Momentum Award: Ariel Durgana and Ronnie Seeney

“It was an incredible experience because we knew that it went really well,” Durgana said. “We were getting compliments all over the place. BCPD called it the best Showdown they had ever seen, which is an honor coming from them.”

“I almost cried on stage when we were presenting the checks,” Seeney said. “One, we’re giving this money to people who will try to better themselves, and it was almost five months of work coming down to this. It was finally done.”

Durgana and Seeney showed expert management in Showdown, but that success was shown in the ALC Boat Cruise and the Winter Ball, as well. “Ariel and Ronnie’s real success was creating such a strong department,” Shan said. “They faced a lot of hurdles and were able to handle them with ease.”

The programming directors agree, though, that these events are nothing without their audience. “Everyone enjoyed themselves,” Durgana said. “I think that’s the biggest thing for an event planner. If everyone else is having a great time, you’re having a great time.”

This experience had an even larger take-away for Durgana and Seeney, however. “This whole thing taught us not to be afraid of doing something different or taking risks,” Durgana said. “It could end up being for the better. It’s not just because they’re different. It’s because these changes were creative and insightful.”

Seeney agreed. “I now think that you really need to stick to what you think is best,” she said. “A lot of people said, ‘Are you sure you want to do that? Is it for the best?’ It would have been easy to be like, ‘Fine, we’ll settle,’ but because we were gung-ho about it, we stuck to our plan.”

And this duo has a breezy two-and-a-half hours worth of proof that it was for the best.