For a long time Zions Capital Markets would do a customer appreciation outing for their top customers. When it started it was a conference where there were speakers and workshops and all that stuff. After a few years they decided that they just wanted to allow for the customers to come and be shown the company's appreciation. The conference became an outing and they just got to have fun! Zions hasn't done if for a couple years but this year with the economy being as it is they felt that it was important to show there very top customers their appreciation in a more scaled back way. Jamison put it together and the floor was open to invite up to 12 customers. Only 6 were able to come in the end. We reserved some rooms in Park City and had dinners and skiing. Jamison went up on Thurs to get it all going. I went up on Friday with the kids. (Yes, I drove all the way to Park City- which for me is a huge deal because I HATE to drive on the highway! I was so brave- I about had to puke by the time we got there, but I did great!) We got there and settled in. Jamison and I were going to go to the dinner for the evening at the restaurant up the road from the hotel so we ordered pizza for the kids and headed out. We took the shuttle there and greeted everyone. We got seated and ordered our dinners. They brought out the appetizers and salads and we noticed the lights got dimmer and they were bringing out little candles for the tables. I just assumed it was to set the mood for fine dining. Well, shortly after that the manager came over and announced that there was a fire at Parley's Summit - one of the main power poles was on fire so they were going to have to shut off the electricity to rework the wires and stuff. Since the restaurant was on the same grid, the power at the restaurant was going to go out in 7 min.s at 7:00. I quickly called the kids and gave them a heads up and told them that everything would be fine and not to worry. I then ran to the restroom and sure enough, while I was in there the lights went out. It was very dark! (Don't worry, I got out without injury!) The emergency back up lighting came on eventually but that was minimal lighting. Our food had already been prepared so we were still able to eat. I do think the rice was a little crunch- it must not have cooked all the way! ;-) As we were sitting there Jamison remembered that just before he left one of the other workers remembered that they had a whole box of hand crank emergency lights left from something else and suggested they took those to give to the clients. Jamison thought that was a great idea and took them up. Unfortunately however, they were back at the hotel in the hospitality room, not with us at the restaurant! We actually had a very enjoyable time visiting with everyone. I don't think the dark room darkened our evening at all.
The meal ended and we were concerned for the kids so we hurried down to the hotel. On the drive back the shuttle driver told us that we should be able to get some glow sticks from the front desk so we stopped and grabbed some for the kids. They were so happy to have us there and to get the lights. Many people were out in the halls because the emergency lights worked in the halls but not in the room. The kids said they were out there for awhile but decided to go back to their room. They watched The Princess Bride on one of their ipods. Imagine that- 4 kids watching a 1.5 inch screen! It kept them happy though. Jamison went down and got some flashlights for each of us and made sure all the other participants had one. He then took the left overs to the front desk and gave them to give to other hotel guests. They were very grateful! (Great advertising for the bank too!)
Jamison went back to the hospitality room and I stayed up with the kids and had a great time! The glow sticks made a great light show! I had to be careful though because the "flashing" of the lights and the brightness of the flashlights give me headaches! I had so much fun playing with the shutter speed and iso on my camera to get some of the action!
Over all it was a fun night. We went to bed about 10:15 or so. The lights went back on at 10:35. After getting all the lights turned off we went back to sleep. What a great adventure!
Lessons learned:
1. In darkness, people will gravitate towards the light. Make sure my inner light is shinning for others to see. It gives comfort and hope and peace!
2. Follow promptings, I really don't think it was just a coincidence they had those lights.
3. Be prepared. Knowing that the lights would go out gave me time to call and get my children emotionally prepared for the lights to be out. They were still a bit afraid, but not nearly as much as they would have been otherwise. They were also prepared to comfort each other and find ways to kill time. Since the hotel had also been given notice, they were also prepared. They sent runners to all the stores to buy flashlights and glowsitcks. However, this was not enough and they really had to ration the glow sticks and flashlights.
4. No matter how dark things are, family can work together to make anything better when we all are willing to work together to make the best of the situation!
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