BEYOND BLAME

By: Sarah J. F. Braley
Meetings & Conventions Magazine - Feb 2003
   (excerpt pertaining to Premier Meetings)

The setting. A restaurant in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

The event: An incentive trip for 40 men from a top auto manufacturer

The planner: Kathryn Jurgensen, CMP, president and CEO of Irvine, California based Premier Meetings

The scene: The opening-night dinner, with the group seated at three long tables. An attendee comes up to Jurgensen and says, "I think Bob's not OK." Jurgensen goes over to the table and asks Bob, in his 50s, if he is feeling all right, to which he replies, "No, and I'm scared." Then he passes out.

This melodrama - which might be titled "Meeting Planner's Worst Nightmare" - actually did happen last March. And the suggestion of responsibility - and potential liability - dictated how the action unfolded. "I had one of my staff members talk to my client, who was at a nearby table;" says Jurgensen, who, having run this event for eight years, knew the men were inclined to imbibe quite a bit. "The client said, `You're the one in charge; it's in the contract. Take him back to the hotel, put him in his bed and let him sleep it off."'

Realizing her client was going to be of no further help, Jurgensen acted, getting the sick man, who was still unconscious, back to the hotel and into bed. She then checked his pulse; it was hard to find. She shined a light in his eyes; the pupils didn't dilate. Jurgensen tried to locate his physician, explaining that they were in Mexico and the man was unconscious, but his insurance company wouldn't give out his doctor's name.

After just over an hour had elapsed since Bob had collapsed, Jurgensen called the hotel doctor, who quickly inserted an IV and had the patient transported to the hospital, where he remained in a coma for 18 hours. His condition was brought on by severe dehydration exacerbated by two quick shots of tequila. Jurgensen stayed at the hospital, posing as Bob's wife, for 26 hours; doctors let her know he was still alive every half-hour or so, until the crisis was over. (Imagine the single man's surprise when he awoke and doctors told him his wife was there.)

While no lawsuit ever arose from the incident, every one of Jurgensen's caring actions was shaped by the possibility she would be sued. "During the whole time, the words in my mind were `duty of care,"' she says. "Did I follow it through from A to Z? I would have had to show in a court of law that I did everything in my knowledge and power to make sure the attendee was OK. I could not leave that man."

CLEVER EVENT THEMES & HOW TO PULL THEM OFF

By: Marilee Crocker
Meetings & Conventions Magazine - July 2000
    (excerpt pertaining to Premier Meetings)

For the fun of it

Event: About 400 general managers and district managers for Coco's & Carrows, a restaurant company based in Irvine, Calif., gathered in April for an annual meeting at the Doubletree Hotel in Costa Mesa, Calif.

Objective: In the midst of potentially unsettling changes in leadership and ownership, Coco's & Carrows aimed to boost managers' morale, dispel fears and facilitate communication among managers of individual restaurants. In place of the usual education-intensive agenda, fun was the main objective. "Our goal was to develop camaraderie. Where better to do that than on a playground? We took people back to their childhoods," says Kathryn Jurgensen, CMP, owner of Premier Meetings, the independent planning firm in Irvine, Calif., that handled the meeting.

Preshow promotion: Attendees got their first hint that this year's meeting would be different when they received mailing tubes stuffed with bubble gum, lollipops, Tootsie Rolls and novelty toys. In each tube was an invitation displaying the phrase "Life changes at every turn." It was wrapped around a kaleidoscope.

Kickoff: Attendees were transported from the airport to the Irvine Spectrum Center, a high-concept entertainment center, where they were let loose to play. Each manager was given a lunch bag containing lunch money, candy and passes for interactive video and racing games. The opening party that evening was a circus event. Entertainment was provided by clowns, magicians, a monkey, a tattoo artist and face painters.

Key elements: At an opening talk on fun in the workplace, the audience was asked to don animal nose masks to lighten the mood. On the bus ride to the hotel, they were given water pistols and color-coded room keys to create instant teams.

On the first morning, breakfast tables were strewn with toys, such as yo-yos and paper airplanes. Lunch one day was spaghetti, served buffet-style in a setting resembling a high school cafeteria.

Results: "People attached to [the theme] emotionally right away," Jurgensen says. "You'd hear them in the hall squirting each other with water pistols and saying, `For the fun of it!' People felt such relief that it was a casual atmosphere where they could talk to one another."