Oh Yeah!

I am so happy to say...we WON! THANK YOU WGN! Our office of six gets a Christmas party at Gibson's Steakhouse with food, cocktails, and prizes! John Williams (the radio host) had the five 'finalists' on at the same time...one by one he briefly talked with all of us. He then awarded the party to a metal company...and then one by one told the rest of us that we won too...yeah!!

For the record, at my firm, one of the owners was really very appreciative...another employee was also very thankful. The third employee complained that her husband wasn't going, and the other two didn't say a word. You've got to be kidding people...I just won you a fabulous Christmas party!!

I dug out my 200 word or less letter and thought I would share; many of the other contestants were much more creative and put their words to Christmas songs...but this one put the multi-firm idea in their head and won over their hearts!

Dear John,

I am an architect and work for a firm in the western suburbs. I use to work with 12 people; I now work with 6 (the others have been cut). In October, our 401K match went away and our salaries were cut 15% (unfortunately, our hours remain the same). In general, 2009 was not a good year for the field of construction; a great Christmas party would perhaps give us a boost in morale going into 2010. I have heard wonderful things about Gibsons – what a wonderful treat it would be!

Perhaps you would consider spreading the joy with a number of small firms. All of the companies could meet at Gibsons in Rosemont – it would be a terrific networking experience for all!

I work in a wing of eight cubicles, and it is now just me. While it is lonely, I am happy because I can turn up my radio as loud as I want and listen to WGN! Thanks for keeping me happy from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM.

Katie