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Your Play-By-Play of #AdminBash 2017

2017 Admin Bash

Editor’s Note: We did things a little differently for Admin Day 2019. In addition to throwing our 7th Annual Admin Bash in San Francisco, we hosted OfficeNinjas Con, our first, full-day professional development conference! See highlights from OfficeNinjas Con and Admin Bash 2019.

The day was Wednesday, April 26, and it’ll go down in OfficeNinjas history. Halfway into our week-long celebration of administrative maestros, over 400 Ninjas descended upon our sold-out 5th Annual Admin Bash at San Francisco’s Bently Reserve. We were lucky enough to have Ninjas from the Bay Area but also Los Angeles, Dallas, Washington DC, New York, and even London.

This year’s theme was turning up the heat, and we think we brought the fire this year. From our orange and red lit venue to our pumped-up live entertainment and hyped scavenger hunt, every part of this year’s Bash was about taking things to the next level. It was a wild ride of admin awesomeness, and all the attendees were essential to that magic. Connections were made, music was bumpin’, the banking hall was packed, and we loved every second.

So, what was it like to be at Admin Bash 2017? Take a look at our fun-filled night, and start planning on making it to next year’s event!

Our partners at New Island Media did incredible work on our stunning Admin Bash video! Check out the video and then read our top 10 favorite moments from Admin Bash 2017.

1. The D.A.M.N. Admazing Theme

The roof is on FI-YAH! We couldn’t get over the stellar lighting from The Lux Productions.

D.A.M.N.—Dial A Master Ninja. The idea? On-demand advice from admin experts.

How do we let everyone know it's Admin Day? Jamming tunes from a Karaoke Rickshaw of course.

Laser-engraved, custom name badges etched to perfection.

We kept the fire theme going at the vendor stations.

Major shout-out to Ninjas Evelyn H., Meg S., Jennifer M., and Zakiya J., who came up with D.A.M.N. back in 2015!

Once upon a time, an Admingling brainstorm session dreamt up D.A.M.N.—Dial A Master Ninja. The idea? On-demand advice from admin experts. That ingenuity is what inspired the theme of Admin Bash. How are our Ninjas getting more done every single day? They’re turning up the heat, of course.

Combine that fiery theme with the venue’s tasteful orange and red elements and our amazing partner The Lux Productions (expert lighting design was all them!), and you’ve got one red hot event.

2. Classy yet Fun Decor

When it came to event decor and furniture, we worked with the event masterminds at Blueprint Studios. They kept the heat-inspired vision with yellows and reds but also added in some fun accents. Hey, blue fire is hotter than orange, right? They brought together our vision, and it was a colorful success.

3. Ninjas on the (Scavenger) Hunt

A huge part of Admin Bash is giving Ninjas the opportunity to meet each other and make new friends, but that doesn’t mean they have to just stand around to do it. Instead, we teamed up with The Go Game for a tech-fueled networking scavenger hunt extravaganza, where Ninjas got in teams and were given a phone to move through the app-based scavenger hunt. Their goal was to complete as many photo and video missions as possible, and there’s nothing like a hilarious photo challenge to break the ice and forge new friendships.

Want to see all of the photos and videos our Ninja teams took during the night? Leave a comment below and we’ll send you the password to the gallery!

4. Partners in Crime

Meet ezCater, a nationwide catering marketplace with over 50,000 providers.

Hilton SF Union Square is West Coast's largest hotel with views and event space galore.

Breather is a network of beautiful spaces for meetings and offsites.

Eden provides workplace services from cleaners and handymen to IT support.

Bevi is the modern water cooler with flavors and fizz.

NatureBox provides all-you-can-eat snacks priced per employee.

See.Saw.Seen Eyewear is an on-site prescription eyewear and try-on service.

Ashbury Images provides custom apparel and screenprinting with purpose.

Of course, no event is complete without our list of Ninja-approved vendors, and they certainly did not disappoint. Instead of canned sales pitches and overwhelming banners, it was all about genuine conversations with partners who have Ninjas’ best interests at heart.

Another element that got rave reviews: Vendor buttons! Instead of business cards (soooo last decade!), we made buttons for each sponsor, and it sparked a heated competition between Ninjas to see who could collect the most buttons from our partners.

For more information on all of our admazing vendors, click here.

5. Mod Food & Beverage Stations

At OfficeNinjas, we take our food very seriously, so we partnered with a company that does too—49 Square Catering. Their whimsical, delicious stations did not disappoint. If you need us, we’ll still be dreaming of those sushi rice cakes, wild mushroom and pepper jack empanadas, and dulce de leche–dipped fruits.

To wash down all of that goodness, we had an open bar from Bartenders Unlimited. And while great spirits are an A+ in our book, what really blew us away was that our Ninjas couldn’t stop raving about how friendly and helpful their bartenders and staff were. We’re sold!

6. Keeping the Tunes Going

What’s a great party without music to keep things going? We worked with the talented team at Gatsby Entertainment to have a DJ pumping tunes to keep Ninjas on the floor dancing. We also had a live trio band that delivered some spunk and spirit to the night.

7. Massage Lounge Time

BackSpace Massage

As with all OfficeNinjas events, we leaned on a crowd pleaser: the good ol’ massage lounge. We had a dedicated spot for Ninjas who needed to take a breather from the festivities and relax. We couldn’t have offered this sigh-inducing activity without the help of the folks at Backspace, who provided us with five massage therapists to keep Ninjas feeling refreshed.

8. Swag Bags

Ninjas had three options to choose from when it came to their swag bags: Dial A Master Ninja, Administrative Badassery, and Can’t Deny Admazing. All of these taglines were created or inspired by Ninjas themselves. These awesome totes were produced by Ashbury Images, an organization that does more than screen print custom apparel, bags, and promotional swag—they also help get at-risk youth ready to succeed in life.

And the bags were just the beginning! Inside, there were so many goodies including high-quality chocolate and truffles from Alter Eco, gourmet lunch totes from ezCater, $150 credit with Breather, and award-winning retractable lint rollers from Flint. It didn’t take long for Ninjas to start posting their swag bag photos on Instagram.

9. Top-Notch Raffle Prizes

Jessamy from Delta Air Lines gave away two roundtrip tickets to one very lucky Ninja!

Tim from ezCater awarded this lucky Ninja with a Chromebook!

This year, we upped the ante and gave away $10,000 worth of prizes in a single night. Some of these giveaways included an Apple watch from Bevi, a spa day from Eden, two roundtrip tickets to Hawaii from Delta Air Lines, and gift certificates to amazing local restaurants like E&O Kitchen & Bar, Foreign Cinema, Chaya Brasserie, and The Press Club. We know our Ninjas work hard and deserve the very best, especially during Admin Week! Thank you to all our partners who helped us spoil our Ninjas in rightfully earned giveaways.

10. Photo Booth Time

Photo Booth gif

What never gets old? A photo booth—or in our case, two photo booths! The great people at Oh Snap! Booth Co., our go-to company for all things photography, helped us out with this crowd favorite. If you want to take a look at the GIFs from the night, you can check out the online albums here and here.

Still hungry for more? We don’t blame you. For more eye candy of #AdminBash, you can browse through our professional photo album and photo booth one and two.

Until Next Time

OfficeNinjas Admin Bash crew

A huge thank you goes out to our admazing Ninjas for all they do and our incredible sponsors who worked tirelessly to make sure this event went off without a hitch. We’re so excited about the feedback we’re getting for next year, and we can’t wait to see where it takes us. If you’re interested in being involved with future events, contact us at events@officeninjas.com, we’d love to work with you!

Don’t want to wait a year to mix and mingle with fellow Ninjas? You don’t have to. Our Admingling events are starting back up this week in a dozen cities, so get to the one closest to you!

Responses

  1. Can I get the password to the gallery please? I can’t wait to see the images!

    1. Yes! You’ll get an email with the password, Imelda. Happy browsing (and laughing)!

  2. Can I get the password for the scavenger hunt photo gallery

  3. My fellow Ninjas know how to celebrate. Bummed I couldn’t make it, but I’ve already got April 25, 2018 in my calendar…the countdown is on!

  4. Hilton’s brownie’s were amazing and worthy of an admin’s palette! So much fun…can’t wait to see the rest of the pix in the gallery! Thanks so much for a fantastic event!

    1. We were all over the chunky chocolate brownies too, Annette! Hang tight, we’ll DM you the password!

  5. Sounds like a great (and productive) time. I love the scavenger hunt that takes that game a bit above and beyond the norm. I may have to borrow that idea if we get our admin conference off the ground.
    Oh, and may I please have the password just so I can browse the photos during lunch? It will give me something fun to look forward to today. Thanks!

    1. Hi Carolyn! The team at The Go Game did a fantastic job incorporating the theme of our event to the hunt. Check your inbox for the link and password and get ready to be inspired :)

  6. Would love the password to the gallery…sounds like it was crazy fun and I hope to get there next year!

    1. Can we hold you to that? ;-) Sending the password your way, R!

  7. Congratulations on another fabulous event! Can’t wait to see what you attempt next!
    Thank you for the support and encouragement you give to our profession. Go, Go, Ninjas!

    1. We couldn’t do it without the enthusiasm from Ninjas like you, Di!

  8. So sad that I couldn’t make it this year. It looks like everyone had an awesome time!! I hope to make it next year!

    1. That would be admazing, Sheri. We’d love to see you next year. Save the date—April 25, 2018!

  9. That was a ridiculous amount of fun, best swag bags ever and I will be back next year! I would love to see if my stealthy disco dancing is floating around somewhere lol

    1. We’re thrilled to hear you had a great time, Selena! The Stealth Disco was by far our favorite mission—get ready for endless laughs ?. We’ll DM you the password!

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