More than just a fun party, an event has many of the same elements as any large undertaking. Event Planning is a mix of right-brain creativity and left-brain organization. The planning stage is the most important, often-overlooked feature. What are our objectives? What is our theme? What do we want the first impression to be? What do we want people to be talking about the next day? Then and only then, what are the 457 things that need to happen so the event will seem like it just fell into place? That's how Orchestr8 designs and executes an event to be remembered. Colleen Mahon manages the budget with an accountant's eye for detail, because a fun event isn't fun for the organization sponsoring it if it doesn't bring home the bacon. Her critical path includes everything from the design the invitations to who is taking out the trash at midnight. She develops procedures and trains the participants so that everyone knows their part and can enjoy the rest of the party. And when the last guest has gone home, Colleen recaps the whole event and writes "Next Year" recommendations, in the spirit of continuous improvement.