Event Recap: An Evening of Admingling
Our first ever Admingling meetup took place in Dallas last week, and we’ve been trying to figure out how to best summarize the whole experience. Turns out, one of our guests, Brenda R, Executive Assistant to CEO, put it better than we ever could:
Admingling wasn’t your typical networking event. It was fun without making you uncomfortable; light but professional; and educational without changing the fun vibe to heavy and clunky. I’m so glad that I attended. I’ve already told a couple of colleagues about it!
Thanks, Brenda! You hit the nail on the head.
The formula for such a great evening began with two vital ingredients: an awesome partner and a stellar location. We co-hosted with our friends at The Admin Awards, an organization that shares our passion for supporting and recognizing remarkable admins. Plus, like OfficeNinjas, they know how to throw a good party. PINSTACK, with its fresh décor and fun, funky vibe, helped set the tone for a chill evening of tasty bites, delicious drinks, and high-quality networking.
But the most important ingredient to such a great night is obvious—the guests! Over 100 Office Ninjas from a variety of industries and levels of experience registered to attend.
The Admingling began at the nametag station. Ninjas were asked to write out the coolest thing they’d ever done. Some of our favorite answers included:
- Giving birth at 48 years old
- Was set on fire over 100 times
- Performed as a competitive Scottish dancer
- Being serenaded by Michael Bolton
Talk about conversation starters!
The rest of the evening included a “fun but not uncomfortable” (we know—it’s a fine balance) team activity. It all started with a Photo Scavenger Hunt that not only gave our participants a great way to get to know each other quickly, but gave them a chance to let their networking shields down in a fun way!
We followed the silliness with some competitive Tech Trivia, and an interactive discussion on the importance of tech in the professional admin world. We liked Executive Assistant Andrea’s honest assessment of this portion of the event:
At first I thought the scavenger hunt and photos were a little silly but I have to admit that I had a blast! I pride myself on being pretty technologically advanced but I actually learned a lot during the technology discussion.
After reviewing all the fun photos and the Tech Trivia answers, we crowned our winning team, the Divalicious Admingling Ninjas, and presented each member with a delicious Bottega Louie prize package. Score!
We also gave away some pretty stellar raffle prizes including a $100 gift certificate from Al Biernat, dinner and bowling for four at PINSTACK, an overnight stay at Omni Dallas Hotel and a $100 gift card to Target.
And, because we like to end things on a sweet note, every ninja went home with a delicious gourmet cupcake from Sprinkles, our all-time favorite cupcake bakery.
Thanks again to The Admin Awards, PINSTACK, our wonderful event partners, and our kick-ass ninja attendees for making our first ever Admingling event such a huge success.
Check out our photo album from the meetup. You can even see the pics ninjas submitted for the Photo Scavenger Hunt starting here!
Want to be a part of our next Admingling meetup? We’re looking for Office Ninjas around the country who are interested in helping plan a meetup in their city. Contact us to get involved!
Thank you Office Ninjas!! I had a great time, I loved that we were able to network and learn at the same time! The event was brilliant, and all of the ladies that attended were so friendly. Can’t wait for the next one!!!
What was great about ADMINGling? The coming together of my two favorite companies that focus on Administrative Professionals—OfficeNinjas and Admin Awards!
Not only did I connect with friends I hadn’t seen in a while, but I also made new ones. As I looked around the room, it was great to see all generations in the room. Maybe this isn’t a dying profession as some would think.
The networking game was brilliant…and sure made me realize how much I really DON’T know. What’s next for me? I MUST pay attention to when Edwin Talks Tech! I need to know this stuff…really. I don’t want to be caught at the paper filing cabinet when technology is here.
Of course it isn’t a dying profession, Suzanne! If anything, it’s being revitalized in a whole new way through advances in technology and a more thorough understanding of the importance the office ninja plays in every company.
So glad you were able to be there and connect with so many people!
I agree Suzanne! I did not position myself well for the tech presentation – didn’t realize I wouldn’t be able to hear over the background noise. I won’t make that mistake the next time! Looking forward to October.
Thanks for the feedback, Terri! We’ve definitely made note of the difficulty in hearing during the presentation and will keep it in mind as we continue with our ADMINgling!
I thoroughly enjoyed myself and the entire evening went way too fast! It was fun getting to mingle with other professionals, learning, laughing, and just being silly. The venue, the food and the program were top notch – I can’t wait for the Office Ninja event in October!!
Woohoo! Can’t wait to see you again in October!
What an amazing experience. I have worked w/Executives more than 10 years and it is so amazing to have a group of Professionals learning and networking. Looking forward to attending future events. I reserved my tickets for the Awards Event the same day!!!!!!!!!!
Awesome, Natasha! It’s so affirming to network with others in our industry, isn’t it?
Thank you so much for putting this event on for the Administrative Professionals in the DFW area! I had so much fun, learned about some new technology, and met some new people. I can’t wait for the Ninjas IRL event in October to do it all over again! P.S. I didn’t know what IRL meant until your event! LOL
Happy to teach you the ropes of internet slang, Andrea! ;)
So excited you’ll be joining us again in October!