“Don’t worry, it’s going to be fine.”
We were a little less than two hours before the beginning of an event, and the Great Performances delivery truck carrying all the food, design items, disposables, and internal equipment was running a little late.
At the time, I was training a new Event Producer, so I masked my concern that the delivery was behind schedule and assured them it was going to be “fine.”
The moment I received word that the truck was minutes away, I took my trainee downstairs to meet it and facilitate the delivery.
“See,” I said with a sigh of relief. “I told you everything was going to be fine.”
And it was at that precise moment that the truck pulled up…with ominous dark smoke billowing out from under the hood.
The GP Delivery team quickly exited the vehicle and, mere moments later—
BOOM!
The front of the truck erupted in a burst of flames that quickly engulfed the entire vehicle.
It was less than two hours until we were hosting a seated dinner for sixty VIP guests to honor the retirement of a beloved Board Member at one of NYC’s most prestigious cultural institutions.
In that moment, all I could think was: this is not going to be fine.
And yet, through the incredible dedication of the GP Culinary Team, Design Team, Warehouse Team—and a little bit of GP magic—an hour later, a new truck arrived carrying all the food, design items, disposables, and internal equipment we had just watched go up in smoke.
No one was harmed, and the onsite staff did an incredible job, flying into action and making the impossible possible.
With one minute to spare, we opened the doors to excited guests who were completely unaware of the disaster we had just overcome.
And somehow, it wasn’t just fine.
It was amazing.
