Location: Fairmont Hotel
Date: Friday, January 31, 2014; 5:00-11:00 pm
Having volunteered for the ‘Casino Chicago’ CFF gala last year, I
knew that this One Brick project would not only be big, but also well
organized. Plus, I had been to a couple
of ‘Chef Gala’s’ and there are
certain perks that go with attending those; most notably, the food
sampling. This one was another suit and
tie affair and since I was going straight from work, I wore them to the office,
leading everyone to think that I was either headed for an interview or a
funeral…or even a date. I would have
preferred one of those options for sure, but I was feeling pretty good as I
walked over to the venue in the evening – and proceed to enter the wrong
hotel! I mean how daft can one be. Once I had looked at the list of events for the
evening and couldn't locate this program, I realized my mistake and then rushed
to the right hotel, but ended up in the wrong room. Finally, after making it far more difficult
for myself than it needed to be, I arrived at the proper place and found the
usual One Brick suspects like Polly, Kristen, Rich and Gary. There were several other volunteers besides
One Brick and at first glance I felt that we were overstaffed. The organizer lady was a bit controlling, but
with so many people, she needed to be.
She said that CFF had a staff of 10 and without the support of the volunteers;
they would suffer and not be able to put on a show like tonight. Well, I could live with that.
The various duties were being
handed out, such as registration and raffle sales; something to which I said no
immediately. If there’s one thing in
life that I am absolutely incapable of doing, it is sales. There were two featured raffle prizes – a
Mexican holiday and a diamond. In fact,
the diamond was being displayed by some people and I said to keep me far away
from it as possible, since I may end up doing something really stupid like drop
it in the middle of a crowded room…or worse, buy a ticket to win it! Once all the tasks had been assigned, there
were two duties remaining and Gary, Rich and myself were still available, along
with another gentleman, Marty. Rich and
Gary got picked for coat check, while Marty and I were assigned as “Greeters”. For the coat check it was an interesting
system, where people would come in and deposit their coats on the 2nd
floor where the chef’s tasting was being held.
Then they would proceed to the lower level where the dinner was going to be and
sometime during the evening, the coats would be transported down to that
level. I just hoped I wouldn't be
required to carry heavy winter coats for hundreds of visitors!
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| The elevators where I was stationed |
Both, Marty and I were taken to the 2nd level and
while he was posted near the stairs, I was going to be outside the elevators,
greeting people as they came in. I was
to direct them either towards the coat check - straight ahead - or towards the
registration - down the hall and to the right. If they required bathroom, it was down the
hall and to the left. All of this I had
to get out in 5 seconds or less than it takes for people to ignore a greeter! I stood there and guided people as they came
in and while many wished me a good evening, some did indeed ignore me like I
was ‘Jehovah’s witness’. Behind me was a ballroom which wasn’t being
used and for whatever reasons people were curious and many wanted to enter
inside. I told them there was nothing
there, but they seemed to think it was a VIP area and I was a bouncer. Yeah, we really are a species who are always
more interested in what we do not have or cannot see, rather than what’s right there in
front us. I looked over to the coat
check section and saw that since the hotel staff was handling that, Rich and
Gary were really not needed and were thus wondering what they should be
doing. We were definitely
overstaffed. I did this for over an hour
and it was a lonely task and quite honestly, I was really not required since
people knew where they were supposed to go. Once the crowd slowed down, I could take my break and so went over to
the tasting floor and sampled the delicacies that were on offer. Yep, this surely has its perks.
We had been told to report back to the lower level at 8 pm
and I went downstairs to see that people were busy perusing the ‘Silent Auction’ items. I have done a few of these now to know that
one of the most challenging tasks is to shepherd people from near the bar to
the dining area. We were given a sheet
which had all the table numbers and were asked to help people find their seats. The Even numbered tables were on the right
and the Odd on the left and it was all very random after that. Very soon I realized that not only were the
people reluctant to leave free drinks, but many did not need any help in
finding their tables. Even then I tried
my best to get people in there and by all rights they should have been inside
because it was a magnificent looking room.
 |
| It was a fantastic room |
As the dinner commenced, I went to the volunteer room and
waited with the others for our next set of instructions. Our next task was to be runners for the ‘Bid For Cure’ program. This was when the ‘Emcee’ would ask the guests to donate money and when someone
raised their hand, we were to go and help them fill out their bid cards with
their personal and more importantly, credit card information. I picked up a bag with several cards and pens
and went and positioned myself in the dining area. Before we could get to that program, there
was the ‘Live Auction’, with items
such as dinner for 2 or 4 at Rick Bayless’ place; a Mediterranean cruise, a
vacation in France etc. I was standing
next to another volunteer and we would try to guess at what price the item
would sell. The auctioneer was going a
million miles a minute and I always find it amazing that people can actually
understand him.
As with the other CFF event, we saw a video about ‘Cystic Fibrosis’ and a couple came out
and spoke about their son and how when he was born and diagnosed, the life expectancy
was 4 years. Today their son was in his
30s and all due to a “miracle drug”
which would not have been possible without the money being spent on research. Then a young woman who had the disease came
on stage to speak and made an appeal for everyone to donate. These were just the right messages for
everyone to hear, including the volunteers, for they need to know as well why
what they do is important. The pledge
started at $20,000 and more people got involved as the amounts decreased. At $1,000, one woman near me raised her hand
and I gave her the card. At $100 another
woman did the same. As I went to give
the card, her companion looked at me and said that I looked familiar. I said that I usually am found at such events
and then we realized that we work in the same building and had seen each other
in the lobby. She introduced herself and then took a donation card as well. It looked like my office location was paying
off, literally.
After we were done, I went inside and handed the bag to the
organizers and now we were free to mingle and enjoy the after-party. As I roamed about the room, I saw the bar
tender from a bar I used to frequent and I chatted with him for a while. There were several dessert stations and after
asking around for the best one, I had to go and try it. I met the two ladies who had donated at the
end and I learned that the first one had deep connections to 'Cystic Fibrosis',
her brother having been diagnosed as a kid and because of the advances in
research, he was now 32 years old and about to get married. Today the kids have a vibrating vest which
they have to wear for a few hours a day as a part of the treatment. She told me how when he was a kid there was
no such thing and her dad had to pound his chest instead. Hearing real stories really drives home the
point on how important this evening had been.
Sure we were over staffed. But
every single person attending needed to hear these stories. And they did.
It had been an evening to remember.
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