OfficeNinjas IRL Dallas was one for the books. THANK YOU to everyone who attended and helped bring it to life! We’re walking away with tons of new ideas and some really great memories.

We know it was only a week ago, but we can’t help ourselves—we want to reminisce! Here are the top ten people, places, and things we about OfficeNinjas IRL Dallas.

Melissa Smith, Event Hostess Extraordinaire

From the moment we met Melissa we knew she was perfect for the job of event MC. Melissa is a second generation admin with 15 years of experience. She’s super smart, eager to share her knowledge, and has a knack for connecting with people. All of that came through on event day. She did an incredible job, and we were thrilled to share her talent for on-stage presentations with the rest of the Office Ninja community.

ADMINgling!

Y’all rocked the opportunity to network with other Dallas Ninjas and practice those elevator pitches. We heard so many accounts of new connections, shared stories, traded tips and best practices. One Ninja in attendance shared this comment:

I really enjoyed the concept of the event. I love that I can meet others that are in similar positions that I am in at this point in my career. I think it would be cool to meet others that are in a similar field that I am in to relate to them easier.”

Neon Name Badges

We know you’re not a “Hello, my name is…” kind of crowd. We wanted to set the tone for the evening with one-of-a-kind name tags, and Artifacture did not disappoint. We hope you got a kick out of seeing your name all lit up in green!

The Photobooths

What’s more fun than a photobooth? How about THREE photobooths? A huge thanks to Jinine, Chris, and Luke from the ShutterBooth team for providing three distinctive experiences with the photobooth lounge at check-in, the traditional photobooth (for the purists), and the , which was stocked with tons of fun props.

Stimulating Presentations

We like to strike that delicate balance between party and professional development event. We couldn’t have done it without our fabulous presenters, Trey Bowles, Melissa Smith, and the team from RGT. (We could totally see all your wheels turning during the fireside chat!) One Ninja told us:

It was so much fun to see all the other admins and to see the energy of the group. I loved the RGT concept of the admin “bull pen” and executive liaison and would really love to be able to assist in implementing the concept at my place of work. These events are fantastic to remind us that we are of value in multiple ways to our companies and to our bosses and to stay energized.”

The Live Music

One Ninja described the band as “out of this world,” and we couldn’t agree more! Our friends at Absolute Entertainment hooked us up with The Jordan Kahn Music Company, and they tore it up on stage and throughout the event (a few lucky Ninjas even got serenaded). And we LOVED that a handful of you party animals got up and danced!

The Food

Three words: Flaming. Donut. Holes.

A video posted by Enjolik “Jolié” Oree-Bailey (@chef_jolie_ramize) on Oct 21, 2015 at 5:34pm PDT

A week later we’re still dreaming of the food from Low Country Quisine and craving creamy grits topped with shrimp and smoked sausage, the Mexican Street taco station, and the mac ‘n’ cheese bar. YUM.

Admin Crews

We told you “the more, the merrier,” and you proved us right! What a treat to meet whole admin teams from JCPenney, Southwest Airlines, Capital One, RGT Wealth Advisors, and TYPOs. We heard from Ninjas who used the event as a bonding and team building activity—YES!

One Southwest Airlines Admin shared this:

We had a good time with the team building exercise. If you can imagine there are 52 EA’s at SWA and we don’t see each other very often. We talk on the phone, email and IM each other, so for us, just being together was fun.”

Vendor Marketplace

You know when you introduce two different groups of friends and they totally hit it off? The vendor marketplace was kind of like that. Our partners enjoyed chatting and connecting with the Ninja community, and it was fun to watch you fall in love with their product samples. Moshi, Scarborough & Tweed and Bottega Louie were among the evening’s hits.

A special shout-out to Monica Challingsworth of Bottega Louie for bringing enough chocolate and macarons to satisfy all of our sweet teeth! (Oh, and don’t forget to snag your tickets for the Admin Awards’ upcoming event on November 4th!)

One Ninja shared:

I loved the vendor marketplace area and the information I picked up. It was a super fun and a comfortable environment. Everyone seemed to have a blast and the vendors were great future contacts for personal and office events.”

Raffle Prizes

Over 30 of you went home with a raffle prize from one of our amazing partners. The goods included premium laptop bags from Moshi, an annual art subscription from Turning Art, a $200 food credit for DoorDash, a $100 Gift Card from Kent Rathbun Restaurants, and Organic Fruit Boxes from The FruitGuys. (Now we sort of know what it’s like to be Oprah.)

One Ninja said:

Excellent event!!! Loved it!! Especially being a winner of one of the bad-ass raffle prizes!”

Thank you from Team Ninja!

Thank you so much for making OfficeNinjas HQ feel welcome in Dallas. It’s no easy feat to take our events on the road, especially since we do our best to jam pack quality education, networking, team building, and appreciation into just three hours. But we’re committed to bringing you the best experience possible, and we appreciate your honest feedback and support!

Special thanks to the following companies who also contributed to OfficeNinjas IRL Dallas: Coca-Cola, E&J Gallo, Handle This Cup (the smartest cup holder), Lawson Event Rentals (event rentals, custom bars & more), Significant Events of Texas (event planning firm), and United Party Rental (event rentals, stages & more).

Want to see ALL the photos from OfficeNinjas IRL Dallas? Click here to view professional shots taken by Daniel Motta Photography and here to view snaps from ShutterBooth.