, third and fourth choice of holiday-themed centerpieces, which would inspire their table design. The four floral centerpieces were designed to represent Thanksgiving/Fall, Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year’s Eve.
Smart Gameplay and Careful Choices
After each team chose their holiday centerpiece, they competed to see the order in which teams could choose their first round of items from the party supplies provided by Event Source. The items included a variety of chairs, tablecloths, glassware, dinnerware and flatware.
Ulicney read trivia questions that tested the students’ knowledge of club event planning. The team with the highest score in each round was allowed first choice of supplies for their table. In each round, teams retrieved different categories of items that fit their collective vision of how their table should look.
Questions included: “What is the most common type of member event at country clubs?” (Answer: weddings), “How many jobs do U.S. country clubs support through direct employment?” (Answer: 575,000).
“They get the first pick of the chairs, or maybe the first pick of the linen they like that ties into their centerpiece and really brings it to life,” Ulicney said. “They have to carefully choose what they can use and be creative with their team and work to put this together.”
“There are different linens, different styles of chairs, different styles of chargers and plates, different flatware, glassware, tablecloths, and napkins,” she said.
Four round banquet tables were placed in the competition area for the students to build their tablescapes.
Mineo was stationed near the supply area to answer questions and offer advice as the teams chose their table accessories.
‘Make Sure Everything You’re Doing Matters’
As the student teams assembled their table themes, Mineo moved between the tables and observed their choices. “Make sure everything you’re doing matters,” he said. “And plan around the entire experience. Don’t go for the obvious – be a little creative.”
He also advised the students to “plan around your senses,” and consider other elements of the event, including the overall feel of each holiday, the people who would be attending each type of event at a club, how they might be dressed, and elements of the meal that would be served.
Praise for the Program
Lawrence Carter, asset manager for the Ը University Hotel and Conference Center; Craig Ayala, advisory board president, and several other members of the advisory board came to see the competition, as well as a former faculty advisor for the Club Management Association of America and Ը Associate Professor Emeritus, Barbara Scheule, Ph.D.
Scheule was one of the founders of the Hospitality Program at Ը. She said that the program at Ը blends the business side of hospitality with the business of taking care of people.
“That’s where I think this program just excels. Blending all those pieces together,” she said. “It provides a nice blend of academics with connections with industry through the student organizations and the [Schwebel] lecture series, which, if you haven’t seen it, is amazing. The speakers they bring into class and how they connect people to industry through internships and jobs,” Scheule said. “Our faculty know a lot of people and can connect our students to job opportunities to develop their skillsets.”
Every Style Choice, Every Element Was Critiqued
The students had a time limit while making final adjustments to their tablescapes. When the timer ran out, student teams were instructed to stand back from the tables and let the judges and other guests move between the tables and examine what the teams had assembled.
The finished table settings were elegant and each successfully created the feel of a themed holiday event at a country club. Judges and guests were invited to cast their votes for the table that best embodied and complemented the theme and look of its holiday centerpiece.
After the voting period ended, Mineo walked through the tables and offered his critiques of what he saw. He noted both choices he viewed as “bold” and others he considered “safe” choices. He considered colors and textures and how the tableware and glassware complemented or felt disconnected from the flatware, chairs and other elements.
The winning table was the New Year’s Eve-themed setting The Country Club of Pepper Pike. As their prize, the team was presented with all four of the elaborate centerpieces used in the competition.
After announcing the winner, Mineo shared some of the motivation behind his dedication. “I work harder at what I do so I don’t have to do the things I’m not good at or don’t want to do; I pay someone to do them.”
He also reminded students of the wonderful creativity that’s part of the hospitality industry. “We create magic for a living – and we get paid for it.”
Special thanks to Mandy Ulicney, Lawrence Carter, Barbara Scheule, Ph.D., and Hannah Jean Park for their contributions to this story.