Let me remind you that I work for an association—an association with a very limited budget. So when it comes to a themed event, purchasing elaborate props, decor and other cool stuff is out of the question.  

When my president selected the theme “NSA Rocks” for his year, I wanted to do everything I could to bring his idea to life and make it a fun and memorable experience for our attendees.  

All it took was a simple email to Kayul a few short weeks before our convention to remind her of the theme.  I let her know about a meeting we had earlier in the year where the onsite Starbucks employees wore rock concert shirts and how much that impressed our president and attendees. “Anything you can do,” I said, “would be appreciated.”

I had no idea.

My president, CEO and I arrived at the pre-con to the sounds of the Rolling Stones and other classic rock bands. We were greeted by the typically dressed-to-the-nines department managers and representatives wearing their own rock concert shirts. There was a buffet table with NSA Rocks cupcakes and a huge NSA Rocks logo backdrop.

Kayul had custom t-shirts made for the hotel’s Starbucks staff with the NSA Rocks logo on the back and hotel logo on the front. They wore them each day during our four-day convention sharing the theme and camaraderie with the rest of our attendees (who ditched their stylish business attire for jeans and their favorite concert t-shirts).

What Kayul did for our meeting cost the hotel a little bit of money, but had a huge impact on my attendees, my CEO, my president and me. Why? Because it was personalized and unexpected. It wasn’t on a menu of items or services. It wasn’t something the hotel does for everyone. It was something she did because she wanted to make our meeting special and because she was empowered to do so.

And so do I.