Empowering Taste! A WeatherVane Creamery Dining and Financial Event

As soon as I got back from the American Cheese Society conference, I quickly shifted gears.  I had an event to pull off: Empowering Taste!  A WeatherVane Creamery Dining and Financial Event.

It all started back in June when colleague Steve Mercil, who serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Seed &Venture Funds, suggested that I do what Rainforest Cafe’s founder, Steven Schussler, did: host an event where potential investors can really see the business vision.  Apparently, Schussler had such an event where he transformed his basement into the Rainforest Cafe.  I casually mentioned it to one of WeatherVane’s advisors (the advisory team is also a brainchild of Steve), Paul Rode, at one of our Tuesday afternoon sessions and he jumped on it. From then on, that became our weekly focus.

The invite-only event was hosted at 120 S. Main Street, one of the locations that we were considering for WeatherVane Creamery’s future.  During the weeks leading up to the event, the advisory team and I held conference calls and had tasks to make the event come to fruition.  Steve designed the financial offering and Leo Bogee took on presenting it.  Tasha Burilini-Olson, originally from Ellsworth and currently managing the marketing for the retail store at the Burnett Dairy Cooperative, was to speak to the feasibility of WeatherVane Creamery in River Falls.  Kevin Pechacek, owner of the WestWind Supper Club here in River Falls, donated the tables, table cloths, serveware and (most generously) himself as our celebrity grilled cheese chef.  And Max Neuhaus was on standby for legal questions.  Paul Rode, of Agave Kitchen in Hudson, was going to introduce me.  Judie and David Foster-Babcock were our official sponsors having donated $1,000 to produce the event.

I could really take this blog post to several directions at this point.  I could tell you all about the pitfalls and unreturned phone calls that drove me nuts.  Or I could tell you about all of the miracles that happened, before, during and after: personal and professional.  Mostly, all you have to know is that the event truly represented WeatherVane Creamery.  The wind blew in some unexpected directions and we adjusted.  Sustainable, Magical, Quirky, Smart, and Accessible were present and we Empowered Taste.  It was wonderful to see all of the people and organizations that helped pull the event off:

Our Advisory Team- Leo Bogee, Tasha Burilini-Olson, Max Neuhaus, Kevin Pechacek, and Paul Rode.

Judie and David Foster-Babcock

River Valley Catering

Burnett Dairy Co-op

The Agave Kitchen

Bo’s N Mine

General Beverage Northwest

Gary Havlichek

Wisconsin Sheep Dairy Cooperative

Castle Rock Organic Farms

Crazy Ladies Kitchen

Douville Bakery and Catering

Our helpers: Ian, David, Shawn, Lisa, Melissa, and Missy

Whole Earth Grocery

Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board

River Falls Sign and Design

And last but not least, here are some of the results of the survey that we gave to the guests following the event:

• The favorite grilled cheese was Alpha’s Morning Sun from the Burnett Dairy Cooperative
• Pricing and portion for the grilled cheese was “about right”
• The top 3 elements that will make WeatherVane Creamery successful are 1.) Quality Food, 2.) Sarah’s Energy, and 3.) Wisconsin Theme

A full photo album of the event is on our facebook page.  Check it out!  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.351181834965326.87043.174028466013998&type=3

Sarah Presenting