Where do you work/what is your position?
Chair Covers and Linens/Linen Hero-Sales Executive

How long have you been in the business?
9 years

What do you love about it?
I love the parties…I mean “NACE Meetings”

How long have you been a NACE member?
3 years

How has NACE helped you along your journey?
NACE gives me the opportunity have face time with all the people that I work with and I love.

What advice would you have for someone looking to hire a company that offers what you do?
Hire professionals.

What are 10 things people might not know about you and/or your company?
Me? I am a coffeeholic. My family is from Denmark. I will soon have two kids in college and be destitute. I secretly want to run away to Amsterdam and live as a professional poker player. Chair Covers and Linens? We have laundry secrets that keep our inventory spotless. We are a national company with eight sister stores throughout the country. We have LED lights.

What social media tools do you have/use? Facebook!

Created by Epic Motion, this is a piece that shows why NACE members value the organization so much.

Affordable Elegance Chair Covers & Linens, LLC, celebrates five years of providing upscale event décor throughout Michigan.

Since opening the doors of Affordable Elegance Chair Covers & Linens in 2005, co-owners Colleen Murphy Galacz and Crystal Watkins have grown from a two-woman team to employing a 15 person part-time staff during their busy season. The company also boasts commercial machinery, over 10,000 chair covers in myriad styles, high-quality specialty table linens and a design showroom in Birmingham.
The business’s success has exceeded either of the duo’s expectations, especially given the company’s unexpected beginnings. Galacz and Watkins launched the venture with the severance pay they received when K-Mart moved headquarters (and they each declined to relocate). The women thought a chair cover business would be a good transitional job while they reassessed what they wanted to do. Instead, the company thrived and the pair went from serving 120 events their first year to over 400 in 2010 alone. In addition to the wedding market, Affordable Elegance Chair Covers & Linens regularly works with proms, galas and corporate events.

“Since we began 5 years ago, we have moved into a 5,000 square foot warehouse in Troy and hired a full-time staff,” said Galacz, who lives in Sylvan Lake with her husband and two young sons. “Our inventory selection and design has improved dramatically, so we are able to offer our clients more table linen and chair cover options.”

In addition to serving Oakland, Washtenaw, Wayne and Macomb counties, Affordable Elegance Chair Covers & Linens has a branch in Saginaw that serves the Tri-City area.

Affordable Elegance Chair Covers & Linens has earned several awards, including Wedding Wire Vendor of 2009, and holds membership in prominent industry associations, like the National Association of Catering Executives and the ABC Association of Bridal Consultants. Affordable Elegance Chair Covers & Linens continuously gives back to its community by providing décor for fundraising events like Grace Center of Hope’s Women Helping Women Luncheon and the American Cancer Society’s Cattle Baron’s Ball.

Looking forward, the company hopes to expand to a wider range of event-related services. “In the next five years, I see Affordable Elegance Chair Covers & Linens offering floral services and event planning to be a one-stop company for our brides,” said Watkins, who resides in Macomb with her husband and daughter.

Where do you work/what is your position? CEO of Lorio Ross Sterling Entertainment

How long have you been in the business? 38 years! Lorio Ross Entertainment has been around since 1972. They merged with my company, Sterling Entertainment, in 1992, which I had opened in 1975. I have been the CEO of Lorio Ross Sterling Entertainment since then.

What do you love about it? The never ending excitement of each new creative challenge.

How long have you been a NACE member? Since April of this year.

How has NACE helped you along your journey? Well I just joined, but so far I really enjoy meeting other professionals from my industry and being able to help each other with referrals & sharing of ideas. The monthly meetings are enjoyable & informative!

What advice would you have for someone looking to hire a company that offers what you do? Select a company that really listens to YOU, and has YOUR best interest at heart.

What are 10 things (can be fun, unique, etc.) people might not know about you and/or your company?

1) I’m very creative & great with color schemes
2) We’ve been in this industry for 38 years
3) I’m very detail oriented
4) I was a Musical Entertainment Director for Motown Records
5) I traveled the US & played every major 10,000+ seat venue, with David Ruffin, the lead singer of the Temptations
6) I’m an expert at finding spectacular venues for large corporate events
7) We have been voted as the #1 Entertainment Agency 2 years in a row, by The Knot magazine
We have our own in-house Lighting, Stage, & Production company
9) We have our own in-house Event & Wedding Coordinators, in addition to all of your Entertainment needs
10) Our Dueling Pianos division books events all over the United States

Our company name is The Wedding Connection. My partner and wife, Rabbi Miriam Jerris, Ph.D. and I are celebrating our 20th year in business and 11 years as a member of NACE.

My position in the company is an Event and Wedding Planner, Coordinator and Minister. I am a Master Bridal Consultant, a designation that I received from The Association of Bridal Consultants and a Michael Havens Award recipient from NACE. My wife on the other hand is a Rabbi, a Minister and a couple’s therapist. Her background and education places her in an exceptional position to serve the needs of couples from different cultural and religious backgrounds. Our uniqueness is that we can provide to clients all phases of lifecycle rituals, ceremonies and guidance, from Anniversary Reaffirmations, Gay and Lesbian Ceremonies, Birth Celebrations, Weddings and Special Events to Funerals. We love the interaction with our clients, creating and helping them celebrate life’s moments. NACE has been a special partner for our business growth. NACE created an arena for us to tell our story to a variety of event professionals that in turn, helped us achieve additional business by referring us to their clients. Our company takes pride in referring our NACE partners to our clients, knowing that we are providing to them legitimate resources that will help them and not let them down. There are too many unsavory types and companies out there that give us all a bad name in this industry.

When we mention to clients our company’s memberships in organizations like NACE and ABC, our clients know that we adhere to certain professional standards and if there are questions, they also have a way to check our legitimacy. We take our membership with NACE very seriously.

Where do you work/what is your position? I work for Viviano Flower Shop, Inc., a third-generation family-owned business. I am CEO.

How long have you been in the business? My grandfather founded Viviano Flower Shop in 1937. I have been managing the business with my family since 1984.

What do you love about it? I enjoy the satisfaction that comes from hearing how we help people celebrate special occasions or the memories of loved ones. Flowers beautifully express feelings and wishes, and we get to be a part of that. Not everyone gets up, goes to work every day, and makes a product that makes so many people happy. We have the opportunity to make people happy. It’s wonderful!

How long have you been a NACE member? I have been a member since September 2005.

How has NACE helped you along your journey? I have especially enjoyed developing professional friendships with my fellow NACE members. I think it’s very important to have personal contacts with people who provide complementary products and services. That connection is both helpful and enjoyable.

What advice would you have for someone looking to hire a company that offers what you do? I would start by investigating how long they’ve been in business and what their professional reputation is. Are they known for producing quality arrangements? Are they known for delivering on their promises? Are they known for being helpful and responsible? No matter what project you are doing, you want to work with people who have experience and are committed to excellence in every facet of their operations. It will make the whole experience so much more relaxed and enjoyable.

What are 10 things (can be fun, unique, etc.) people might not know about you and/or your company?
1: My grandfather’s first cash register was a cigar box.
2: My grandfather sometimes rode Detroit buses to deliver floral arrangements.
3: My grandfather had no experience in floral design when he opened for business—only a hidden talent and a desire to succeed.
4: Almost all of my 33 first cousins have worked at the flower shop at one time or another.
5: My three siblings are all in the business with me.
6: The domed retail area of our St. Clair Shores location was once a greenhouse on the grounds of the Emery L. Ford estate in Grosse Pointe.
7: My brother Peter, President of our business, has a horticultural degree from Michigan State University and is an expert on rose varieties (and flowers in general).
8: We have been the official florist of the North American International Auto Show since 1991.
9: My brother Frank, Vice-President of our business, is also a lawyer.
10: We travel throughout the US to decorate events for our clients. The farthest we have traveled to decorate an event was Hawaii.

Where do you work/what is your position? Aristocat Transportation, owner

How long have you been in the business? 22 years

What do you love about it? The people

How long have you been a NACE member? Since February but attending for over 5 years

How has NACE helped you along your journey? The synergy of this group is what attracted me to join. Everyone I have met is so helpful and knowledgeable about business and I have gotten some great advise that has helped my business tremendously-especially Sue Keels, Janet Engelhardt and the entire Royal Park Hotel staff along with Kurt Cologne from Mike Staff -they have been extremely accomodating and helpful. I have also received some new business and referrals already!

What advice would you have for someone looking to hire a company that offers what you do? Get references, do an onsite visit to check out their operation and vehicles, make sure they are insured, go with a bigger company that can accommodate you with another vehicle if there is a problem, shop rates, ask the year of the vehciles, ask how long the chaeuffeurs have been employeed with them, get a signed contract when you agree on the service, make sure they are fully licensed and insured and comfirm the service a few days before.

What are 10 things people might not know about you and/or your company?
1. We offer worldwide transportation
2. I was elected to a 4 year term on the board of directors for the National Limousine Association-it is a lot of work and very rewarding
3. I love boating
4. We offer a fleet of over 70 vehicles
5. We offer our clients a wide range of referrals to our business partners we have developed over the years
6. I’ve written 4 national published articles this year
7. I’m a firm believer of the law of attraction-like attracts like
8. I don’t like peas
9. I love animals
10. I am a Detroit certified woman owned business

Here’s the audio from Cindy’s talk she shared with the Detroit Chapter courtesy of Epic Motion. Feel free to download it to your iPod or listen to it online.

Cindy Novotny {Motivational Speaker} Presentation for Detroit NACE

Kelly and her parents

Kelly and her sister