Events Planned/Hosted

A.S.E. FriendsGivin' Ladies Empowerment Brunch (decor picture here; see Photo Gallery for additional pictures from the event)

Kelda and her ASE team are the best at what they do. Below is a short list (breakdown) of events that Kelda and the ASE team have either planned or hosted.

For a extensive list, please contact us at adleksirrahevents@gmail.com and a hard copy will be provided to you.

My Very First Event at Age 13… Jerome R. Harris, jr. (age 7) Pac Man Themed Party (June 1984):

I completed the following tasks regarding my first event:

Determined the theme;
Designed and drew the invitations;
Designed and drew the wall decorations and hangings;
Assisted my mother with planning the menu;
Put up/out the decorations, i.e. cups, plates, napkins, streamers, etc.;
Replenished food and beverages when necessary;
Assisted my mother with facilitating the games; and
Ensured that all of the attendees were having a good time.

My Wedding: I served as my own Wedding Planner; I had a total of 300 guests in attendance. I completed the following tasks regarding the execution of my wedding and reception ceremony:

Set the date, time and place;
Chose and notified bridal party, groomsmen, best man, attendants (for the guest book, cake, food, flowers, clean-up, etc), and ushers;
Planned the budget and how expenses would be divided;
Created the guest list;
Reserved officiant, ceremony site and reception hall;
Booked photographer/videographer;
Chose bridal gown and headpiece;
Decided on a theme & colors;
Scheduled the fittings and ordered attendants gowns, shoes and choose wedding attire for men;
Booked caterer;
As an ongoing process, I made all of the flower arrangements, corsages, and boutonnières;
Planed the music for ceremony and reception;
Hired a DJ for the reception entertainment;
Created Microsoft Office Word and PowerPoint logistic plans (layouts) for the decorations;
Made honeymoon plans and reservations;
Purchased attendant gifts;
Selected accessories for the bridesmaids;
Planned the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner;
Registered at stores for the bridal registry;
Ordered my invitations, inserts, placards, and thank-you notes;
Planned for wedding party transportation;
Ordered cake, decorations and party favors;
Purchased all wedding accessories such as a cake knife, guest book, ring pillow, etc.;
Addressed invitations and made my wedding programs;
Ordered and set up delivery of liquor, beer and beverages for reception;
Wrote personal vows;
Mailed invitations;
Gathered RSVPs to determine amount of guests for the caterer;
Provided copies of the rehearsal and wedding day agendas for all attendants;
Made beauty appointments for bridal party, parents and grandparents for hair, make-up and nails;
Determined and created Microsoft Office Word and PowerPoint logistics plans (layouts) of receiving line order, head table
and immediate family seating for the reception;
Ensured that everyone had their final fittings and made arrangements to pick up wedding attire;
Delivered all wedding accessories, party favors, etc. to the ceremony and reception sites; begin decorating;
Made sure the final payments were ready to be distributed; and
Reviewed the itinerary and seating with attendants.

Bannerfests: BannerFest is Banner’s annual companywide seminars, team building exercises and events. The theme for these events were as follows… 70’s; the company had a 70’s themed party ; Sports Tailgating (this particular year there were four separate BannerFests in three different states: Illinois (including Indiana, Michigan), Ohio, Missouri and Florida; I had coordination responsibilities for all three states and flew in for the day for the Missouri event); Sock Hop/Grease (we had a traditional sock hop as the big event) ; a Boat Trip, (the company took a boat trip on the Spirit of Chicago, in addition to participating in educational seminars) and The Rodeo. I had the following responsibilities and tasks to complete regarding these seminars and events:

Pre-planning; obtain options for meeting locations (hotels or conference centers), seminar speakers, entertainment, etc.;
Develop and/or maintain current relationships with vendors and venue contacts (vendor/venue coordination);
Produce, distribute, and ship (via e-mail or FedEx Overnight Mail) of seminar & event materials (flyers, tickets, agendas, maps, etc.);
Coordinate and complete travel arrangements (flights, rental cars, and hotel rooms) for all employees (163): including the CEO, President,
Senior Vice President, Legal Counsel, Paralegal, Controller as required;
Tracking of employee RSVP’s and registrations;
On-site execution of all plans and logistics coordination regarding the seminar and event -food, DJ, decorations, etc.;
Function as a point of contact for all employees regarding general seminar and event information;
Financial management: budget and monitor revenue/expense performance;
Travel (local and out of state) to attend seminar and event, as well as vender/venue meetings;
Responsible for identifying potential problems and proactively seek methods to improve efficiency of the seminar and related events;
Monitor seminar and event planning progress and report status on a monthly basis to CEO, President, and Controller;
Post event wrap up: all final balances settled; and
Explore and make recommendations for future sites and conferences.

Campaign Kick Off Committee; Alderman Tishdahl & Mayoral Election Party; Newly Elected Mayor of Evanston, IL: I worked on a committee of five to seven people to ensure that the publicity and awareness of the Alderman’s Tishdahl’s /the newly elected mayor of Evanston’s events were successful. These events were held at a local restaurant in Evanston, IL. As committee members we had the following responsibilities and tasks to complete regarding this event:

Pre-planning: obtain options for event locations (location Evanston restaurants);
Acting as a liaison between the committee and the restaurant venue;
Acting as a liaison between the Alderman/newly elected mayor and the committee to ensure that her needs and desires are met;
Publicize the event via email correspondence and word of mouth;
Correspondence with all committee members notifying them of general event updates (functioning as a point of contact for the
committee members) on location, financial needs, etc.; and
Conclude all final committee tasks at the end of the event ensuring that venue and vendors are paid in full and all tasks are complete.

Relocation of 250 Employees: on this project, I served on a workgroup (committee) of five (including myself) to relocate employees. As workgroup members we had the following responsibilities and tasks to complete regarding this project:

Complied extensive information from Administrative Assistants and Department Heads regarding their needs at the new location,
i.e. number of offices vs. cubicles, conference rooms, office/cubicle furniture layouts, carpet color, cubicle design, etc.
Acted as a liaison between the department Admins and workgroup;
Produced current and future floor layouts to determine space needs;
Acted as a liaison between the cubicle vendor, the workgroup and employees;
Acted as the point of contact for contractors and construction company (workers) as my department was the first department
to relocate in order to discover any bugs in the process and work through them before the remainder of the employees moved;
Acted as a liaison between the movers and the employees relocating; and
Assisted with the design of each level floor plan as it relates to conference rooms.

Keith Bernard Tucker Benefit Fundraiser; Raised $2,436.00: for this event I assisted my God-mother with the financial expenses of my God-brother’s funeral by offering to host a fundraiser to help defray the costs of the funeral. All of the vendors that participated in the execution of this event donated their time to the family! I completed the following tasks regarding this fundraiser:

Created an online PayPal fundraising account in order to have the ability to collect/receive funds from out of town family and friends;
Served as the liaison between my God-mother and the venue owner and vendors;
Secured the venue for the event;
Secured the DJ for the event;
Publicized the event on Facebook and via flyers that were distributed;
Made a poster for signatures of those that donated for the family;
Decorated a special bank for the money to be placed in when people made donations;
Spoke on behalf of my God-family during the event to express appreciation for support and attendance of this event;
Secured a cashier’s check for the funds raised and presented to my God-mother for payment towards the ceremony; and
Maintained and collected all of the revenue generated from the online donations and made final payments to flower vendor.

Keith Bernard Tucker’s Funeral; 300 in attendance: for the funeral I stepped assisted my God-mother with the planning and execution of the funeral by offering to be the liaison between her, the funeral home director (and staff) and the people that were to play a role in the funeral the day of. I completed the following tasks regarding this service:

Served as a liaison between my God-mother and the media, the funeral home director (and staff), the persons scheduled to be on the
program, the church minister, the florist and cemetery regarding the headstone design and placement.
Reached out to people regarding playing a role on the program and put the final program together for the service;
Maintained contact with the pall bearers keeping, them informed of arrival times and duties;
Wrote and read a poem (during the service) to be placed in the obituary;
Designed the hard copy of the obituary and had printed;
Designed and had produced, a 18x24 keepsake photoboard collage of pictures for the family that was on display during the funeral;
Viewed and approved the display of the body to ensure it met viewing satisfaction;
Arrived at the church early to greet the pall bearers and receive the body;
Ensured that everything from the flowers to the picture collage were set up right;
Received the family once they arrived to the church for the service and ensured their comfort throughout the service;
Directed traffic of people and answered questions of visitors before, during and after the service;
Granted the local media to take pictures with very specific directions as to what was off limits;
Directed traffic after the funeral to ensure the family and pall bearers had a safe and easy exit from the church;
Ensured that the pall bearers were on their jobs once the funeral had concluded;
Ensured that the proper persons occupied the grave side seating;
Ensured that the transportation of the immediate family was always covered;
Ensured that all of the family’s needs were met during the repast;
Drafted and disseminated all of the thank you notes;
Assisted with the design of the headstone; and
Met with my God-mother one last time, regarding the funeral, to tie up any lose ends and answer any questions.

Stepan Global Human Resources Meeting of 50 employees: this event is held bi-annually to bring the HR team together for idea and information sharing in the effort to improve the team and customer experience. I successfully completed the following responsibilities:

Pre-planning; selecting options for meeting locations (hotels or conference centers) and worked out the details of conference room usage by

communicating size, video equipment and material needs for meetings in addition to securing guest rooms for attendees;

Coordinated travel arrangements for all out of town (national and global) HR department members;
Corresponded with HR members, notifying them of general meeting information and materials, airline and hotel reservations and the

general agenda; and

Function as a point of contact for all members regarding general meeting information throughout the duration of the meeting (one week)

and related events.

Richard A. R. Harris 16th Birthday Party; “Swagg’d Owt 16th Event: I began planning this event in October 2011; there were 150 in teenagers in attendance. I was responsible for and completed all of the following tasks regarding this event:

Served as the liaison between my son and the VIP guests (20 people), cake vendor, caterer, DJ, Photographer and transportation vendors
(for VIP Kick Off Event and actual birthday party) from the initial planning phase to the night of the event;
Set up all of the plans for the VIP Kick Off Event: a bus tour of downtown Chicago with four special stops, ending at the ABC studio where
we appeared on the nightly news at the close;
Determined the VIP guests special invitation;
Rented the bus, bought and engraved a special message on the glass invitation (all for the VIP Kick Off Event);
Set up and facilitated two cake tastings for the special birthday cake;
Worked with the birthday boy to determine the restricted 220 person invite list;
Designed the special three tier fondant covered themed and sheet cakes;
Designed and created 200 invitations;
Worked with the birthday boy to determine special party color themed outfits for him, his sibling and special family members;
Secured several chaperones to assist with keeping the party orderly;
Determine the décor and purchased necessary items;
Secured the caterer and designed the menu;
Secured the venue for the event;
Secured the photographer for the event and communicate the desires of what photos have to be captured;
Secured the special Hummer Limo transportation to the party for the guest of honor and VIP guest list;
Secured the DJ and communicated the music request list;
Coordinated the special arrival of the VIP guests with the driver and the DJ;
Ensured that the guest of honor, party goers, chaperones and vendors where all taken care of throughout the event; and
Ensured that all final payments were made.

Dr. Pinkiie, IM (of A.S.E. -Adlek Sirrah Events) Facebook Go Live Tasting -Kentucky Derby Theme w/Champagne Mint Julep as the Signature Kocktail: I was responsible for and completed all of the following tasks regarding this event:

Producing (creating), printing and gathering all of the decor and games;
Determined the gifts for the games and contest and purchased them;
Choosing the signature kocktail, purchasing all of the ingredients and making the kocktail during the Facebook Go Live portion of the event;
Facilitated the games: Bingo, Conversation Starters and the Best Hat Contest voting;
Determined and organized the menu with the event theme in mind;
Made the Facebook event and manned the attendee RSVPs;
Created additional small kocktails for guest to try (at their request) for future liquor purchases; and
Recorded the actual Facebook Go Living tasting to be shared on social media.