Hopping, Happing, Happy Hour

        This Wednesday evening from 5:30 - 8:30 please join us for the "Hopping, Happing, Happy Hour" event at the Bonfire Grill and Bar in Old Town Scottsdale.  This evening is in support of the Illinois Jacquet Foundation for musical education.

      Born on October 31, 1922, in Broussard, Louisiana, Jean Baptiste Illinois Jacquet, at the age of 19 on the very first recording of his career, spawned an entirely new style and sound for the tenor saxophone. His classic solo on “Flying Home” recorded with the Lionel Hampton Band at Decca Records in New York City, on May 26, 1942, catapulted Jacquet to international fame and the solo became more famous than the song itself. All saxophonists learned to play Jacquet’s solo, every band recorded it, and people all over the world were humming this most famous solo in jazz history.

Flying Home - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2ou_Rylr90

     Two years later, on July 2, 1944, while improvising with Nat King Cole on piano and Les Paul on guitar for a benefit concert at the Philharmonic Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, Jacquet began to play a range of notes not regularly heard on the tenor saxophone. With an innovational use of harmonics in a creative impulse, Jacquet expanded the upper register of the tenor saxophone by two and a half octaves.

     The Juilliard School of Music awarded Illinois Jacquet an Honorary Doctorate of Music degree on May 21, 2004. As he told President Polisi, “This is the happiest day of my life.” The Illinois Jacquet Scholarship in Jazz Studies at The Juilliard School has been established to honor his memory.  The foundation is now looking to expand this scholarship program, and they need your support in this endeavor. 

     This event is a collaboration with Networking For Change, Aquarian Media Group, Two Gals Event Planning, Bonfire Grill and Bar and the Illinois Jacquet Foundation.  Live Music provided by ZUZA and by Mr. Jeremy Lappitt. 

    Please join us for this happy hour event!  For more information go to:

http://www.facebook.com/2GalsEvents#!/events/266695970033764/
 

 

Horses Help, Happy Hour, Networking and..well..a Margarita or two!

     Tonight is going to be one of those events that only reinforces why I love to do what I do.  Happy hour at Dos Gringos in Old Town Scottsdale with our Networking for Change group in support of Horses Help.  I've got a fun outfit picked out which includes the largest sombrero you could find down in Rocky Point!  It Happy Hour, so there will be yummy margarita's.  Out NFC group will get to mingle with friends and the other NFC group in Arizona.  Dos Gringos is always a good time.  There will be horses there from Horses Help and all in all...the cherry on top will be raising money to help this wonderful charity! 

Pictures to follow!

See you tonight,
Amy Rose

Networking, North Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce and Networking For Change

     Last night Two Gals Event Planning joined the North Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce.  A very special Thank You to Dani Frappiea @ Dinners by Dani for sponsoring us.  I went to their monthly orientation and was impressed by the group as a whole.  I felt very welcome!  The members that I met seem to be very committed and enthusiastic about what they are doing.  Helping the community, working on charity projects and getting to know fellow members seems to be at least as important as promoting their own businesses.  They have a list of committees to join and I think Two Gals will be a good fit with this chamber. 

     Trying to grow a small business in this recovering economy is a delicate thing.  We are excited to grow, but money spent in the process must be spent wisely.  We have looked at a few other groups, and it comes down to things like, "are the people in this group concerned about the community they live and work in?" and, "are the members approachable, friendly and willing to think out of the box?".  Not every networking group is going to be a good fit for you or your small business.  My suggestion is to go to a few events for free and really check out the group before you join.  Make sure that the group is really going to work with you and for you before you whip out your check book.

     Two Gals has also recently become a member of Network For Change.  This group is honestly FANTASTIC!  Not only is it a networking group but instead of annual dues, you work on charity events or collect items for monthly charity wish lists.  Last month we worked on collecting computer parts for "Computers for Kids".  The Rotary Club (Scottsdale Chapter I believe) and Scottsdale Community College get together and collect unwanted computer items, fit them up, and get the working computer systems to kids that need them.  Awesome, right?!  What we did was get on facebook and put a request out to our network.  It was pretty easy to fill up a carload of unwanted monitors, scanners, a hard drive and various bits and cords.  I really love the concept of us as a group giving back collectively!  The month of April we are working on behalf of "Horses Help".  We are planning a shindig at Dos Gringos in Old Town.  More information on that to follow.

     So, growing is part of the plan for Two Gals Event Planning 2011.  We are trying to do it smart.  Time and Money are very valuable and we need to spend both wisely.  I'm so excited to see where this year takes us! 

Amy
     

Two Gals Event Planning

     So, I have been working in the world of event planning for a year now.  It's so much more than planning parties and I am very proud of the work that we do and the lives we can touch.  I mean, yes we plan parties but the charity work is what means the most to me.  Working with groups like Ear Candy, The Illinois Jacquet Foundation, Casting for Recovery, Network For Change, Liberty Wildlife, Susan G. Komen...well it makes the hours of planning and the craziness of event days more than worth it! 
     Most charity groups are formed because of an overwhelming need.  People have a disease, schools or community projects are underfunded, animals are harmed, the environment is suffering...  There is almost always a sad side to why the charity group exists.  Even though the reason behind creating a charity can be a harsh reality, I have learned that so many wonderful people bring their energy and pour their heart into the charity because they KNOW that they can make a difference.  They are vibrant people who are involved because it is in their heart to do so!  I've met so many amazing people over this last year. 
     And, so what does Two Gals Event Planning bring to all of this?  Fun, exciting, interesting and joyous events that raise much needed funds for these charity groups.  We involve the attendees in the spirit of the charity and they leave with so much more than memories of a fun time.  They leave with knowing more about these amazing charities and with the knowledge that they are helping make the world a better place.
      This past Sunday we had a motorcycle ride in support of Liberty Wildlife.  The ride ended at Cody's Restaurant in Cave Creek, Arizona.  Yes, it was a beautiful day.  Yes, everybody had a good time.  Yes, money was raised for a great cause.  What will people remember the most?  At the tail end of the event, two red tail hawks were released from the upper deck of Cody's and back into the wild.  All of those wonderful people that were brought together for the ride got to take home a first hand experience of what amazing work Liberty Wildlife does.  They all saw that two native birds that had been injured were now healthy again and back out soring in the Arizona sky's.  It was a thrill for all, me included.  So, thank you to all of the employees and volunteers at Liberty Wildlife for the amazing work you do every day.  Thank you to Cody's, The Dirty Dog Saloon, Logan's Valley Motorcycles, The American Legion in Fountain Hills, Paul Yaffe, APS and Law Tiger's for your sponsorship and support.  Thank you to all of the wonderful folks that came out to ride! 

:-)  Amy
   

Network For Change

Two Gals Event Planning is a proud member of Network For Change.  Business people coming together to support each other but more than that to help make the community a better place.  This month we were working to collect computer parts for a program called computers for kids.  The Scottsdale Community College takes these parts, fixes them all up and makes computer systems for kids here in the Phoenix Valley.  What a great way to impact a child's life!  Next months project for NFC has to do with Horses Help!http://www.horseshelp.org/  More information on that to follow.

Thanks,

Amy