Project Runway Comes In Handy

This past weekend was our Jam and Jelly Day celebration, after which my partner and I got to attend the Northern Grand Representatives meeting and present our projects and pins and most importantly, the dress and vest we've chosen for the Grand Representatives for 2013.

Wanting the GRs attention for the presentation items, I knew that the dress had to go last, because once you've shown the dress, the attention is gone.  Like any big announcement, once you make it, everyone is too busy talking about it to pay attention to anything else, so save it for the big bang and then call it a day.

So we started with our Make a Difference Program flyer and pin, which is what we are doing instead of a travel program for 2013.  Traditionally, when we have done travel programs, or anything like this one of ours, where people collect points or do tasks and then turn in a sheet to get a pin to show that they did the stuff, the Grand Representatives serve as our liaisons all over the state to manage the sheets and pins.  With travel programs, members who earn the required number of points turn their sheets in to the local GR who checks to make sure it is right and then sends it in to get the pin to present to the member.  We are doing the same thing, with the GRs collecting the sheets and then checking to make sure the required items are done and then sending the sheet in to us to get a pin to present to the member.  It helps when you do this, to show them the sheet and explain the program so that they can do it the way you want it done.  Also, a lot of former GRs come to the meeting and in areas that don't have current GRs, the former GRs can promote the program and help too.

That part went pretty well.  They loved the pin, which did come out completely cool looking!  Then we presented our project and that went over pretty good too.  Everyone was excited over some of the very useful and user friendly things we are doing, so that was nice too.

Then it was dress and vest time.  We did the vest first, because the dress must come last, and they seemed to like it.  Then it was finally time for the dress and they seemed to like that a lot!  In fact, I had several former GRs to who came to me and said that it was a shame that they couldn't be appointed again, because they really would love to get the dress - so YAY!  You know when I agreed to get in the line, no one told me that I had to have skills in fashion design on top of everything else.  But maybe all that naughty pleasure of watching Project Runway has come in handy after all. :-)

So they seemed to like everything, which felt good and was a nice positive experience.  Of course, in some ways, that was only the warm up crowd, because next Saturday, we have to do the whole presentation again to the Southern Grand Representatives Association meeting and they could be a tougher crowd.  But we will see how it goes and cross our fingers on everything going just as well as it did last Saturday.

Next weekend, I am in Anaheim and San Diego.