Meet the Press, The Pride of NYC, and a New SyFy

It has been a terribly long time since I have written on my blog and I sincerely apologize because the past couple weeks have been very exciting, time consuming, and involved a lot of espresso indulging. Ever since I had been tediously working on all things Delta, including their sponsorship in the Gay Pride parade, I had been named the "Delta-tern". Even the doorman of 112 West 34th Street gleefully greets me with my surname. I have to say, its growing on me. As the last week of June quickly flew by, the Event Producers and myself arranged for numerous items to be delivered to the office and I found myself becoming rather close with Annika Schmitz, the Coordinator International Marketing Communications at Delta Airlines. That week, she informed me Delta, the official airline of the NY Yankees and the NY Mets would be holding a press conference and fan flare contest to give away luxury box tickets to the weekend subway series, on Sunday June 28th. Being the Delta-tern that I am, one of the Event Producers (and my internship coordinator), Dushane decided to ask me to work the event that Friday to count the fans that showed up for each team. Delta scheduled for a player from each team to pick the fan with the best "flare" and expected to have a decent audience show up. The night before, we were recieving calls from Pershing Square that fans had already showed up, eager to win tickets and maybe get an autograph! That morning when we had arrived on scene there were fans who arrived early that morning and the press began to trickle in. After meeting countless newspaper reporters and radio show hosts, the main attractions arrived, Joba Chamberlain from the NY Yankees and Daniel Murhy from the NY Mets. The respective pitcher and first baseman were both over 6 foot, had hair perfectly jelled, and doned their own team flare as I shook their hands and leaded them to the pack of shouting diehards. I felt so official that day, wearing a walkie like a secret service agent and leading the way for professional baseball players. Little did I know...this was only the beginning.

The following sunday, I woke up at 4:30 AM and arrived at an empty Penn station. As I walked through an even emptier Times Square, I noticed the plastic cups, paper plates, and other miscellaneous litter, the leftovers of the NY Saturday night. When I finally reached 59th street, after 29 blocks of hustle, I arrived to a lonely Wicker Park, where the meet and greet was occuring in only a couple of hours. So I crossed the street to Central Park where I sat down on a park bench, opened my book, and occasionally looked up to watch the early Sunday morning dog walkers pamper their pooches as they followed their owners diligently, and leesh-less. Jake and Dushane arrived shortly and we got right to setting up areas for T-shirts, flyers, and of course, food and drink. At 10:00 participants and workers of Delta arrived to become part of a Pride Fleet. I greeted each guest, checked them in, and pointed in the direction of mimosas, danishes, and their uniform which read, "A force for Global Good." Once everyone had left at 11:45 to take their place in line for the parade, I cleaned and packed up the whole restaurant discovering the massive amount of food left over, with no container to save it. So, troubleshooting, I ran over to the parade area, and took the company card to Duane Reade to find some sort of solution. With Duane Reade having less than nothing to solve my problem, I settled for a topless styrofoam cooler and aluminum foil. The car came to pick up all the leftovers and I headed over to the parade where I was given a pole with rainbow streamers in the air as we marched from 56th all the way to the end of Christopher Street. It was a great event to be a part of. Meeting so many people from all sects of NY and helping Delta show their support for the Gay Community. Next time, I think I should bring my platforms. Maybe I would fit in better.

The past two days, were the most exciting yet. I was lucky enough to be a part of a one of the larger events MKG was going to produce this summer. I had done some resourcing for this event the week after the press conference and the Pride Parade. To show case the launch of SyFy, the brand launch of the former SciFi MKG turned Rockefeller center into a grassy Imagination Park, bringing WyFy to the location for one whole year. The park's theme is to allow the audience to "Imagine Greater" as they step through a door and set their sights on a larger than life lollipop, serverla MAC computers and a 360 degree veiwing of the new brand film. When I showed up Monday morning the grass had been laid and huge arches had been erected. I painted and decorated HUGE multicolor oragami birds, stuck logos on television sets and arranged for food deliveries for the crew. The next day, we saw the park come to life. Around 9:00 Natalie Morales gave a weather report from a giant step and repeat in the middle of the park, standing in for Al Roker. At 10:00 the President of SciFi, along with the host of "Destination Truth" Josh Gates, welcomed the everyone and officially opened the park to the public. And lastly, Kathy Lee and Hoda interviewed the two stars of SyFy's new TV show, Warehouse 13. Joanne Kelly and Eddie Mccormick answered their questions with humor and even responded to with a subtle laugh when Kathy Lee asked Joanne "Did you leave the rest of your dress back at the Warehouse?" I lead the "talent" to and from the breakfast area, chatted with them, and even directed Kathy Lee to her exit after her segment. It was so exhilerating to be behind the scenes of something the whole nation was watching. I've had the opportunity to see so many sights and meet so many interesting people as I stood with Yankees/Mets fans in Pershing Square, walked all the way down 5th Avenue with Pride, and opened the Imagination of Rockefeller Center. And to think, I have a whole month and half left of THIS.