Grindstone Church Volunteer Appreciation Evening

On Friday, Oct. 22, 2010, the staff of Grindstone Valley Bible Church honoured about 45 of the many volunteers (unfortunately they all couldn't come!)who give of their time to help run the many programs and areas of responsibility at the church.

The event was held in the hall of St. Luke's Parish in Burlingon - a beautiful facility! We decorated the tables with brown tablecloths, a taupe coloured placemat in the middle & then silk fall leaves & real pumpkins on that as the centerpieces, surrounded by 4 tealight candles. Other tables were set up for getting place cards, for beverages & then for decadent desserts.


A speaker came to address the group and challenged us to look after our inner selves so that we can better serve others.

It was a fun evening and I think the volunteers appreciated some recognition for the tireless services they provide to the church community.



VENDORS:
VENUE: St. Luke's Parish Hall www.stlukesburlington.ca

Going FULL TIME in the business!

I LOVE weddings!
And I LOVE planning events!

Over this past year, I have truly discovered my passion - and that is serving others through planning special events for them, and in helping them get through those events with "flying colours"!

(photo by Bassem Photography)

And so, in light of this newly-discovered passion, I have made the bitter-sweet decision to leave my part-time job so that I can dedicate myself fully to the event-planning business!

My primary focus will continue be to continue offering my "Day-Of" coordination services to bridal couples. This is the best deal for those couples who want to make all their own plans for their wedding, but who want someone on hand for the day of their wedding to ensure that all their plans happen as they expect them to. This service allows couples to just show up & enjoy their day!

However, there are many engaged couples who don't want to have to do all the leg-work and research involved in planning a wedding, or who just don't have time to invest in it (they say it takes about 250 hours to plan a wedding!!). These couples need more comprehensive planning assistance. So, for them, I will be offering full & partial planning services.

Throughout this coming year, I also plan to expand my business into the world of corporate, community, social, and other family events as well. Corporations & business often need help planning team meetings and staff Christmas parties. Community and social groups host banquets, dances, galas, assorted parties, fund-raisers, etc. And families always have causes for celebrations - baby & bridal showers, engagement parties, stag & does, anniversaries, birthdays, graduations... the list goes on! Any event being planned is something I'd love to help organize & direct!

So, while this change is a big step for me, I am jumping in with both feet & am VERY excited about this new direction!

If you have an event that needs to be planned - please let me know!! I'm here to help in any way I can.

But We Will Stand Tall - Photo Art Show

On December 3rd, a young photographer held his first public art show in Hamilton at The Freeway Cafe & I had the privilege of working with him to set up and decorate the venue and to help him organize all the planning details.

Jason Matos (yup - he would be my son!)has been working on series of photos for a few months now. They are all photos of people who attend our church, Grindstone Valley Bible Church in Waterdown. What makes these photos unique is that they all tell a story about the person - depicting in photos a struggle or difficult time they went through in their life - and then photos depicting how they are now stronger and stand taller today because of how they grew and learned and matured through that hard situation.

Jason photographed 12 people - some with just one photo, others with two, a few with 3 or 4 photos - and each person wrote out their "story", which was printed and mounted by their photos.


The Freeway Cafe was set up with lots of candles on tables as people came in to enjoy a cup of free-trade coffee or tea or specialty beverage, some great snacks and then sat around small tables or on comfortable leather sofas and enjoyed the acoustic music of 4 different musical sets. And throughout the evening, people mingled around the photos, reading the stories and often being moved to tears.


About 180 people came through the Cafe during the 3 hour show - and it was a resounding success for Jason.
Congratulations Jason on an excellent photo art show!