Greetings NACE Members,

If you missed our February meeting you missed a delightful experience.  What a great time everyone had networking and dining at Boulder Ridge Golf & Country Club.  Wine tasting from Artesa Vineyards, "Chocolate and Port Pairing", and a fabulous food pairing made for a memorable dining experience.  Peek in the gallery (that is, click on their names) for more photos of the decor prior to the meeting, by Claudia Akers (Claudia Akers Photography), and photos of the meeting itself, by Scott Vlha (Doorstep Photography)! You can see all of the fun and great ideas in this short video (to be posted soon), courtesy of David Etheridge (AVR Films).

Community Service:    
Each NACE chapter must complete 2 community service projects each year. For the March 16 meeting, we ask that each person attending bring a pair of gently worn shoes to donate for the Haitian refugees. We will be working with the American Red Cross to get them shipped to Haiti. That leaves the chapter with one more project to complete for 2010. The Board of Directors would like to know the community organizations that YOU, the member, want to support. Please let any board member know of your community service idea.

NACE National Meetings:
The 3rd of the 2010 NACE Leadership Conferences is being held in Portland ,Oregon on February 19-21. I have asked the NACE National Leadership Committee if  San Jose and the NACE Silicon Valley Chapter can be considered to host the west coast Leadership Conference in 2011, to allow more of our chapter members to attend and to showcase our chapter.

Upcoming Membership Campaign:
"Add a little spring into your step with NACE" Membership Drive (March - May).  New Members or members who have lapsed 1 year can receive $100 off the membership fee . The chapter which adds the most members (in each chapter category) wins a first prize of 1 FREE registration to NACE Experience! the Educational Conference in Austin, TX in July. 2nd place receives 50% off 1 registration.

CaterSource:
A contingent of NACE Silicon Valley members will be attending Catersource in Las Vegas on March 7-11. As it grows each year, this meeting is becoming the industry standard for the catering industry, just like the National Restaurant Show is to the restaurant industry. NACE's role in this conference  provides exposure and credibility to a large segment of the industry.

Chapter Awards:
Start planning ahead to September. The NACE Silicon Valley Board is will be holding the 1st Annual  SV NACE Chapter  Excellence Award Nominations. These awards will be presented at the November NACE event.

Each member of the chapter will be nominating their "best in the valley" for the following categories:

~ Best DJ and Best Entertainment Group
~ Videographer
~ Specialty Linen Company
~ Best Offsite Caterer
~ Wedding Planner
~ Photographer
~ Florist
~ Facility to hold an event
~ Bakery
~ AV

Until next month,
L.T. Beaton, President Silicon Valley NACE
Director of Catering, Palo Alto Hills Golf & Country Club
3000 Alexis Drive, Palo Alto, CA  94304
Phone: 650-948-1800
Direct: 650-917-5101
Fax: 650-948-9532
LtBeaton@pahgcc.net

The following events are produced by Silicon Valley NACE.
For ALL networking events of interest to NACE members throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, see "Calendar" (in the navigation menu above).

Tues, January 19:   Crowne Plaza Hotel, San Jose     (We enjoyed 3 hours of great networking, an outstanding dinner, the installation ceremony for our new Board of Directors, an educational program about "Ballroom Dancing" presented by Cynthia Glinka, and outstanding raffle prizes. For details, see "Previous Meeting" in our Newsletter.)

Tues, February 16:   Boulder Ridge Golf Course, San Jose     (Artesia Vineyards & Winery hosted a wine tasting during the cocktail reception.  Program about pairing port, wine and chocolate presented by Judy Goldstrand, of Chocolates a la Carte, and Derek Schweigart, of Artesa Vineyards & Winery.

Thur, March 4:   San Jose Hilton, San Jose     (Email marketing expert Stu Carty presented a special 2-hour workshop on "Best Practices", FREE to Silicon Valley NACE members.)

Tues, March 16:   Il Fornaio, in Saint Claire Hotel, San Jose     (Internet marketing guru Andy Ebon will again bring us up-to-date on the fast-moving world of blogging and social media -- more details on our website.)

Tues, April 20:   Stanford Faculty Club, Palo Alto     (Natti Pierce-Thomson will teach us everything we need to know about the latest advances in lighting safety.  Tentative title: "My Cake is on Fire."  More details to be announced soon.)

Tues, May 18:   Silver Creek Valley Country Club, San Jose     We are planning an "Over the Top" celebrity panel discussion about "Destination Weddings and High End Celebrations".  The guest panelists include Sasha Sousa (Sasha Sousa Events), Andrew Hsu (Studio MSV), Brook Todd (Alisha & Brook Photography), and Jen Kwapinski (Jen's Cakes).  More details to be announced soon.

Tues, June 15:   The Ranch Golf Course     (We are planning a "Backyard Barbeque" theme and a program about Marketing.  More details to be announced soon.)

Tues, July 13:   Joint meeting with San Francisco NACE, aboard a yacht cruising San Francisco Bay!     (Limousine transportation from the South Bay, Program, and more details to be announced soon.)

Tues, August 17:   La Rinconada Country Club     (We are planning a "Table-Top" team-building program and a presentation highlighting the "latest and greatest" event design trends featured at July's NACE national conference.  More details to be announced soon.)

Tues, September 21:   Our annual "Dine-Around", at four restaurants in downtown San Jose!     (Mezcal, Morton's Steak House, The Grill on the Alley, and Bijan's Bakery.  More details to be announced soon.)

Tues, October 19:   300 San Jose     ("All About Us" -- program about stress-free working.  More details to be announced soon.)

Tues, November 9:   Our annual GALA, at the Rosewood Resort, in Palo Alto!     (Program will include presentation of our annual Chapter Excellence Awards.  More details to be announced soon.)

Tues, December 21:   Another Surprise Location     (Our holiday social networking event, about "Giving Back".  More details to be announced soon.)

What a night at the Boulder Ridge Golf Club.  Lots of new faces - welcome to all! 

Nicole Lisanne of Nicole Lisanne’s Weddings and Events by Design wowed everyone with her Vintage Valentine’s design.  A special thank you to Susan Kelly of Three Sister’s Floral Designs, Cara Laine of Sleepy Hedgehodge Press, Hartmann Studio Rentals and Natti Pierce-Thomson of North American Theatre Technology for bringing Nicole’s vision to life.  Incredibly special were the 100 year old Valentine’s Day greeting cards that Susan brought in and strung on pink ribbons above the tables.  These vintage cards are part of a larger collection that belonged to her grandfather. 

Over a fabulous dinner of portabella mushrooms and halibut, we learned many fun and interesting facts about chocolate from Judy Goldstrand of Chocolates a la Carte during the educational program.   And to cap off the evening we were treated with a special wine and chocolate tasting presented by Judy and Derek Schweigart of Artesia Vineyards and Winery.  Special thank you to Lisa Nunes of Boulder Ridge Golf Club for hosting such an incredible evening!

Menu Prepared by Lisa Nunes
Director of Events, Boulder Ridge Golf Club

Appetizer ~
Portobello Mushroom Tower
Sautéed Baby Spinach, Brie, Toasted Hazelnuts, Beurre Blanc Sauce

Entrée ~
Coriander Crusted Seabass
White Bean Puree, Chanterelle Mushrooms, Artichokes and Oven Dried Tomatoes
Sautéed Seasonal Vegetables
Rolls & Butter

Dessert ~
Chocolate Crepes
With Sweet Cream, Chocolate Shavings, Cocoa and Vanilla Anglaise Sauce

Membership is 55, and growing!  Please welcome our newest members:

Teresa Martin
Hotel Sofitel
650-508-7152
Teresa.Martin@sofitel.com

Victoria Fabula
Hotel Sofitel
650-508-7152
Victoria.Fabula@sofitel.com

Community Service:    
Each NACE chapter must complete 2 community service projects each year. For the March 16 meeting, we ask that each person attending bring a pair of gently worn shoes to donate for the Haitian refugees. We will be working with the American Red Cross to get them shipped to Haiti.

That leaves the chapter with one more project to complete for 2010. The Board of Directors would like to know the community organizations that YOU, the member, want to support. Please let any board member know of your community service idea.