My Part, What I Learned, My Major Successes

Overall, the Beach Bash is a four day long event helping raise money for CGWA and get the community evolved together. Thursday night was the silent auction party we called, "Pray for Wind," because you have to have wind to "wind"surf. My part in this was to go to the list of businesses my boss gave me and ask for donations for the party and raffle items for the weekend. This was when I really fell in love with the company because I saw myself going to these businesses and really telling them why this is such a great cause and why they should join us.

I also thought I could get members more excited about joining if we could get local businesses to offer a discount if they present their member card. My boss liked the idea and we added it to the partnership letter but it is still in the works. It took a couple weeks to get through everyone on the list and we ended up with over 50 donation prizes.

My successes from this were being able to raise over $4,000 for our kids program... even when it rained the night of. It was an outdoor event and we were scared for the forecast, but we were able to put tents up and still have a good turnout. The money we raised will provide children in the Gorge with new gear, easy storage and access, and dedicated coaching to advance their skills to provide continued access for the kids. This was one of the first times I saw my hard work become a reality because I've never been able to give this much to someone.

Friday night was the waterfront concert. I learned so much about event planning just on this day alone and how much you have to take into consideration. I didn't even think about the legality and budgeting we had to do for the things we wanted to put on. We had to get fencing to go all around our event because we had beer vendors and if you are serving beer they have to stay within our fencing. We had to hire security guards, volunteers, garbage bags, extension cords, change, the list goes on. Not to mention all the advertising we did weeks before to plan for this all.

The event turned out very nicely, even with a bit cooler weather. People were on their feet and dancing as Dirty Revival rocked Waterfront Park. The concert attracted many around the area and we were able to raise even more money through generous donations, food and drinks from our vendors.

Moving onto Saturday and Sunday, we headed to the event site where all our windsurfing vendors were going to be placed. This took a lot of planning before hand as well because we had to make sure those who paid more were placed closer to the water in a good spot and measure it out the night before so everyone could fit comfortably.

Everyone enjoyed local bands, The Ultronz and Soul Profit, more food vendors, and of course demos out on the water. Families were able to interact with paddle boarding, windsurfing and foil demos. American Windsurfing Tour entertained spectators watching the competitions and those who participated throughout the weekend. We also gained 44 new members, and this was a huge accomplishment for me and the team!

After taking a look at my work, you might wonder how I felt about it. Overall, I learned a lot about myself, event planning, and what it takes to pull something like this off. I had an incredible boss helping me through the whole time and wanted to change my work sometimes, but I learned from it. I got to feel how good it is to accomplish something so successfully and rewarding. This summer will be one I never forget, it has even helped me plan my future and I can't thank everyone enough!