Fort Myers’ Harborside Event Center hosts President Obama’s Town Hall Meeting River District ready to welcome your important occasion

02/2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACTS: Nancy Hamilton, Lee Rose, Katie Meckley (239) 338-3500

LEE COUNTY, FL – Who knew when the telephone rang in the Fort Myers’ Harborside Event Center management office on Friday, Feb. 6, that four days later it would play host to the first road trip of newly elected President Barack Obama.

The caller, Steven Jacques, director of ceremonies & events for the Obama campaign, needed a venue to host a town hall meeting on Feb. 10 for 1,500 people with equipment on site for staging, press risers, barricades, Internet, telephone and full service catering. Other special requests included bleachers, specific audio-visual lighting and sound, perimeter security and crowd control, turnstiles, interview room furniture, lanyards for credentials, and much more.

The management team at Harborside Event Center became the point liaison coordinating with Lee County and City of Fort Myers emergency services to plan and establish safe passage of the president to Fort Myers, who arrived aboard Air Force One – landing at Southwest Florida International Airport and then proceeded to Harborside Event Center in the downtown River District of Fort Myers. Also, an Emergency Operations Command Center composed of federal, state and local authorities was activated for the event.

“We were honored to host President Obama and to ensure that everything ran smoothly for this high profile event,” said Rose Bernal-Rundle, Harborside Event Center general manager. “It’s not every day you get a call from the White House.

“Our staff worked non-stop from 7 p.m. Friday night through 7 p.m. Tuesday evening. Many of our Harborside Event Center staff and city directors spent the night with minimal, if any, sleep for the four days leading up to this prestigious event due to the amount of coordination with so many different groups as well as the mini-events that happened as a result of the main event such as ticket distribution. White House and Secret Service staff complimented them on a “logistically flawless event,” Rundle said.

If Harborside, located in the River District of downtown Fort Myers, can host such a high-status event, certainly it can welcome your important group. “The River District has the ability to coordinate your high profile event in this fabulous and unique riverfront destination. With a new boutique hotel and plans for expansion at Harborside, the destination offers a great location for small to mid-sized events,” Rundle added.

To book Harborside Event Center, call 239-321-8110 or visit www.HarborsideEvents.com for detailed information. And, bring your meeting to The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel on southwest Florida’s Gulf Coast from June 1 through Dec. 15, 2009 and receive a 5 percent credit off your total actualized room revenue to apply towards an evening reception for your meeting. For more information about this offer, call 1-800-237-6444 or go to www.FortMyersSanibel.com/meetings .

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