The Charles Group Taps Innovative Venue for PRSA-NY Holiday Party
February 3, 2011
For the PRSA-NY’s “Holiday PR Karaoke Smackdown,” The Charles Group put its investigative expertise in high gear to find a New York City venue that offered both a welcoming, yet cutting-edge, forum. They found exactly what they, and their client, were looking for at Sentry Center Midtown East.
“Sentry is Manhattan’s newest meeting and event facility,” said Carol Davis-Grossman, managing partner for The Charles Group. “Even though it’s right in midtown, it’s like an oasis—a meticulously controlled, state-of-the-art environment that’s perfect for group events, trade shows, banquets and even training programs.”
Sentry Center, which calls itself a “state of the art sanctuary in the midst of midtown’s hustle and bustle,” brings a plethora of amenities to its clientele.
In addition to on-site cuisine prepared by acclaimed chefs, Sentry Center has multiple conference and breakout rooms and a 27th floor executive board room for smaller groups of up to 45. To learn more, see a video and photo gallery of the facility, visit http://www.sentrycenters.com/sentry-center-midtown-east.php.
Bringing Sentry Centers and PRSA-NY together for the holiday event, however, was the brainchild of The Charles Group. In fact, The Charles Group arranged for Sentry to actually sponsor the PRSA-NY party. The event gave Sentry the chance to showcase its facility to senior-level public relations practitioners, while allowing PRSA-NY to have its first holiday party in several years. And it was a great success.
After all, what better place than a highly advanced, audio-visual facility to hold a karaoke party?
Davis-Grossman explained that the venue for any event is a huge, determining factor in how that event is perceived, and ultimately, its success.
“The venue is an attendee’s first impression, that critical, first ‘feel,” of how something will be,” she said. “If it isn’t right, it can color the rest of the event in that person’s eyes.”
The Charles Group takes particular pride—and puts considerable time, resources and effort—in offering their clients a broad palette of venues to choose from, across the globe. Davis-Grossman noted that any venue is a “multi-sensory” experience: visual, tactile, aural, and even emotional.
“A place like Sentry is very ‘now,” very ingenious.” Davis-Grossman said. “The sheer scope of it, its architecture, technology, everything… truly state-of-the-art. But, it’s a totally different feel, look and touch than, say, a more intimate place nestled in the mountains of Vermont. The key is marrying the ideal venue to an event. It must be done in a way where they complement each other and enhance the experience for everyone attending.”
When it comes to seeking out venues and facilities, The Charles Group team is tireless in its hunt—continually exploring, visiting, and reading about hundreds of places around the world each year. Since the group is long established and highly connected in the events/meeting planning business, it often gets early word on up-and-coming or new facilities. Once a facility finds its way on to The Charles Group’s radar, its staff has a careful and systematic vetting process. For the group to be successful in this business, it can’t settle for anything less than the best.
Once a facility or venue is accepted, the group’s creativity comes into play. Like an artist would look over his materials before working, The Charles Group carefully considers everything about a venue—how many people it can hold, the creativity and the quality of the food available there, the atmosphere, facilities, the feel and so much more. When they’re charged with managing an event, they carefully connect it with venue candidates.
“We handle every type of event imaginable, from small training seminars to multi-day conferences with thousands of attendees,” said Davis-Grossman. “But no matter what type of event our clients are tasked with, there is a perfect home for it out there… that place that just seems made for it. And we love bringing them together.”