The Feels of Fall

Have faith. Believe. Say it with me.

Fall is coming.

I know, I know. We're still ordering our coffee iced, parking under trees, and wearing our shortie PJs to bed. And the delineation between seasons grows ever-fainter with the rollout of Oktoberfest and pumpkin-spice-everything backing up earlier and earlier each year.

Still, the signs are there. The blanket of bright orange gourds lining the farm at Boone Hall Plantation. The competitive electricity of college football as each Saturday approaches. The chatter among kids (and youthful adults) revealing preliminary costume plans. And it's not just the sights and sounds. It's the actual engagement in the season: Immersing in all the play features of the pumpkin patch. Gearing up with fellow fans for game day at the stadium (or sports bar). Suspending reality for a night of elaborate dress-up, bewitching decor, and justified chocolate. In other words, as much as we dig the trappings of fall, what we really love is experiencing it. And, not "even" here in warm, coastal Charleston. Especially here.

Inspired by the transition to fall colors and textures, we recently collaborated with Blossom Bay Florist to create one of our favorite design installations to date. Dozens of seagrass-woven picnic baskets, handled totes, and round planters, adorned with native flowers and greenery, create an arch over the entrance to The Charleston Place Hotel. The feature is not only a visual depiction of Southern hospitality, but a lovely nod to the promise of autumn.

Energized by that expression, we embarked on a long-overdue team retreat. Filling the stunning space of a house on Folly Beach with bodies, souls, ideas and, yes, superpowers, our crew of seven renewed its commitment to the KLH Group mission, vision, core values, and "why." We did this in ways that were intentional and organized, but also within the spontaneous, less structured beach banter and late-night chats. It's hard to not have fun - and feel incredibly grateful - in a seaside home situated at the "Edge of America." But the real magic was what we brought back: conspicuously stronger cohesion and a reignited purpose.

In the weeks ahead, we have TWO clubhouse builds benefiting FIVE kids in TWO cities (Charleston and Mobile, AL). And both builds find us partnering with clubhouse "alumni!" First, we are again teaming up with CANFOR, following their big 12-clubhouse event this summer. Then we join forces once again with Zach, whose daughter Eliza Kate received a clubhouse this summer and has recently rung the "cancer-free" bell, as he sponsors a build to pay-it-forward. It might sound paradoxical to say that it is both humbling and rewarding to reconnect with past partners, but it's just the way I find the words.

I don't know how I got so lucky... to have this team, these partnerships, such opportunities. Maybe it was like my annual outlook on fall in the Lowcountry. I had faith. I believed.

An Evening with Chef Mallman

The bar for our client's board June retreat was already set sky-high, simply by virtue of the mountaintop venue, Primland Resort in southwest Virginia. So if we were going to host it at a level worthy of the locale, we needed to really loft our ideas, expectations, and execution. 

Turns out, that Blue Ridge resort was the perfect vessel for our ambitious vision. 

Our twenty guests arrived to an evening that appeared intentionally themed relaxed, refined, and illuminated. We encouraged the group to take a minute... to take it in. But, really, the stunning, sprawling grounds of their retreat, cradled in a tree-lined, rolling range of mountain that seemed to go on forever needed more than a minute. So we lingered, basking in our exclusive access to this property, this view, this hospitality. Cocktails on the terrace moved unhurriedly to dinner inside the great lobby hall with its floor-to-ceiling windows. Even as each course was savored and glasses clinked, we never had to take our eyes off the landscape. Our first night's vibe was "get comfortable," but also, "remain in awe." 

Night two was truly a singular encounter. At a nexus of good fortune and tenacity, we were able to arrange for our guests a true dining odyssey. To witness – and taste – the primitive splendor of open-fire cooking inspired by the method master Francis Mallman would have been delightful. But having the famed chef, author, and restauranteur on site for a rare private demonstration and personal meal prep was mind-blowing. Inside a domed "cage," whole roasts, pineapples, and cabbage heads dangled by twine over smoldering wood, flickering flames barely visible. Witnessing our guests engage with Chef Mallmann's team in a shared encounter they’ll never forget was gratifying beyond measure. How are we so lucky to do what we do? The extraordinary meal was served under sprawling white tents, native blooms softening the distressed dining tables. As dusk slowly curtained the Blue Ridge, guests hunkered into sumptuous leather seating to imbibe in spirits, cigars, and the soundbath of breeze-blown live music. 

For our final evening, our guests were treated to dinner in Primland’s signature restaurant, elements, where the menu is dictated as much by the bounty of the season as by the brilliance of the chef. And when darkness drenched our mountaintop, we defied the night drawing to an end, allowing ourselves to get swept up in the revelry of dueling pianos. The Blue Ridge mountains may be known for bluegrass, but no genre seemed to escape the high-energy, rapid-fire play of the pianists. 

Indeed, that's what you call ending an incredibly elevated experience on an even higher note. 

IS "IT" WORTH "IT"?

For such a little question, it sure is loaded - particularly when you consider that two tiny pronouns bear the load. One "it" carries your purchase, the other your price. They are your protagonist subject and your antagonist object, and their relationship is, well, complicated.

What is your second "it": Time? Money? Risk? And if it's risk, what form does that take: health, reputation, faith, ego? Sometimes, it is a combination. Always, it is what is being expended, sacrificed, put on the line. And to meet that measure of worth, that first "it" better be something pretty special.

I know I'm not the only one feeling particularly worn down by the pervasiveness of this question in the last two years. In anomalous and unrelenting ways, we have faced the kind of decision-making that constantly attempts to balance - or even perhaps detect a suitable imbalance. We weigh the prudent and the pragmatic against a likelihood to satisfy or gratify. Often, we pit the head versus the heart. Lately, it also feels like the science versus the soul.

A recent reach for some crystal "old fashioned" glasses, oddly enough, offered a metaphorical answer. Unwrapping them at a wedding shower years ago, I was struck first by their beauty, but it was quickly followed by their impracticality. I'm not a big home-cocktail person. Sensing my failure to see their function, the gift-giver suggested that I use them as everyday glassware, offering even the simple experience of sipping water a feeling of special intention, perhaps even extravagance. I wasn't sure I would follow the advice.

But when the glow of the wedding and honeymoon had faded, and I found myself in the post-party routine of life, I conceded one afternoon to iced tap water from the fancy old fashioned. The weight of the crystal grounded me in the moment, while the texture of its pattern made every new grip on it a surprise. The clink of the ice cubes quieted the more complicated noises in my head. And, yes, somehow the water tasted better - more crisp, pure, refreshing. The glass had surely been expensive. The set took up some precious real estate in my cabinet. And every piece had to be hand-washed. But I would take that grand set of four over a nondescript dozen any day of the week.

Maybe that's our approach during these times when that pesky latter "it" comes with more frequency and force. There is a higher cost - real or perceived, certain or uncertain. So, we choose our former "it" more mindfully - but also with more gumption and gusto.

Let's produce that big event, travel to that stunning locale, and pull out all the stops. Let's go for quality over quantity, limited luxury over recurrent thrift, unshakeable inspiration over fleeting revelry.

I know that an event is truly impactful when it moves a person's heart, and that movement is most enduring when it is mobilized by all the senses. I also know that, right now, we are conditioned more for caution, and scaled-down feels safer. But that is gulping tepid water from a flimsy vessel. Let's sip from the good glassware. It will be worth it.

IMEX America attendees join community effort in Clubhouse construction

There are few things more meaningful than supporting a sick child and bringing smiles to young faces. During the three days of IMEX America, the KLH Group invited attendees to a Clubhouse Build™, creating a special play space for Luna, a local Vegas child with paediatric cancer.

Over 100 IMEX America attendees rolled up their sleeves to help with the building effort, taking place at the new IMEX | EIC People & Planet Village on the show floor.

The completed Clubhouse was unveiled at IMEX America in a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Luna herself was then introduced to her new play space via video call. Her thoughts? “Wow! That’s cool”.

The Clubhouse was delivered to Luna’s kindergarten ensuring that hundreds more children will benefit.

Effecting a Change In Luna's Orbit

When you don’t know your life to be any other way, does that make the pain that punctuates it less detectable? The restrictions that limit it less confining? The setbacks that repeatedly threaten it less frustrating… or terrifying… or wholly unfair?

Luna knows no other life than the one that is punctuated by pain, limited by patient protocol, and threatened by unrelenting malignancy. At just nine months old, she was diagnosed with high-grade glioma brain cancer and began a 15-month regimen of chemotherapy right away. Halfway through, her doctors discovered a second mass on her brain and she immediately underwent surgery. Six weeks later, the tumor had returned, bigger than before. Months - and then years - that followed would be peppered with biopsies, surgeries, and multiple rounds of chemotherapy in a constant race to beat back the rapid growth and spread of tumors.

Luna is now five. And the childhood developmental milestones she’s achieved - scooting on knees before taking first steps, babbling first words before uttering full sentences, playing peek-a-boo before playing pretend - all happened in the hospital. It was her home away from home, but it looked, sounded, and smelled nothing like home. It was the safest place for her, but also the place associated with the most suffering. It was her normal. But it was nowhere near normal.

And yet... all that time, in that place, she did grow, and learn, and love. And LAUGH. She wasn’t distracting herself, or “using” humor, or being joyful in spite of her circumstances — she was simply being a kid, doing what kids do, finding wonder and silliness without even trying.

Today, she still is. Being, doing, finding - all of it. But she still has to do it under mitigated conditions, which often means isolation, due to her compromised immune system.

Luna’s story illustrates in perfect, painful detail the “why” behind KLH Group’s signature impact event program: The KLH Clubhouse Build™. A place for imaginative and uninhibited play is vital, and for kids like Luna it must also be extraordinarily safe. Moreover, kids like Luna just need that place - free from tests and treatments, hospital stays, and talk of pathology and prognosis.

Partnering with some of the nation's most compassionate corporations, KLH has been hosting Clubhouse Builds™ in Charleston, SC, for years, but has recently begun offering an affiliate-style program where we take the whole shabang on the road to give clubhouses to brave kids like Luna in other communities. And this November, KLH is bringing a Clubhouse Build™ to the showroom floor of IMEX America in Las Vegas for hometown hero Luna. IMEX America is the premiere global meeting industry event and we were ecstatic to not only give Luna her very own clubhouse, but to demonstrate to event attendees the significance of the Clubhouse Build™ experience so we can help more warriors like Luna who are fighting chronic illnesses across the country receive their special sanctuaries.

Over three days of the conference, guests will have the chance to add a nail, swipe of paint, or a bit of muscle to the construction of Luna’s sweet sanctuary. What is usually crafted in a single afternoon will be stretched into a slow-motion transformation, with many hands making light work and many hearts blessing little walls.

This fall, Luna will start school. The next phase of her life will begin to frame another “normal.” And perhaps the way she sees the world around her and her place in it will begin to shift away from that which she’s known to this point. In this time of transition, that little door, those tiny flower boxes, that precious playspace... those will be hers to reclaim and retreat whenever she wants

All in a (ten) days (whirlwind) work (that we love)

We don’t play favorites, and will deny displays of preference. But when one client partners with us to perform a hat trick of our service pillars, we can’t help but gush a little.

The early weeks of July were crazy busy for us, in the best possible way. It was the kind of “season” for which we train, condition and, yes, pray. Every corporate retreat we coordinate, every social event we plan, every impact activity we host… each one strengthens the biceps of our business and stretches the endurance of our enterprise. So when a single client taps us for an all-in-one experience - destination management, event design, and social impact - we are geared up and giddy for the chance to test our mettle.

Just weeks ago, EPI Health brought 60 leadership and team members to Charleston for its National Product Launch, calling on KLH to help them make it as memorable as it would be productive. First priority (well, second only to seamless airport transfers) was getting the group settled in for comfort at Hotel Bennett, which would be their Lowcountry home base during the multi-day program. For the kick-off dinner, we took over the historic Thomas Bennett Home followed by a dinner the next evening at the famed Indaco restaurant on historic King Street for a rustic, indulgent meal of housemade pastas and perfectly-paired wine. Dinners to follow, attended according to company sales regions, dotted a best-of trail along the peninsula, from steaks at Burwell’s and High Cotton to seafood at Leon’s and Hank’s. In between, KLH showcased at every event the spirit and culture of EPI with custom design and decor. The final evening, aboard the sprawling Carolina Girl yacht, was marked by another exceptional meal against an iconic backdrop - with plenty of conspicuous camaraderie and good humor on the harbor.

But, although we are as loathe to elevate one of our pillars as we are to pick business besties, there’s no pretending the highlight of EPI’s pilgrimage was anything other than its day-long impact event. With a goal to build a whopping SIX clubhouses for deserving young coastal Carolina warriors, our generous client teamed up with the families of these children on the cutest-ever construction site. In typical KLH fashion, we transformed the outdoor space into a well-oiled machine for efficient craftsmanship and shared creativity. Every detail was aimed at making each participant feel helpful, proud, and lifted. While the corporate content of EPI’s experience certainly bolstered the might of its sales force, creating safe spaces for recovering kids was truly transformative.

One last note: having barely caught our breath from the dream job that was the three-pronged commission by EPI, we reloaded for another big gig. Three hundred leaders and employees from ALMA put their annual corporate retreat in our hands, and we were thrilled to welcome them for five days at the Sanctuary at Kiawah Island (with an offsite “field trip” to the Governor Thomas Bennett House for a garden party with the corporate board). We knew there would be time to rest and reset later - and a time to dry off, as we arranged all event decor amid pop-up summertime showers! Still, and as always, we wouldn’t have it any other way. In fact, it’s all part of what we wish for. It’s all our favorite.

Getting Out The Good Stuff Again!

I look straight past most of it. In the contents of my cabinets and closets, it seems that old revelation has changed since the pandemic. Recently, it's less "This is why we can't have nice things," and more "This is why we don't need nice things." 

Why put out the cute guest towels when there won't be guests? Why drink wine (alone) out of a goblet when it tastes the same from a (dishwasher-safe) tumbler? Why even have pants that don't have elastic around the waist? 

I'm not what you'd call fancy, nor am I necessarily complaining. I like my well-worn linens, recycled stadium cups, and fleece joggers. And I don't plan on purging my space of the things that have been indefinitely shelved. 

I'm just... making an observation. But a few weeks ago, I made another one. 

We were in the warm, stately Reading Room of the Charleston Library Society with 20 high-level donors (of equally high-level heart and humor) from New York. It was the signature event of the group's three-day excursion to the Holy City, which had been gilded by a stay at Hotel Bennett, a private shopping experience at Hampden Clothing, legendary local cuisine, historical tours, and a golf tournament and private concert with Needtobreathe at the Daniel Island Club. It was a robust encounter with Charleston, sparing none of the senses. 

And you just don't punctuate that with a half-hearted final dinner. Particularly when it's also the culmination of the trip's philanthropic component. This group had gathered not only to refresh with some southern hospitality, but moreover to begin engagement with the critical aims of OneWorld Health. Having managed East African mission trips for this organization, I'm intimately familiar with its mission - to provide quality, affordable healthcare to people in need - and its conviction that "where you are born should not determine whether or not you have access to basic human needs." And I was honored to facilitate the connection between these generous New Yorkers and OneWorld Health, knowing how each will forever change the other. 

I also sensed this was the moment to pull out all the stops. Custom designing the swankiest of events is where KLH Group knocks it out of the park, and flexing those muscles again was sure to feel sweet. Honoring the spirit of the space, we partnered with top local outfits to elevate every detail. A florist to transform the life of the space with greenery that seemed to bloom right from the center of the sprawling table. A lighting company to place the perfect arrangement of flickering candles - and cast bewitching shadows on the dignified, dark decor. A local caterer to showcase the most coveted ingredients - and skilled hands - in the Lowcountry. Music to transform the vibe, keepsake-worthy menus and quote cards, luxury transportation... every detail underscoring that, after a long year of scaling down, we indeed still have it in us to zhuzh it up.  

As our elegant guests shared unrestrained laughter and hatched big-hearted plans, I looked around that stunning room and thought, "This is why we must do nice things." Even better? Doing nice things while doing really nice things. No elaborate justification or explicit permission needed. Shout it from the rooftop. Make that the posh rooftop bar. In pants that button. 

Mitigation. Suppression. Containment. Distance.

We’ve become intimately familiar with these concepts over the past year. And we have struggled with them. We’ve bristled at adjusting our every move to avoid an invisible exposure. It’s been hard to not work and play with abandon. Imagination and discovery have been sequestered by fear and quarantine.

And, let’s face it: it’s wholly unnatural for us to not gather.

But here’s another truth: For kids with life-threatening illnesses, these are notions that have always been necessity. In order to give themselves the best chance for recovery, they are told they must isolate, avoid, heed. To come out the other side of a crisis they didn’t create (and barely understand), they must behave in ways that run counter to their little human spirits.

Sound familiar?
The difference is, they’ve endured this as a personal crisis, not a pandemic.

In late December, Lisa and Mark Albritton traveled from Atlanta to Charleston to participate in a KLH Group clubhouse build, as part of a family holiday gathering. Heartened by a sense of “permission” to comingle service and celebration – and find safe fellowship in a sprawling, festive outdoor space – the couple left wanting more. And wanting to share that more, not just with their inner circle, but those that rippled out beyond it.

The Albrittons returned to Atlanta, but kept in touch with us while they drew in those concentric circles. Reaching out to friends, neighbors, and local businesses, they set in motion a contagious call to action. In short order, they had the commitment of 40 participants and seven sponsoring companies for a local clubhouse build. The community had been truly galvanized. And within that community were three kids incredibly deserving of their own clubhouses.

Four year-old Emma Gray was recently diagnosed with a (treatable) malignant rhabdoid tumor in her pelvis and is halfway through her chemotherapy regimen.

Eight year-old Collin Rogers (who happens to be Emma’s neighbor) has fought kidney cancer (Wilm’s Tumor) while facing additional fronts: autism, sensory processing disorder, ADHD, and suspected Charcot Marie Tooth Disorder.

And at just four years old, Kenni Xydias has been through multiple surgeries and chemotherapy in (successful!) treatment of an illness exceedingly rare in children: ovarian cancer.

EMMA GRAY

Collin Rogers

Kenni Xydias

Under a gorgeous Georgia sky on March 27, our inaugural “community clubhouse team” assembled at Line Creek Brewing Co. in Peachtree City. By the time the first drill bit was spinning, there wasn’t a stranger on the crew. As the construction hustle progressed, kids played in a curated “camp,” Southside Church served up lunch, and Line Creek offered cold beverages. At the end of a day no one really wanted to end, the sweet new handcrafted spaces were hoisted and transported to their new homes, open for the restoration of unfettered play for a trio of truly amazing kids. And Mark and Lisa, the first Ambassadors of our new affiliate-style program, felt unshakably lifted by the network they created… and the sight of what that network created.

Unmitigated fun. Unsuppressed reward.

Compassion that can’t be contained.

Unity that can’t be distanced.

How wonderful that we don’t have to reach the end of our collective crisis to have these back – and to restore them to the little warriors of more solo battles.

A HUGE Thank You to all the
sponsors that participated in making this day special for Emma, Collin & Kenni!

Bright spots amid dark days: A confession

Can I tell you a secret?

I didn't hate 2020.

I'm just not sure if I'm allowed to say that out loud. It seems wildly unpopular and weirdly insensitive to have liked - or even loved - the past twelve months of life. I mean, is it "okay" to have reflective affection for a year to which the world seemed to have bid a collective good riddance (for good reason)? I don't know if it is. But I do know that I do. And that I can tell you exactly why.

There is no denying that the shadow cast by the pandemic, political and racial unrest, and economic crisis looms large over any look-back on 2020. In profound, frequent, and sustained ways, we felt sick and shattered. But to let the buds and blooms that broke through in those 12 months wither beneath that darkness would be tragic. They deserve illumination.

At the start of the year, amazing corporate champions of children joined us to beautify spaces of learning and healing. When coronavirus ground daily life to a halt, we were able to provide life-sustaining outreach - from groceries to tutoring - to our most vulnerable families. As it became clear that in-person events would be months away, we engaged literary and "royal" dignitaries to inspire and delight our young warriors with virtual surprises. We powered up the comprehensive strategy of Mkakati, the newest branch of our business. And, when we could do so safely, we resumed our hallmark impact initiative: the clubhouse build.

In fact, we closed 2020 with one of our most moving and memorable builds yet. Our little friend, Izzy Bondell, has been in an intense battle with a stage 4 Wilms tumor diagnosed last summer. Since then, this five year-old has endured chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and the fearsome complications of infection. Through it all, Izzy has shown the strength of a giant - but she is still just a kid. And she needed the freedom to resume acting like one.

On December 8, the "elves" of Salon Alexandria in Mount Pleasant showed up in traditional workshop wear to construct a special space for Izzy. This was the salon's holiday party, so it was only appropriate that the hard work was hugged by festive music, snacks, and hot chocolate. A couple KLH and Alexandria kids were on hand to help deck Izzy's new halls and, of course, SANTA stopped by to make sure the handcraft and merrymaking were up to snuff (they were).

Each clubhouse - and the play that happens within it - signals an intense light of good where we may have forgotten good was still growing. It reveals what I couldn't (and we shouldn't) keep a secret: joy is a counterbalance to, not a casualty of, pain. And where we find it, we should accept it, be thankful for it, and acknowledge it.

Yes, even in that year.

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How we got started

Buongiorno,

From this cafe in Rome, Italy, my thoughts are filled with reflection on where I have been, where I am, and where I am headed. Spring in the event planning world, is like Christmas for the retail industry. The irony that I am in Rome, during April is not lost on me. For the last 10 years, I would never have imagined traveling to Rome with a bride to be, instead of working diligently within the walls of my office in South Carolina. And yet, here I am working with an incredible client, doing what I love, all the while getting to take a minute and think through introducing myself, under my new company, all because I took the step.

For the better part of my 20’s, I had the privilege of working for an established and well respected Destination Management Company representing one of the premiere resorts in the world. I had, what most would say, the best job on the East Coast.

In 2012, my life changed forever. My husband and I served on a mission trip to East Africa. Being welcomed in to the lives of such beautiful people filled with kindness and gentleness, people with no worldly possessions, impoverished at the most significant degree, and yet people with richness of character left a significant mark on me, one that reshaped my lens through which I viewed the world and my role in it. This was the beginning of my journey, a journey that gains momentum daily for ways to continue to be a part of these lives in East Africa; to forge new ways to provide resources and support to this area of the world and beyond. The shock in my initial homecoming rocked my world. The ball was set in motion, but the question was, how to find a way to blend my successful career in event management with my passion for serving with my time and resources to the underprivileged and less fortunate.

In the fall of 2015, I made a significant decision in my career to leave the secure job in Destination Management. Leaving this job gave me space and freedom to create and think outside the box as I worked to achieve my new goals. I could see that creating experiences that matter was worth taking this leap of faith.  In doing so, I started the KLH Group.  

KLH Group is a meeting and event management resource (Company) that excels in creating events with meaning and substance. It starts with a client’s vision and ends by making a difference in the local community. 

The personalized commitment KLH makes to each individual client, takes the relationship to a level of friendship that is beyond what you might expect. Through KLH Group, I am passionately setting out to assist my “friends” in creating memorable experiences for their companies while making a difference for someone less fortunate throughout the process.

I hope to inspire you in the event industry and help YOU become a difference maker. 

Ciao, 

Hope

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Photo Credit **Josh Drake Photography 

Hope Caldwell founded KLH Group in 2016.  She and her husband welcomed their son, Kenneth "Liam" Caldwell, home from China in 2015.  She resides in Charleston, S.C.

In The News…

Charleston Business Magazine

“Caldwell founded KLH Group, an event production firm specializing in social impact within the luxury event market, in 2015. To date, KLH Group and its clients have impacted more than 250,000 kids’ lives and a global impact of more than 230,000 meals for children in developing countries. The company’s profits have grown by 200 percent over the past five years, but her nominator, Victoria Hill of KLH Group, says even those impressive numbers don’t do Caldwell justice. She calls Caldwell a trailblazer, and says she consistently supports her employees as well as entrepreneurs looking for advice.

After eight years working on luxury events at five-star properties, Caldwell went on a mission trip that changed the trajectory of her career. After returning from Uganda ,she still loved event production and destination management services, but felt conflicted about the opulence of the industry. Marrying her passions for sustainable community service and event production resulted in the creation of KLH Group. Projects include building clubhouses for pediatric cancer patients, designing dog houses for veteran service dogs, filling meals for disaster relief and developing mentorship programs for underserved children.

In addition to running a company, she is a thought leader on implementing corporate social responsibility with clients, and is a published author and speaker. She co-produces an annual event with NEEDTOBREATHE benefitting One World Health, raising more than $250,000 per year for sustainable clinics in developing countries, and she worked with many Fortune 500 companies, including Wells Fargo and Newell Brands,, as well as organizations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

What is your favorite book that you would recommend reading?

Besides the Bible, I’d suggest Dave Ramsey’s “EntreLeadership” and Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich.”

Who was your most influential mentor?

Thankfully, I have had a handful of people I’ve looked up to throughout my life. At Johnson & Wales University, my travel and tourism professor Christopher Desessa guided me into the hospitality industry. Post-college, I had an opportunity to work on a program for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. My contact with the foundation was instrumental in my growth during that time. My good friend and mentor, Sharon Martin, played an integral part of my confidence building. And present day, the women in my mastermind group help shape my daily path with their wisdom- especially my great friend Hilary Johnson, founder & CEO of Hatch Tribe.

What advice would you give a young woman who is interested in starting a career in your field?

1) Look for a company whose values you share. The event industry can be pretty robust, with a lot of different personalities. Get your feet wet with different styles of companies, but ultimately be on the lookout for an owner or mentor who shares your values and passions.

2) Be Persistent. If someone does not respond to your request for coffee or return your phone call for an interview - be persistent. Think outside the box. Where does he/she get coffee? Resourcefulness is the best quality someone can have in this industry.

3) Be ready to wear A LOT of hats. No day is EVER the same in the event industry, so you must be willing to be everything to everyone on “game day” to get the job done.

4) Fail Fast. Keep trying new things, but if you’re going to fail, make it quick and get back on the horse. This industry is all about innovation and shiny objects, do don’t be scared to get out and try.”

A Dedicated Month for a Deserving Mission

I’ve never totally bought into the idea the calendar tells us when best to celebrate or commemorate. I mean, I guess I’m basically on board with birthdays and anniversaries – that mark is logical, and there is generally little downside to observing them (though I would argue that we need to dote on those we love more outside of the days they were born or made vows). I can still see value in holidays like Mother’s and Father’s Days and Memorial and Veterans Days, though their scheduling seems more arbitrary and 24 hours of appreciation is woefully inadequate.

So it would appear to run counter to my nature to get behind a month-long recognition of anything. But pediatric cancer isn’t just anything. And some real, measurable good comes from illuminating it for 30 days.

President Barack Obama issued the first presidential proclamation recognizing National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in September 2012, and reprised the signing in 2015 and 2016. And though it wasn’t until September 2019 that a resolution was introduced to Congress to recognize National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, it passed with unanimous consent.

Today, the annual health campaign known as National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month is organized by major health organizations to increase awareness of pediatric cancer and to raise funds for research into its cause, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure.

Of course, these efforts take place year-round. But shedding a yearly light on the impact of childhood cancer – particularly for those whom it has not directly touched – permits more focused attention to the issue.

On any given day, for example, few people know that:

·        Cancer kills more children in the United States than any other disease.

·        At least 300,000 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer each year.

·        About 420,000 adults in the U.S. are childhood cancer survivors.

·        With increasingly better therapies, more than 80% of U.S. childhood cancer patients now become long-term survivors.

Here at the KLH Group, this cause – these kids – are literally always on our hearts. Through our clubhouse builds and other community engagement events, we’ve impacted more than 50 kids with childhood cancer over the past three years. It has been our honor to restore a bit of the playful ease and sparkle their illnesses have claimed, and our great pleasure to develop lasting relationships with them and with their families. And when they meet one another at build events, our clubhouse community grows. Many of these children are now in remission, and continuing to enjoy their precious clubhouses.

Of course, tragically, some of these young warriors have passed. Modern science has not yet eradicated childhood cancer altogether, nor assured the promise of its cure. Until that day arrives, we hope that the 30 in September work especially hard to enlighten, educate, and galvanize. They certainly will for us.

Global Leadership Team Pairs with Lowes Home Improvement and KLH Group

“As a company of leading brands and great people, we realize that being innovative and successful in the global market requires collaboration externally as well as internally.”

— Newell Brands

“We had the huge privilege of working with Hope and her team on and event we were organizing for a large FMCG organization. I have organized many ‘team builds’ as part of events we have done with global leadership teams, but this was something very special! Team activities are often great fun, but have little lasting impact. This is not the case with Doors To Dream. The participants were truly moved and felt the importance of the work they were doing for the children from the moment Hope started to speak to them. Not only that but they realized that work with purpose can transcend many obstacles and they used that thought for the rest of the event and way past it. Working with Hope and her team was also a dream, she is super professional and very courageous. We were inspired, our client was inspired and we will work with Doors to Dream as many times as we can! You should too”

— Chris Pote, MDC Event Group

Partnering with Lowes Home Improvement and KLHGroup, Newell Brands was able to offer their employees an afternoon of memories to last a lifetime. Accepting the “clubhouse challenge”, a corporate social responsibility experience, Newell elevated their vision of building a strong foundation from the philosophical to the literal. The Newell Brand employees arrived to their “worksite” at Mingo Point, Kiawah Island, to find pallets of materials and smiling faces of 20+ deserving children eager to watch the creation of their very own clubhouse. The magic happens in the making of these houses into homes. In teams of 10-12, Newell’s incredible employees collaborated with the children to build a “mini-house” fashioned after classic Charleston single family architecture. The smiles and confidence on the children’s faces, the shouts of glee, and giggles of excitement enhance the musical score of live music, hammering, and drilling, while participants work together with growing inspiration to work hard without complaint or any personal gain. With heads held high, standing tall, these children look to a future that includes a new open door, one that cancer doesn’t close, offering them a customized space to imagine and play without abandon, providing lasting memories for their siblings and parents alike.

Humanity in the Humidity

It’s hot. August in the Lowcountry is not for the faint of heart. Five minutes outside will test your wicking, steal your breath, and perm your hair.

But, by and large, Lowcountrians are not faint of heart. So when the second hottest month of the year rolls in behind the first hottest month of the year, natives and “new locals” alike square their shoulders in defiance of an oppressive climate. It’s an “I survived July, so come at me, August.” A turning the other cheek. A double dog dare.

It’s just this kind of spirit we find time and again in our corporate partners. Not only are they game for social impact events in the late summer heat, but they stand against the notion that tangible glimmers of joy can’t be found in painful experiences. They are as hopeful as they are hardy.

In just the first two weeks of this month, KLH Group guided two clubhouse build events for a half dozen children.

The first took place on Thursday, August 6 at Berkeley Electric Cooperative. The father of one-year old Neuroblastoma patient Beckham Grooms works at the Moncks Corner co-op, and his colleagues mobilized at the mention of a build event for young Beckham and his big sister, Rayleigh.

Rather than take the effort off-site, the leadership team accepted KLH’s offer to bring the event right to headquarters - an option that is available to all of our business partners. After just two hours of hard work and handcraft, the clubhouse that Beckham would share with his sister (or was it the other way around?) was move-in ready.

On Friday, August 14, KLH and another amazing corporate client headed to coastal Georgia to construct four more clubhouses, each for a child needing – and deserving – a special space. After 25 weeks of chemo and radiation, three year-old Elizabeth Davidson “rang the bell,” signaling the success of her treatment against Nephroblastoma. Since earlier this summer, four year-old Owen Wise has been enduring radiation therapy to shrink the Wilm’s Tumor in his abdomen. For three years, Chase Busby – now an energetic, healthy eight year-old – battled Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia by way of chemotherapy. Brandon Robinson completed five rounds of chemotherapy to beat Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and celebrated his eighth birthday – along with fellow August 14 birthday buddy Owen – on the very day of the clubhouse build.

Click Above for Video and make sure its in 720HD view

Even during the dog days of summer, there is little heaviness felt when our clubhouse crews move lumber, knock nails, and swipe paint. And there is downright levity when the ribbon across that child-size doorway is snipped by little hands wielding scissors.

Shirts may cling and hair might curl, but August is no time to take a breather around here. Not when kids are counting on us.

We are slowly repairing - The Indefatigability of Charleston

For hundreds of years the city of Charleston has learned how to repair. The city was already licking its wounds from a category 3 hurricane the previous year that had damaged 90% of homes, exacerbated economic decline, and laid bare urban blight.

So when Charlestonians detected those first rumbles underfoot on August 31, 1886, it felt like just a continuation of the battering. But it would be much more.

On that blistering summer evening, the most powerful seismic event ever recorded in the southeastern United States rattled the Holy City. Measuring between 6.6 and 7.6 on the Richter scale, the earthquake claimed at least one hundred lives (though some historians estimate fatalities may have reached five times that number), destroyed thousands of buildings, and cost the city nearly $6 million (about $170 million today).

Over the three years that followed, Charleston would experience more than 300 aftershocks, leaving its residents emotionally hostage to an unpredictable, lingering menace.

And yet, Charleston was not paralyzed, stymied, or even wholly disheartened. In fact, according to the National Archives, the response of her citizens showed model resolve: “Without state and federal assistance, the people of Charleston affected the most rapid, humane, and financially responsible recovery from the destruction of a large scale disaster in American history up to that time.

Charlestonians were back to work repairing their city in a week and had rebuilt the city in 14 months. Outpourings of sympathy and assistance came from all over a country that had recently been divided by the Civil War, despite South Carolina’s leadership in it.

Additionally, much of what is generally now known about earthquakes was a result of the scientific study of the Charleston quake. As a result of the area’s hard work, the people of Charleston won the respect and admiration of much of the rest of the country and the city was again seen as one that should be visited.”

The earthquake of 1886 would be one of many natural disasters that plagued the Lowcountry in the late 19th Century. But it would be one of many that, collectively, galvanized in Charleston a re-birth – of civic engagement, robust innovation, and an artistic renaissance.

And that turnabout would be just one of so many others by which Charleston would come to be characterized.

In the face of historic flooding and more frequent hurricanes of consequential category, Charleston today is embarking on a massive fortification effort to protect the peninsula for future generations.

With the acknowledgment that real reform is not accomplished through rhetoric but through action – and that black lives matter – city leadership through every department is partnering with advocacy groups, business owners, and citizens to enact real changes in Charleston’s observance of true social justice.

In the acknowledgment that history is not heritage, Charleston is leading the shift from celebrating to relegating its most divisive formative figures and symbols - from leading the march for the removal of the Confederate flag from the Capital dome to the dismantling of the statue of slavery advocate John C. Calhoun from the city’s center square.

Charleston is known for its hospitality, to be sure. But beyond the glossy pages of travel publications, she has more profound hallmarks: swift resiliency following natural disasters, thoughtful restoration in the aftermath of wars, and compassionate responses to violence and civil unrest.

Charleston is gutsy, but not impulsive.

Charleston is pliable, but never a pushover.

Charleston has fortitude and faith and prudence.

As all great cities, ours is always a work in progress - that is for certain. But so is this: the hardiness and dignity she has brought to these challenges is the same she will bring – that she is bringing - to a pandemic.

We’ve got this.

We Need Some Help!!

KA-POW!!! Sure, knowing big things come in small packages, one might have been modestly prepared for this third grader's larger-than-life, Transformer-in-a-tiny-body presence. But what you wouldn't have seen coming was an even smaller secret weapon: his smile.

It was a glimpse into greatness. A flash of his phenomenal force. It was even missing a tooth, and yet, it yielded infinite positive moxie. In fact, that hole in his grin seemed to serve as an emblem of what was so remarkable about Trenton.

Brain cancer had put a gap in his fishing, rock-collecting, drawing, cartoon-watching young life - but the degree to which he remained fiercely protective of his siblings, loving to his parents, and joyful with his friends signaled a childhood hardly breached.

Trenton was an honest-to-goodness hero - which is why he needed a real hero's headquarters.

KLH Group in Charleston, SC gathered Trenton, his family, and a crew of volunteer friends to handcraft a clubhouse for this extraordinary boy. Until his last day, this little dwelling was a special space for Trenton, a mission control to call his own and share with those in need of some fantastic fun.

Can a smile be a superpower? See for yourself by watching this precious video, and see what Trenton's bright spark ignited.

He inspired KLH Group, a company that galvanizes compassionate crews to build treasured clubhouses for other brave, deserving children. Since that inaugural event back in 2016, KLH has impacted over 230k children.... and counting. Trenton couldn't have known what he started, but he did have an enduring dream: TO BE FAMOUS. He once sang “The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow” at the top of his lungs. When he realized he was being filmed he asked his counselor if she would put that on the internet and “MAKE HIM FAMOUS”.

We simply can't think of anyone more deserving of this wish, and we frankly can't imagine not making it happen for him, BUT WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Let's introduce the sweet spirit of this courageous kid - and the mighty mission that is part of his legacy - to the audiences of The Ellen Show, Good Morning America, and Today Show!

Please share, and let that soaring smile shine down even brighter.

Stretching Our Services with One Small Word

Sometimes strategy comes together in a corner conference room of a high-rise office building, a consortium of top minds lining the perimeter of a sprawling mahogany table. The process could take hours or even days, fueled by continental breakfasts and boxed lunches, and guided by an agenda with a dozen PowerPoint decks.

And sometimes strategy is less grandiose. Sometimes it lacks the luxury of forethought, process, debate, and catering. Sometimes it happens just about the same time the need for it becomes apparent.

In a small village in Uganda, preparedness for a missionary health clinic is more scramble, less strategy. It’s not that African villagers can’t plan or consider; they simply need to conserve more of their resources for simply doing. Only when they are faced with an imposed go-time is it truly time to go – the movement is messy and often inefficient, but still inspirational to watch it assemble. It is a strategy in its own right, with its own Swahili name: Mkakati.

Pronounced kah-kahtee, it is a phenomenon we witness every time we are in Africa with One World Health. The villages we visit operate in a near constant state of need. Basic need. When most moments of most days are dedicated to the barest life-sustaining aims, there is little time or tolerance for forward-thinking. And yet, when a community has the opportunity for a One World Health clinic, it mobilizes with order and intention. Every villager knows that in order for their families to receive treatment, the village must first meet clear criteria: a pastor-in-charge, translators, accessible water, latrines, partitioned triage areas, a straight line of benches to serve as a queue. Individual members of this community might live in daily chaos, but they understand that getting medical care to 400 of their own in one day requires more orderly effort. A strategy. Mkakati.

Seeing it come together, time after time, has been so inspiring. It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately.

With Mkakati, those villagers achieve what ordinarily seems out of reach. They apply that strategy because they know what can result, and how much is at stake. It is worth the effort, the time, the resources. It changes lives, not just moments in those lives.

With a stubborn hunch that this notion could apply to what we do at KLH Group, we’ve begun to construct the fourth pillar of our business. Our destination management, event production, and social impact services are strong, and overlap beautifully as needed and where possible. Our newest arm – named, of course, Mkakati – will offer our clients a more comprehensive, long-term philanthropic strategy, from local humanitarianism to global citizenship.

How will Mkakati differ from what we are already doing? What will it look like in practice? How will it further the missions of our new and existing clients? Let’s use as an example an industry leader that has partnered with us to put on a social impact event that blends corporate fellowship with meaningful philanthropy. Company executives spend a day constructing backyard clubhouses for a dozen pediatric cancer patients while the children and their families enjoy some luxury and recreation at the adjacent Lowcountry resort. Atday’s end, the kids get the “keys” to their own sacred spaces, the parents have been gifted a rare day of reprieve, and more than 100 members of the organization’s leadership have experienced the joy of giving back.

This is a wonderful scenario. And for us, it never gets old. We delight in (and, okay, sometimes choke up over) the generosity of our corporate partners. We believe in the power of people, and would never have the hubris to think that we’ve tapped into something revolutionary.

It’s just that, now, we believe we can offer something more evolutionary.

What if we brought those same 12 families back to our next event with that company? Or if we asked those 12 families to nominate 12 more kids for that company to support at its next event? How about if we were to thread a commonality through the next eight events already on the books for 2021, so that by year’s end, that partner company is able to deliver metrics demonstrating a different kind of impact born from a different kind of strategy? A strategy that is farther-reaching and innovative, mission-aligned and impactful, accelerating and evolutionary?

Freshly galvanized by the clubhouse build, our client asks, “What’s next?” Engaging our Mkakati program, we set aside two days for a deep dive with the company’s events team and decision leaders. We assess the organization’s aim to serve, their target beneficiary, their desired messaging, the scope and style of events they’d like to design, and the ultimate goals of each. Armed with a holistic view of their events over the next year, we then spend the next eight weeks completing a needs analysis of the beneficiaries, designing a practicable storyline, and curating projects exclusively for this client.

Where the social impact event is an important pause on a company’s everyday operations, Mkakati is a pathway that runs in tandem with its operational goals. It does not merely check a CSR box on the corporate calendar or mark the achievement of an annual giving campaign. Partnering with KLH Group over the course of a year, or even a decade, our corporate partners maximize the value of event spending, increase philanthropic impact, grow employee engagement, and make every single event more memorable.

Just as in Africa, Mkakati is neither particularly easy nor fundamentally required. But when it is employed, it is a source of pride and life-change. That Swahili notion of strategy is always – not sometimes – truly remarkable.

An Eggman, A Queen, and COVID-19

We’re all showing cracks these days.

The semi-permanent indentation from a brow furrowed by worry. The fissures at the fingertips, cuticles parched by constant handwashing.

We feel those fractures. And some days, we feel downright broken.

The latest blow delivered by the Coronavirus pandemic really knocked us down - more for what it did to a dozen amazing kids than to us. We had scheduled a huge clubhouse build for May 6 at Palmetto Bluff, and at the end of that day these dwellings would have been move-in ready for 12 young cancer patients. But safety concerns in the age of coronavirus forced us to postpone this event. It broke our hearts to tell these kids they'd have to wait - too much of their lives has already been put on hold.

So we called in empathic reinforcement from someone who knows a thing or two about being cracked and broken: Humpty Dumpty.

And then we hailed some fairytale royalty for, you know, a bit of star-studded, sparkle effect.

On the day originally earmarked for clubhouse construction, the 12 kids will participate in a live read-aloud (over Zoom, of course) with Queen Elsa of Erendelle. In advance of the storybook session, each child will receive a copy of Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat's "After the Fall," a cleverly-crafted and brilliantly-illustrated tale of Humpty Dumpty's life following his infamous incident. As the children follow along, Queen Elsa will share with her audience how the book's brave protagonist faces his newfound fear of heights and discovers that "life begins when you get back up." Following the reading, each child will get a one-on-one call with Elsa.

We simply couldn't let May 6 come and go without some replacement fanfare. The kids (as well as our KLH Group team and partners) had watched this date on the calendar with grand anticipation. It is our hope that the intermediate storybook event restores a little hope, speaks to inner heroes, and applies a loving bandage to a crack on the heart.

That batch of clubhouse kids will still get their sweet sanctuaries, as soon as we are able to get the build event rescheduled. When they do, they'll be over the moon... and maybe Elsa can return to tell us about the cow's experience with that (hey, diddle diddle).

A look at the First Quarter 2020....

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AMID A CRISIS, SEEING - AND BEING - OURSELVES AT OUR BEST

I'm not a fan of "everything happens for a reason." It's a statement that can make the afflicted feel deprived of their right to feel worried or wounded.

But I will say that the worst of times often offers us the opportunity to reclaim the best of ourselves.

It's like a kind of reset.

As we try to balance the advice to not panic with directives to maintain three-foot boundaries with other humans; work, educate, and worship from home; and, apparently, observe frugality with bath tissue, we certainly feel conflicted. To be charged with guidelines that seem so unnatural - and unsettling - teases us with the very fear we are being advised to deny.

Images and anecdotes on the news, though generally well-intended, sound a most shrill alarm. They churn the pit of dread in our bellies (or light our hair on fire), and those feelings are normal. Because these are not normal times.

But they are just the kind of to-the-brink times that kick us out of complacency and, honestly, make us really see one another again (ironically, when we are supposed to be seeing less and less of one another!).

We've already witnessed wonderful bits of this happening: educational outfits offering web-based resources and classes free of charge, local restaurants and stores integrating delivery or curbside pick-up, neighbors stocking food banks and blessing boxes, children making cards for senior living residents no longer permitted visitors. These may seem like small gestures, but they make a tangible, positive impact on individuals. Collectively, these efforts are life-changing and, perhaps more importantly, purpose-affirming.

To this end, KLH Group is responding to the pandemic pandemonium with LOVE and support.

With intention and action, we are thinking of others – mainly our clubhouse families – in these hours. Many are separated, with one parent staying at a child's hospital bedside while the other attends to children at home. Moreover, some parents are essential workers and must leave their kids home in their commitment to serve the public. 

So we are reclaiming some of the control we've lost to the coronavirus, and harnessing our need to react not by hunkering and hoarding, but by assessing and addressing. Here are just a few ways our team will deploy to our clubhouse community:

• Grocery delivery, either through instacart membership or personal drop-offs.

• Donations of gift cards to local restaurants for carry-out.

• Engaging more comprehensive strategies - from home service needs to educational resources and tutoring - where the gaps are greatest

• For one or two of our hardest-hit clubhouse families, a monetary donation matched by partnering companies.

Of course, we are a extending a robust invitation to those in our network to join us in seeing this crisis through a different lens. We welcome existing and new partner companies to experience what giving at a uniquely uncertain, incalculable time does for their organizations, for their teams, and for the world.

It's our moment to reset. At KLH Group, we’ve truly never felt more conviction. Now is the time.

Want to jump in and help?

Support those who are immunocompromised during the coronavirus.

The KLH Group is actively delivering much needed supplies and monetary gifts to families in the Charleston area affected by the virus.

Venmo Hope below. 100% of donations will go directly to families through support of local restaurant gift cards or grocery deliveries.