Miami Lakes committee finalizes logistics for May awards ceremony, schedules follow-up meeting

The Miami Lakes Events & Beautification Subcommittee spent significant time on logistics for the town—s Awards of Excellence, reviewing catering, table and centerpiece purchases, volunteer assignments, sponsorships and the program printing schedule.

Committee members confirmed the event start time and many operational details: the ceremony starts at 6:30 p.m., the committee will order navy blue tablecloths with gold chargers and white/linen-style napkins, and the town—s culinary students and volunteers will assist with food service. "Starts at 06:30," a committee member said during the scheduling discussion.

Why it matters: The Awards of Excellence is the committee—s major spring event honoring students, teachers and community nominees; the subcommittee said details must be finalized weeks in advance to allow printing, catering and setup.

Logistics and vendors discussed: the committee named Vicky Bakery ("Vicky Baker") as a primary food/cake contact and asked staff or volunteers to confirm whether the caterer can double appetizer orders compared with last year. Members discussed ordering centerpieces (sets of 4 per table), chargers/placemats and up to 15 tables as planning estimates. They also noted last year—s external program printing cost ($420 for 100 programs) and said they will try to print in-house on cardstock if the town—s printing lab can handle the quantity.

Volunteers and on-site roles: committee members assigned tasks for parking control, registration, RSVP management, and audiovisual testing. The group requested volunteers to monitor reserved seating, recruit student volunteers for serving, and confirm the DJ and sound check schedule. A committee member asked the DJ and AV team to arrive early for setup and sound testing.

Sponsorships and budget: the committee confirmed a $2,000 sponsorship from Headquarter Toyota and a $300 sponsorship from another donor. Members discussed whether to request council authorization if the committee wishes to raise sponsorship fees or seek to change pricing/structure next year.

Next steps: the subcommittee set a follow-up meeting to finalize nominations and logistics. Members agreed to meet on Monday, April 14, at 6 p.m. (one meeting earlier in April will serve as the committee—s working session to finalize winners and delegate tasks for May). Staff members were asked to circulate vendor links, confirm caterer quantities and provide a consolidated run-of-show for final editing.

The session included several administrative votes unrelated to the awards: the committee approved minutes and passed a motion earlier in the meeting to add a PTSA breakfast acknowledgement to a future agenda.

Members asked staff to order supplies and confirm costs and to return with final counts and invoices before the next meeting.