The IRTS Holiday Casino Benefit -- Still a Tradition in Digital Times -- Joyce Tudryn

When legacy and digital media companies gather on the evening of December 9th to enjoy good food drink and casino games at the IRTS Holiday Benefit they will be participating in a longtime tradition that has changed in style but remained true to its mission of supporting the IRTS educational programs and diversity initiativesEstablished back in the 1950amp8217s the event once featured an annual lunchtime concert but as business grew more complex and timeconsuming it evolved into the casino format where you mingle throughout the evening to make the most of your time without having to ever sit down for a presentationFormer IRTS Board Chairman Tom Kane explains amp8220Today it is harder than it used to be for sellers to get meetings with buyers and clients let alone entertain them during the year The Benefit provides the perfect opportunity to entertain clients while also investing in a charity that helps our industry as a wholeamp8221A longtime champion of the event throughout his years at both ABC and then CBS where he was head of the station group Tom would always make attendance at the Benefit a top priority for his team with the firm belief that we all have a responsibility to amp8220give backamp8221 to our businessMedia buyers and sellers have been especially faithful to the event and firsttime attendees sometimes brush up against the Spirit of Holiday Benefits Past somewhere between hands of Black Jack and a roll of the dice at the Craps tableYou know the Spirit of Holiday Benefits Past is leading a walk down memory lane if you hearamp8220Remember the Benefit where Sam Champion of ABC played Ryan Seacrest in amp8220IRTS Idolamp8221 and Connie Chung who had just left CNN won the contest with an Evitalike rendition of amp8220Donamp8217t Cry for Me Maury Povichamp8221amp8220Then there was the time Frankie Valli amp8211the real Jersey Boyamp8212did a comeback concert where the audience tied all their napkins together to connect as one big family Hey thereamp8217s Frank Cammarata of Media Monitors He produced that amazing concert when he was at CBSamp8221amp8220Were you there the year a hypnotist put everyoneamp8217s favorite buyers into a tranceamp8221amp8220Remember when Debbie Richman was at OMD Larry Blasius was at Magna and Mel Berning was at MediaVest before they moved over to the sell side They sang amp8220When Youamp8217re Good toamp8230Buyersamp8221 in the style of Queen Latifah from the movie amp8216Chicagoamp8217amp8220But letamp8217s not forget John Watkins of ABC National Television Sales and Scott Herman of CBS Radio leading sellers in a rendition of amp8216Who Will Buyamp8217 from Oliver The words were changed to include all of the tough sells in the programming seasonamp8221amp8220And what about those annual cameos by Karl Wexler of WCBSTV who would open for an act such as The Temptations Kool and the Gang or Blood Sweat ampamp Tears by pretending to be Elvis Mick Jagger or Robert Palmeramp8221At IRTS we will always value the memories of the past as we guide the upandcoming generation of professionals into an exciting future We are grateful that many digital companies have adopted this annual tradition alongside companies that have been attending for yearsAll of us at IRTS are proud to lead the charge in Building Future Media Leaders Please call me at 2128676650 ext 11 to order your tickets to the IRTS Holiday Casino Benefit on December 9th at The Copacabana Priced at 275 each 150 is a charitable deduction advance purchase is requiredWarmest greetings of the season and thanks to all who have long been involved in IRTSJoyce Tudryn is President ampamp CEO of the IRTS Foundationamp160Check us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates at MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentariesamp160

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

The IRTS Holiday Casino Benefit -- Still a Tradition in Digital Times -- Joyce Tudryn

Author

Publish date

Joyce Tudryn

Empowering Women in Media: Insights from Industry Leaders (Video) - By E.B. Moss

More Videos:

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

The IRTS Holiday Casino Benefit -- Still a Tradition in Digital Times -- Joyce Tudryn

Joyce Tudryn

Empowering Women in Media: Insights from Industry Leaders (Video) - By E.B. Moss

The payment was successful

Cookies