{"id":255,"date":"2012-09-11T17:33:10","date_gmt":"2012-09-11T22:33:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wvcreamery.com\/blog\/?p=255"},"modified":"2013-01-16T21:32:50","modified_gmt":"2013-01-17T03:32:50","slug":"empowering-taste-a-weathervane-creamery-dining-and-financial-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wvcreamery.com\/blog\/2012\/09\/11\/empowering-taste-a-weathervane-creamery-dining-and-financial-event\/","title":{"rendered":"Empowering Taste! A WeatherVane Creamery Dining and Financial Event"},"content":{"rendered":"

As soon as I got back from the American Cheese Society conference, I quickly shifted gears. \u00a0I had an event to pull off: Empowering Taste! \u00a0A WeatherVane Creamery Dining and Financial Event.<\/p>\n

It all started back in June when colleague Steve Mercil, who serves on the Board of Directors for the\u00a0National\u00a0Association\u00a0of\u00a0Seed\u00a0&Venture\u00a0Funds, suggested that I do what Rainforest Cafe’s founder,\u00a0Steven Schussler, did: host an event where potential investors can really see the business vision. \u00a0Apparently, Schussler had such an event where he transformed his basement into the Rainforest Cafe. \u00a0I casually mentioned it to one of WeatherVane’s advisors (the advisory team is also a brainchild of Steve), Paul Rode, at one of our Tuesday afternoon sessions and he jumped on it. From then on, that became our weekly focus.<\/p>\n

The invite-only event was hosted at 120 S. Main Street, one of the locations that we were considering for WeatherVane Creamery’s future. \u00a0During the weeks leading up to the event, the advisory team and I held conference calls and had tasks to make the event come to fruition. \u00a0Steve designed the financial offering and Leo Bogee took on presenting it. \u00a0Tasha Burilini-Olson, originally from Ellsworth and currently managing the marketing for the retail store at the Burnett Dairy Cooperative, was to speak to the feasibility of WeatherVane Creamery in River Falls. \u00a0Kevin Pechacek, owner of the WestWind Supper Club here in River Falls, donated the tables, table cloths, serveware and (most generously) himself as our celebrity grilled cheese chef. \u00a0And Max Neuhaus was on standby for legal questions. \u00a0Paul Rode, of Agave Kitchen in Hudson, was going to introduce me. \u00a0Judie and David Foster-Babcock were our official sponsors having donated $1,000 to produce the event.<\/p>\n

I could really take this blog post to several directions at this point. \u00a0I could tell you all about the pitfalls and unreturned phone calls that drove me nuts. \u00a0Or I could tell you about all of the miracles that happened, before, during and after: personal and professional. \u00a0Mostly, all you have to know is that the event truly represented WeatherVane Creamery. \u00a0The wind blew in some unexpected directions and we adjusted. \u00a0Sustainable, Magical, Quirky, Smart, and Accessible were present and we Empowered Taste. \u00a0It was wonderful to see all of the people and organizations that helped pull the event off:<\/p>\n

Our Advisory Team- Leo Bogee, Tasha Burilini-Olson, Max Neuhaus, Kevin Pechacek, and Paul Rode.<\/p>\n

Judie and David Foster-Babcock<\/p>\n

River Valley Catering<\/p>\n

Burnett Dairy Co-op<\/p>\n

The Agave Kitchen<\/p>\n

Bo’s N Mine<\/p>\n

General Beverage Northwest<\/p>\n

Gary Havlichek<\/p>\n

Wisconsin Sheep Dairy Cooperative<\/p>\n

Castle Rock Organic Farms<\/p>\n

Crazy Ladies Kitchen<\/p>\n

Douville Bakery and Catering<\/p>\n

Our helpers: Ian, David, Shawn, Lisa, Melissa, and Missy<\/p>\n

Whole Earth Grocery<\/p>\n

Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board<\/p>\n

River Falls Sign and Design<\/p>\n

And last but not least, here are some of the results of the survey that we gave to the guests following the event:<\/p>\n