We don’t need no (more) stinking badges!
Needless to say, the largest Freddies ever require the largest number of Freddie name badges ever.
Organizing the badges is an event in itself. No fewer than four staff members worked to assemble the badges and make sure everyone who has a name has a badge. Now, whether everyone who has a badge actually has a seat is still up in the air, as the ballroom is busting at the seams.
This might be the first Standing Room Only Freddies.
Michelle and Karen are organizing the Freddie trophies to make sure the winning programs get the right Freddies. They ignore the chaos on the table and focus on getting them in the right order.
The order for each category will be winning hotel programs and then airline programs, with Europe / Middle East first, followed by Asia / Pacific and the Americas.
The crown jewel of the evening and the last winner to be announced will be Airline Program of the Year in the Americas. And the winners are…you’ll just have to wait a few more hours for that.
Karen and Steve Landuyt, Head of Sales at Loylogic, one of the sponsors of the Freddies, stand in front of the Freddies photo backdrop.
The Red Carpet-worthy backdrop will be moved out to the ballroom and winners of the Freddie Awards will have their pictures taken in front of it after receiving their trophies.
Randy Petersen takes a break for a mug shot with Tommy Danielsen.
Mikel is so excited to be finished stuffing the gift bags that he spontaneously begins to juggle. He shows off his questionable skills in front of the Freddie Awards backdrop.
Quick, take the picture! Photographer Eric has to take a few shots before he gets one with all the balls in the air.
We’ve finally finished stuffing all the bags with gifts from the sponsors that attendees will receive after the awards ceremony.
The bags are packed but where are the trophies? We have less than 10 hours before the awards ceremony starts. Has anybody seen them? Do we have an emergency back-up plan? There is the duct tape, we could fashion Freddies out of the silver tape.
Janet recognizes our sleep-deprived minds aren’t coming up with reasonable solutions. She gets on the phone and makes a few calls. The trophies are in the building. Now, we just need to track them down.