American Royal
September 25, 2020
About this time last year, I would be attempting to put on jeans instead of leggings for the first time since Friday. The smell of my smoky drenched hair is starting to fade after the multiple showers. I am trying to get back into the game and realize I can’t spend my whole week recovering. What am I talking about? The American Royal. This last Friday would have been our 9th year competing. It started off with Dan, his brother Tim, and his friend Nick renting a camper and setting up at the Kemper. It was strictly about throwing a party and seeing how many shots we could take off our neighbor’s ice luge.
Now though the event has changed in a way. We went from having around 30 of our closest friends showing up to a guest list of 300 that had multiple big-name sponsors, including our brokerage throwing in dough to invite our clients from the past year. It was a day that we spent many man(wo) hours on and I like to say it went on without a hitch. We zoomed with a few friends this year celebrating what would be one of our biggest events throughout the year. The American Royal to us was so much more than the buttery meat cubes of burnt ends. Our event encompassed people from all around KC and from all different backgrounds. Like I mentioned, we had some big sponsors over the years. When we would meet with them, we had to make it perfectly clear, we are not throwing a white tablecloth party. We called it a “black tablecloth party.” We brought the fun but did it old school. Afterall, you can always buy tickets or go to a fundraiser with classy drinks being held by your four fingers since your pinky would be flying free.
We did the American Royal our way. Did we have multiple bartenders and a door guy to make sure you felt elite? Yes. We also made sure that you had your choice of jello shots and for this year knew the secret Phil Collins lyric that got into the best professional looking college party this side of the Mississippi. At first, we were nervous meeting with sponsors because we thought our event wouldn’t be what their clients wanted. We were so wrong. Ask our Mayor if you don’t believe me. Every year the sponsors came back and were always the last to leave staring at the fireworks while laughing with all their new best friends.
Basically, what I learned this year is that I truly miss throwing events and seeing our clients and meeting new people. It’s a beautiful thing to see people from all different backgrounds to come together and celebrate savory food and good company. The blood, sweat, and tears were all worth it because just for a moment, we could stop and say “Take a Look at Me Now” as we were all having Another Day in Paradise.