Mounds of savory food fit for a czar. A Russian cabaret. Unlimited bottles of vodka.

Sounds like your typical EO chapter holiday party, right? Wrong— this was way better.

In conjunction with our annual holiday party, the EO New York chapter recently celebrated its 15th anniversary at a Russian nightclub in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York. Our guest of honor was Doug Mellinger, a former YEO Global President (1997/1998) and the first YEO New York Chapter President. He enlightened us on the early years in our chapter's history and reminisced about EO New York’s first-ever holiday party. One of the original chapter members, Jim Iverson, hosted the event at his home and paid for it out of his own pocket.

Many founding EO New York members and Past Presidents attended our holiday party, and Pat Thompson – a former EO New York member and Chapter President – even re-joined the chapter after once again experiencing the EO passion and energy.

 We partied like rock stars, but we also used the occasion to raise more than US$5,000 through a silent auction for Workshop In Business Opportunities (WIBO). WIBO is our local cause of choice that we’ve been involved with for a couple of years now. It helps entrepreneurs in underserved areas who are hoping to learn and grow by jump-starting their businesses and assisting them on their way to becoming profitable.

We’re thankful that Keith Schwebel, our chapter’s Day Chair, worked diligently to make the entire event a success. And Susan Lindner, our chapter’s Philanthropy Chair, organized and ran the silent auction. Also, 19 of our members generously donated to the auction, so a heartfelt thank you goes out to them as well. Finally, WIBO presented an impressive award to EO member Mark Schulze for going above and beyond. He donated his time to lecture WIBO students.

I highly recommend the Russian theme for your next holiday party. And don’t forget the Russian rock band, fire-juggling performers and cross-dressing, fur-wearing male singer (pictured).

Completely kitschy and unlike any other event!