I have no doubt that the incredible evening sponsored by Hal Leonard tonight will be one of the most talked about events of this year’s conference. They went all out to extend a hearty Wisconsin welcome to all of us music teachers!
After shuttling attendees from the hotel to their corporate headquarters, they split us into groups of 10-12 for an extensive tour of the facility. Our tour guide was District Sales Manager, Sean Murphy.
After sharing the history of the company (it was founded by two brothers – Harold [a.k.a. “Hal”] and Everett [a.k.a. “Leonard”] after they began receiving requests from people who wanted to purchase arrangements of the pop music that they had arranged for their bands), Sean turned us over to one of the ladies who oversees the editing department.
Next it was on to the engraving department, where we saw a live demonstration of the head of the department preparing a piece of music for publication.
In the art department we were given a really interesting overview of the whole process from when a request for artwork is received from the editing department to the initial design concept to the collaboration with an illustrator to finished design.
After the tour, it was time to party!
A huge room was dedicated to tables lavished with food, a couple drink bars, a pasta bar, desserts, and lots of opportunity to visit with other teachers. A live band played for part of the evening as well.
Every detail of the event contributed to the ambiance – fresh flowers and candles adorned all the tables, and the whole room emanated with a blue glow.
This is a little video clip to give you a more complete shot of the room. And this was as the party was winding down toward the end of the night!
My friend and traveling companion, Lisa, and I had a marvelous time and were thoroughly impressed with the abundant generosity of our hosts!
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