In the beginning….

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Picture the mid 1990’s: grunge, modern preppy, overalls, scrunchies, lunchables, and the TV show “Friends”. Pete, Ross, and Lisa met at work in destination management, which unbeknownst to them, would become a decades long friendship and ultimately a partnership. Pete was working at the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce when he came to be a Sales Manager at California Leisure Consultants, a DMC in Los Angeles. Lisa had already put in a year or two there as Operations Manager after coming off motorcoach tours as a Tour Manager. Enter Ross, our florist, whose creativity and vision for events is still unparalleled. In those days, there were no cell phones and just barely email. We used quarters at the payphone to dispatch limousines into the airport. We met guests at the gate and were required to show our checked bag receipt to leave baggage claim. Our pants were nearly falling down with all the walkie talkies on our belts. We fought over who could use the brick phone. We were mad when we were paged on the freeway to call the office urgently only to find out after pulling over, the reason was whether we wanted to order anything for lunch. The telefax, the copy machine, and the postage meter to mail trip sheets were equally frustrating. Taking photos of guests with polaroids was popular, and a precursor of sorts to the modern-day photo booth. 

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We saw many come and go in our industry as the pressure to produce fabulous programs and events is not for the faint of heart. We endured because of our common goals to be the best of the best, establish lasting relationships, and exceed expectations for every program. We love this industry and feel the same excitement with each program today as we experienced with our first clients and programs. Over the years, we’ve moved around from LA to Orange County to San Diego to Palm Springs and to Arizona. We are locals to these areas because we live here, work here, and have many relationships here. It’s funny how the styles have circled back with today’s popular flannels, combat boots, overalls, and scrunchies, but our friendship and commitment to our business have never gone out of style.