By Barb Kachelski, CAE
Remember the old commercials for ABC's Wide World of Sports? You know, the ones where the announcer talked about, "The thrill of victory … the agony of defeat?"
Technology had the same effect on me in November, when CUES' CEO/Executive Team Network took 
For more information on how this cutting-edge entertainment technology can work for you at your next special event, meeting or conference anywhere in the country, please contact Bob Barranco at Atmosphere America at 312.659.6550 or email him at bobbpi@aol.com.place at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
Just like in the commercial, the thrill came first. The opening night banquet featured a "virtual band" called Atmosphere.
Four thin panels on the stage each featured a singer or musician performing. They never hit a bad note. The music was the perfect accompaniment to the dinner and awards. And the volume was perfect for members to network. We even had some members ask how they could have the "virtual band" perform at their credit unions' events.
Just like the skier depicting "agony," CUES staff was unable to prevent agony of our own. The hotel's high-tech systems were brought down for "scheduled maintenance" Sunday night. And never came back again until after our group left. This meant no Internet, no TV, no phone, and major service woes as the hotel staff struggled to handle the situation.
Fortunately for me, the CUES staff were professionals through and through. CUES members were disappointed in the technology, but thrilled with the conference, and the hotel apologized generously to our guests.
In the end, 98 percent of responding attendees ranked both the conference and CUES staff excellent/good!
And I call that a gold medal performance.
Barb Kachelski, CAE, is SVP/chief operating officer for CUES. She has just returned from a successful technology experience at The Cosmo, where CUES' Directors Conference was also held this year.
