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Apr
16
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If you want a good reason as to why you should be a NACE Hawaii member, here’s one very good reason. This story was shared at Tuesday night’s NACE Hawaii meeting:
Sometime last week, Brian Wada with Kamaaina Catering had a HUGE dilemma.
Brian was hired to cater an outdoor function at Kapiolani Park for about 200 guests. These guests had flown in from the mainland and were expecting this buffet to be the centerpiece of a week of activities in Hawaii. Normally, this would not be a problem for Brian on an ordinary day. But this was no ordinary day…this was the day that Oahu was drenched with rain. LOTS of rain. Non-stop rain. And if you’ve ever catered a function at Kapiolani Park, you will know two things:
- There’s very little covering. Tents might have helped a little, but the torrential downpour would have made the tents almost useless for a professional caterer.
- The grass at Kapiolani Park can turn to mud quickly if it’s raining and a lot of people (and catering equipment) move on it…like at a party.
It was several hours before the party, and the dark skies were showing no sign of slowing. What’s Brian to do?
Fortunately, Brian had met NACE Hawaii President Herb Yamamoto at the Catersource Conference in Vegas in February. Herb told Brian about NACE Hawaii and even invited Brian to the March meeting at The Pacific Club.
Because of this connection, Brian called Herb to see if Herb could help. Fortunately, the guests of the party that Brian was catering for…were guests at the Pacific Beach Hotel…which conveniently Herb was the Catering Sales Manager.
Herb pulled some strings and spoke to his general manager…and Brian instantly had a solution to his dilemma.
The party was moved to an unused restaurant space at the hotel. Brian was able to use the restaurant’s kitchen, and the guests had a great time.
So what’s the lesson in this?
When the unexpected arises, it’s great to have a network of people you trust and can turn to to help you out.
Brian joined NACE Hawaii at last Tuesday’s NACE Hawaii general meeting. Welcome, Brian Wada with Kamaaina Catering!