By Tom Cowan, Director of Operations with Nexus 5 Group
There are many reasons why being active as sponsors in organizational events is beneficial for all. For one, they're a way to showcase your brand to potential clients. Second, they are a way to give back to the community as many of them have a charitable element. Third, at least for us, it's a way to have a company outing and enjoy our folks away from the office for a day (since much of our work can be done remotely now.)
You see, we're a competitive group.
We can always find a way to make a game out of most anything. We've been very lucky in finding a group of team members that want to win... and by a lot! So, when we set up for one of these events, we bring everything and the kitchen sink. And certainly, we're not the only ones that bring a large setup. But not many bring the whole gang to boot!
AAKC Trade Show at the Overland Park Convention Center. The theme was obviously Disney. The costumes were a hit, but the money machine and the team member participation (and energy) were the icing on the cake. Left to right: Tom Cowan, Brent Hastings, Josh McDonald, Stan Phelps, Tony Cowan, Jessica Tonyan, Kevin Bartley, John Hinman and Jerry Lindsay (others attended but not shown)
For us, it started with the AAKC. Jessica Tonyan worked her way onto the board. With the involvement and planning, she encouraged us to start playing a bigger part in AAKC activities.
Our first adventure was the trade show at the Overland Park Convention Center.
We went in a bit blind and not knowing if our setup was enough or too much. I believe we brought plenty of garb. And we dragged a money grabbing machine there to entertain the guests. And yes, we brought the whole office. That year, our booth took second place. That certainly fueled our competitiveness to keep adding “pieces of flare” for future events.
Left: AAKC Annual Golf Tournament at Swope Park Country Club. This was our first setup. We have a much bigger setup now, but we've done a bad job of taking new pictures!
Right: IREM Golf Tournament at Milburn Country Club.
Next was the AAKC annual golf tournament.
So many companies had awesome table setups, banners, and activities. We had a standard setup of the above listed items, plus we had something else up our sleeves. We also had DJ equipment, multiple tailgating games including beer pong, and work ethic to ensure our hole was going to be the most memorable. (We certainly were.)
There were countless golfers that made a second pass to hang out with us. We play the music loud and make sure there's always activity going on. I would say about 95% of the golfers appreciated it. And of course, there are those who don't think it's appropriate. (So, the numbers are on our side... ha ha!.)
We then started getting active in the IREM organization.
The golf tournament was an activity we have always enjoyed participating in. Though we had to dial it down a bit (slightly smaller speakers, a few less people, no golf cart, and no remote-control monster trucks) we were still a presence to be remembered.
Crystal Merit Awards.
Left: Nexus 5 Group presenting an award.
Right: Everyone wanted their picture taken with the “Gang”.
At the end of the day, we like to have fun.
We refuse to apologize for having fun. This is especially true since success typically follows. Our office is always active with music, laughter, and commotion. But that's part of our secret sauce. We really like being around each other. So why wouldn't we extend this into these events?
Our personality and drive are what we're about. It's how we approach selling our product and it also happens to be an enjoyable way of doing business. We don't have to pretend to be someone we're not... and that's priceless. Sure, not everyone will "get" us, but that's outside noise that will always exist. We will continue to stay true to our beliefs. And these wonderful events have allowed us to do so our way!
Hats off to the AAKC and IREM for putting on these great events!
They help the community and many charitable organizations.