When I asked Mandy Kelley where she felt there was room for improvement regarding Graphic Packaging International‘s company picnic last summer, she said “the only thing we took back as a lesson to learn is we’d have music next year — The Company Picnic People far outweighed our expectations.”

Mandy was impressed with The Company Picnic People’s work beginning with the planning process. She says Jim (The Company Picnic People) sat in with their planning committee and explained their options for the event while providing invaluable guidance and suggestions regarding location, time and infrastructure requirements. Jim left it up to the committee to decide their budget, menu and number of people expected — then took care of the rest of the planning and event execution. “It was really easy,” Mandy says, “there will be no need for a planning committee in the future because you thought of everything and all the details were covered!”

The Company Picnic People utilized a Kansas City, MO day-use area to create a special event for 400 guests comprised of Graphic Packaging International employees and families. Mandy was enthused by the variety of activities that made the day enjoyable for both children and adults. Highlights included Temporary Tattoos, Soccer Shootout, and the Giant Inflatable Slide. (See our Games for Younger Kids and our Games for Everyone pages for more!) Mandy says The Company Picnic People employees at the event were helpful, behind the scenes and seamless. “Jim every once in a while would come over and check in or if I had any questions, I just found him. It was great.”

Not only were the employees great during the event, they had to deal yet again with adverse weather. Mandy says, “The event was scheduled for eleven and the day of it, it had been raining terribly until eleven oclock. When I showed up at eleven, maybe a quarter-to, they had everything ready to go and at eleven the sun came out and it just turned out perfect. They worked through the rain, were ready to go and just waiting for the rain to stop.”

Unsurprisingly, Mandy said their choice of the Backyard BBQ menu received a delicious reception. The main meal was preceded by popcorn and followed by sno-cones. According to Mandy, “The food was excellent. There was plenty of it and never a chance of running out. Everyone loved the food.”

Mandy Kelley testimonial:

“I want to personally thank you for the great job you and your staff did at our company picnic. When I was driving to the picnic 30 minutes prior to the start, in the pouring rain, I had no idea what to expect. When I pulled up everything was set up and ready to go. The rain stopped just in time and the event went on without a hitch. The food was great and set up wonderfully. The amount of activities that you provided kept everyone entertained the entire time. There will be no need to have a picnic committee in the future because you thought of everything and all the details were covered. Thank you once again. Everyone had a great time!!”

Mandy Kelly

Quality Manager

Graphic Packaging International

Kansas City, MO