Let me Compare Thee to a Summers Day…
Let me Compare Thee to a Summers Day…
The HIT Scotland POETS Lunch
Now we all know that a POETS lunch has nothing to do with penning verse – but we’re still going to wax lyrical about our fabulous event yesterday at Radisson BLU!
Every year, we organise a glamorous fund-raising lunch for friends and supporters of HIT Scotland – one of the many events we deliver for this brilliant charity, all with the overarching aim of raising money for scholarships and bursaries to support people in the hospitality industry and encourage emerging talent. Yesterday’s event certainly lived up to (and exceeded) everyone’s expectations with Glasgow’s Radisson Blu positively buzzing with excitement as guests took in the dazzling stage set crated by Vision Events and indulged in pre-lunch drinks (prepared by Tennent’s Training Academy and Matthew Clarke) and delicious canapes provided by The City of Glasgow College.
With the exuberant Tam Cowan as MC for the afternoon, everyone was in high spirits as we settled down to enjoy the three equally divine courses – monkfish followed by duck and rounded off with chocolate fondant – created by Sodexo’s Tom Beauchamp, Hilton Glasgow’s Jim Carson and Radisson Blu’s Stewart Goldie, respectively. But of course we were here for a serious purpose too – and professional auctioneer Alex Fleming was in superb form as he guided us through the Silent and Grand Auctions, effortlessly doubling our target with his skillful management of the bidding.
Investing in Alex’s services really helped to boost our fund-raising on the day and we’d also made quite a daring strategic change ourselves… Instead of aiming for the highest number of ticket sales possible, we restricted the number of guests to 430 (from over 470 last year). Our view was that fewer tables meant more space to move around and network in, with no one feeling pushed into a corner. It certainly worked! Happy guests equal generous guests and our target of £60k was well and truly exceeded with an astonishing total of £73k raised.
The afternoon ended on a fabulous high with everyone up on their feet and dancing enthusiastically to The Globe Girls and their very own Dolly Parton. Just as well there was no ‘9 to 5’ for us the next day!
