Our Summer 2019 Open House: A Look Back

Summer has passed us by far too quickly. We want to take a few minutes to reflect and look back on the biggest event we’ve put on this year. During the period between summer trips and busy season, we’re taking a moment to share some of the takeaways (and photo highlights), from our summer 2019 open house. 

Take the time to show your appreciation

It’s much easier to get caught up in the day-to-day than it is to slow down and take a moment to appreciate the people who got you to where you are. We wanted to organize our summer 2019 open house celebration to thank all of the clients and partners who have made our work so fulfilling and enjoyable.

  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Scott Henkel and one of our attendees
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - a picture into our packed main entrance
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - one of our guests
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Tom Kintis speaking with attendees
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Karl Fiasca
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - guests chatting
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - guests in the conference room eating food from Sendik's and talking
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - a photo of our prize table
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Becky Shull at the main entrance with one of our guests
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - guests enjoying our branded beer detail
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - our summer beach party set prize pack
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - guests smiling
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - our ribbon cutting with guests and the WCBA
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Mary with some attendees
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Eric Neuman with an attendee

We loved getting to see the smiles on everyone who walked through the door. Guests were able to enjoy engaging conversations, food from Sendik’s Fine Foods, Skyline Catering, and Oh Sugar, raffle prizes, Mob Craft and City Lights beer, and more!

We also felt it was important to share our appreciation through a ribbon cutting organized by the Waukesha County Business Alliance. Between that and the event itself, our space now feels sufficiently christened! All the laughs along the way were just a bonus.

The difference is in the details

  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - guests enjoying the detail on our branded beers
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Chortek branded beer
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - chortek branded cookies
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - save the date postcards and signage
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - conference room featuring our b-roll video in the background
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - branded Chortek beers in a bucket
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - ribbon cutting
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Chortek branded beer and other merch in our conference room
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Becky Shull and Paula Seffrood

We’re all about details. From our Chortek branded beer (beer by Mob Craft, design by Tuc Krueger), our branded cookies, our save-the-dates, our signage, and the video playing in the background of our main conference room, we commit to getting each detail just right.

Having Tim Miller play music and City Lights serve beer downstairs alongside the Skyline catering was just icing on the cake (or…Chortek branded cookie by Oh Sugar!)

Sometimes details go unnoticed, but we were happy to see so many guests enjoy our beers, our passports, and all the little things that added up to a great cumulative event. And, of course, now we get to enjoy photography by Azure Mahara to share on our website and social media channels.

  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Tim Miller playing guitar
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Signage directing guests where to go for what activities
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - City Lights Brewing
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - guests enjoying our food from Skyline Catering
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Tim Miller playing guitar
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Terri Webber holding our passport

It’s important to educate along the way

  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - crowd of attendees watching the Datto presentation
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Eric from Datto giving his presentation
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Datto backup presentation with a drowned device
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - employees and guests gathered in the conference room
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Mike Radtke giving a tour of our office
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - guests in and out of our conference room
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - A view of our hallway
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - the Datto presentation
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Chortek branded Mob Craft Beer - Design by Tuc Krueger
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Eric from Datto at his computer
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - the Datto presentation
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - The Datto presentation

Our partners at Datto really helped us bring the party up a notch, by offering an educational session for all guests about why everyone should care about their backup and data recovery solutions. You might call us dramatic for drowning a device in water to show how Datto can get a business up and running in minutes, but we just call it effective. In addition to the Datto presentation, attendees were able to tour our new building with our partners, chat with plenty of Chortek employees, and get to know more about each other!

A good party can beat any weather

  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - the view from outside: overcast
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - a view into our biggest conference room
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Amy, Julie, and others in the hallway
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - the smiling face of a happy guest
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - employees and guests gathering in the front entrance
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - attendees spending time in the conference room
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Mark Albrecht chatting with attendees

The last thing you want to hear is that your party is going to get rained out. We were optimistic enough to have City Lights manning a tent outside, but sadly, that tent was unusable (and the poor folks at City Lights got completely drenched!) But, we know how to improvise. The rain just meant more people were packed inside, but we had plenty to keep them entertained with two floors of food and activities, dry surroundings, and yes, lots and lots of beer. You may be able to spot some wet clothing in our photos, but no sour faces!

Getting involved is contagious

  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Lori, Ann, and Angela manning the check-in table
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Paula Seffrood picking up passports with full hands
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Terri Webber laughing with one of our attendees
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - guests sitting outside the main entrance
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Mark Albrecht about to cut the ribbon after his speech

Like we mentioned, we wanted to make sure we had enough for people to do to stay entertained at our open house. What’s the point of having a couple of trays of food and aimless walking around a space? You need stories! Context! Activities! Our solution: A passport.

Every guest was handed a passport at check-in, that they could then use to fill up spaces good for prize entries. We may have underestimated just how popular the passports would be. We had over 100 passports to tally up after the event, most of them completely filled. Interactivity was one of the keys to our successful summer 2019 open house, that’s for sure!

We have surrounded ourselves with great people

  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - guests chatting in the hallway
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Gail and Mark from our Atlanta office
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - guests gathered in the lobby
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - guests watching the Datto presentation
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Tom Kintis laughing with guests
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Mark Albrecht and Paula Seffrood speaking with guests
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Scott Henkel with attendees
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - excitement inside and outside of the conference room
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Tom Kintis speaking with attendees
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Mark Albrecht speaking with one of our attendees
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - guests chatting in the hallway
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Michael Radtke
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - guests enjoying the passports and branded Chortek beer
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - guests sitting with Pat Wirth
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - partners and managers present for the ribbon cutting
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - guests interacting with each other
  • Chortek Summer 2019 Open House - Guests enjoying Chortek-branded beer

But enough about us, let’s talk about you. It’s our referral partners, our clients, our prospects, our employees, our supporters of any kind who make events like our 2019 summer open house such a smashing success. It’s the people who can turn an event that can be so dry and formal to a real party. We are lucky to know all of you, and we look forward to celebrating with you in the years to come.