80 People at All Lights On in Honolulu
My Reflection on Producing an Event during Hurricane Season in Hawai‘i
THANK YOU FOR COMING IN THE HEAVY RAIN!
Hot. Humid. Hurricane Season in Hawaii. 80 souls - including women, men, children, audio/visual crew and our team braved the heavy rain and flash flood conditions to All Lights On with Kute Blackson on September 3, 2015.
A New Dawn is here. I witnessed and felt the shift of our guests embrace authentic joy through Kute's energy. We had a diverse group with students, professionals and business owners, ages 12 to 70 years old, men and women.
Initially my son Aaron, a young professional at age 26, was like most of us in a new, unknown situation. In the beginning, he raised his hand half-way up (like scratching his cheek) in response to Kute's questions. By the end of he evening, he was rock-out dancing with everyone in the room through Kute's motivational process.
Here are examples of the text messages that I received about our spectacular evening with Kute:
"I'm sorry that I cannot attend tonight, my house is flooded and our street is closed. I really wanted to be there." ~Lacy
"Thanks for inviting us to see Kute...sure opens up the mind! So many good interesting things to think about. He sure is smart and intuitive!" ~Annie
"Please share my positive thoughts with Kute! Please tell him thank you and let him know that although people in Hawai‘i appear to be reserved, we are really attentive. We sit in the back of the room and observe before jumping in. His commitment by coming here and sharing with a small group of people shows me that he is true to his calling. Not many famous people would do that. We are lucky. So very grateful he made the trip for us, what a treat. Love you!" ~Val
BEHIND THE SCENES: 3 KEY LESSONS LEARNED
Lesson #1: It is helpful to be prepared and confident so that you can go with the flow of whatever comes up in the moment. It was touch and go due to the two hurricanes approaching Hawai‘i. Nathalie Pettit and I were determined that no matter what, the show must go on! Lesson #2: Building relationships and good connections are important. Through our networks, Nathalie and I distributed flyers, multiple email blasts, FB postings, and phone calls to hundreds of people. People enrolled and some of them planned to bring a guest. We anticipated 120 to 140 people. Lesson #3: It's helpful to keep good relationships with your customers and have a professional PR person on your team. Be sure to enlist A PROFESSIONAL PR & MARKETING GURU as part of the your event team from the beginning. Kute was a guest on the Morning Show of Hawai'i News Now, thanks to Billie Gabriel, local PR and Event guru. I met Billie just over a week before All Lights One. Her daughter, Kona is Kute's client and O‘ahu transplant who now lives in LA. Our connections cross over the Pacific Ocean.
HAPPY ENDING TO MY STORY
Everything was going nice and smooth until the day of the our event. Heavy rain. There was ponding on the streets and offices in downtown, including our venue, had flooded basements. At 2:00 PM the flash flood warning was extended to 5:00 PM, which was the time our doors were scheduled to open.
Miracles do happen. After setting up the room with the audio/visual crew, I went outside and looked up at sky. It was 3:45 PM. Grey skies. No rain! Then an impulse came over me. "MAKE A VIDEO and POST IT ON FB so people coming in from all areas of Oahu know that it's clear in downtown Honolulu." So I did an iPad selfie. First cut and RAW me. I released that old local saying in my head, "No Make Shame" and my need for perfection! JUST GO FOR IT.
80 people. 80 lives. 80 souls that are shining the torch of Love through their authentic selves. As a Business and Life Coach, I strive to share authentic joy of leading and living fully one person at a time. My heart is filled with gratitude and love. And my commitment is stronger than ever.
Mahalo to our co-sponsors, Law Offices of Nathalie S. Pettit, Women in Lodging of HLTA, A Little Bit of Everything, and Hawaii Association of Insurance Professionals. Thank you Kute Blackson for sharing your gift to Hawai'i and to all the amazing people who showed up in person and in spirit. No matter what, LIFE GOES ON.
