Legislative Day is an annual ritual for the Vault PR Team. It is typically the only NPMA Meeting that the entire team is able attend as it is held in Washington, DC. However, even as this meeting is held over the first weekend of March, there is always a major weather issue that arises. In fact, in 2007, we could not even attend due to a snow storm.
This year, however, we were the anti-storm chasers. We braved the Weather Channel's predictions and made the trek, knowing that we would likely need to "outdrive" the storm as it moved up the I-95 Corridor. If you need to "outdrive" anything, it is always good to have our agency's fearless leader, Maribeth Roman Schmidt, behind the wheel. This is true both literally and figuratively.
Upon our arrival at the historic Mayflower Hotel in Washington, we prepared for the PPMA Board of Directors Meeting. We had the opportunity to meet our new client, Missy Henriksen, who we are excited to work with in the coming months and years. However, our Board Prep was marked by the appearance of "Harold & Kumar," the Mayflower's "top-notch" computer experts. Both wearing matching purple blazers, "Harold & Kumar" went from our computer having a small issue with sound to the appearance of the "Blue Screen of Death." Suffice to say, there were some anxious moments for all of us. Yet, we were finally able to insure our media worked and not a moment too soon as the Board Meeting kicked off at 3pm.
It was a terrific meeting, highlighted by Agency Partner Jess Phelan's master presentation skills and Patty Stofanak's amazing debut of the NPMA 2009 PSA Campaign. These ladies truly know the NPMA message so well and it was such a pleasure to just share the room the with them as they guided the PPMA Board of Directors through an amazing 2008 Media Recap (Today Show, Modern Marvels, Discovery Channel, USA Today, Associated Press, Washington Post, etc.) and an exciting 2009 plan! Clearly, it is their capable hands that guide one of our favorite accounts at Vault.
After this successful meeting and quick stop by the reception where we all avoided a "funny" fondue, it was time for the NPMA Team to brave the storm and hit the road back to Pennsylvania! As the anti-storm chasers, we did our best to make it home before the storm "hit." Besides our pit stop at Maryland's most random McDonald's where 7 children appeared from nowhere in the middle of the Drive-Thru and we hit a curb, we made amazing time. As I mentioned above, our fearless leader was fearlessly driving!
Over our fries, McFlurry's, and McNuggets, we recapped a great day for NPMA and for Vault. We look forward to a successful year for this client and of course, our next meeting in Phoenix, Arizona in July. I would assume, though, that SNOW will not be the problem!