THURSDAY NIGHT EVENT

CSMFO Conference Thursday Night EventSuper fun!

By Jennifer Becker

After a two year hiatus from in person interaction with our colleagues from around the state, our membership was more than a little excited to descend upon San Diego for the CSMFO conference at the beautiful Town & Country resort. We all couldn’t wait to expand our knowledge at one of the many informative sessions, stroll the exhibit hall for products and services that would improve our workplaces, and be inspired by keynote speakers over lunch with our peers. But let’s be honest, we all know that the highlight of any CSMFO conference is the Thursday night event. Our coworkers back at the office never believe us when we tell them how much CSMFO loves to have a good time, but they don’t really need to know. We’re here on business, after all. The evening began with a cocktail hour on the Flamingo Lawn. Guests sipped beverages served from the hotel’s signature retro trailer and snacked on hors d’oevres while Dylan’s Steel Drum Band played in the background and the sun dropped low in the beautiful San Diego sky. Soon, the doors opened to the Golden State Ballroom and guests were lured into the space by the musical sounds of The Mighty Untouchables. Our host for the evening, stand-up comedian Chris Strait warmed up the room as our members were treated to a lovely sit down dinner. While the music alone would have been enough for most of us, it was obvious by the end of dinner that the entertainment was just beginning, as magician and Instagram star, Rick Smith Jr. was introduced to the stage by our host. The audience was absolutely wowed by his incredible performance, and laughter filled the room as several CSMFO Members were brought on stage to serve as props in his magical tricks. One brave soul nearly lost his nose in a card throwing incident, but fortunately catastrophe was avoided. As dinner wound down, The Mighty Untouchables heated up with hit song after hit song, and in typical CSMFO fashion, a crowd of partygoers flocked to the dance floor to show off their best moves. Other guests filed into the Lapper Bar to order another round of beverages and enjoy some more stand-up comedy from Christ Strait. In between the two party locations, folks continued to enjoy the Flamingo Lawn, partaking in a game of glow bean bag toss, chatting by the fire pit, or striking their best pose in the mini trailer-turned photo booth. After two encores, the band retired for the evening, but that didn’t slow down this crowd. The dance party quickly took over Lapper, where a DJ played tunes until Thursday turned to Friday morning and the revelers were cast out of the bar and sent back to their rooms with the music still ringing in their ears. While those of us who shut the party down were a little bleary eyed when we got back to business the next morning, there’s no doubt that we’ll all be back doing it again next year.

Special thanks to Tim Pryzbola for his fantastic photos of the event.

Jennifer Becker is a 21-year employee of the City of Burbank and was appointed Financial Services Director in March of 2021. She currently serves as Vice-Chair of both the San Gabriel Valley CSMFO Chapter and the Communications Committee. Jennifer earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California. She is an avid Trojan football fan, and on non-football weekends you can find her skiing in Mammoth or hiking around Southern California with her husband and daughter.

CSMFO Conference Thursday Night Event Special thanks to Tim Pryzbola for his fantastic photos of the event.