| A small house in North Carolina, a plantation-sized backyard,
and pressure for the new president of the town's largest employer
to put on a party no one would soon forget - these were the parameters
for the first soiree Marna and husband Bill Prather, current
CEO and Vice President of El Paso Barbeque, Inc., hosted. The
Prathers, however, were not to be undone... their party defied
expectations.
"So here I am," Bill recalls good-naturedly, "the
president of the company, and everybody's looking to me to do
something." He was the new kid on Rocky Mount, North Carolina's
block, freshly arrived from Miami and, before then, London. And
while throwing a party paled in significance to his responsibilities
as the head of a fast-food franchise, it was a heavy task. After
all, this was the South in the late 80's - there was a routine
deluge of invitations extended and accepted, and decadent celebration
was the name of the corporate game. "They were always throwing
parties," Bill explains. "That was probably one of
the main means of socializing on the weekends and holidays."
Invitations were sent out; Bill, wearing black pants and an
open-collared tuxedo shirt, greeted the 300 people who arrived.
He ushered them past the piano player and into the backyard where
he'd erected a tent with a chandelier. A float laden with fresh
flowers defied the winter weather, resting gently on the lake.
While an a cappella doo-wop band from Boston was practicing its
craft, a roving sleight-of-hand magician was entertaining the
crowd. Food [and an ample supply of alcohol] was everywhere,
and guests, who were accustomed to the usual stuffy cocktail
parties, had the time of their lives.
This, the Prathers say, was the beginning of their corporate
entertaining, a phenomenon as useful as it was pleasurable. They
would throw parties for anything - holidays, recruiting new executives,
thanking employees you name it, they did it.
Their first party may have been 20 years ago, and the mink
coats and ball gowns may have been retired in favor of chic and
sleek fashions, but certain elements of the Prathers' parties
remain indelible. First among them is the entertainment. "Everybody
can serve food," Marna quips, "and everybody can pour
a stiff drink, but you have to have something that keeps everything
going for a couple of hours. Otherwise you just sit there, you
eat your hors d'oeuvres, and you leave." Hence the a cappella
band, the magician, or in the case of one party hosted for restaurant
management... comedian Jeff Foxworthy. Long before his "red-neck"
routine became the stuff of dinner-table conversation [and emulation),
he was hired to do an hour-long gig for one of Bill's events
in North Carolina.
Decor and food are, of course, the other two major components
of any party. For the Prathers, get togethers usually centered
around holidays or specific events, making
themes unnecessary. "It would just be great food,"
Marna says, "and a little bit of entertainment and flowers around the
house." |
The food, though, has undergone some
change. From hot and cold stations set up around the backyard
to pastas and sauces, to chocolate fondue with fruit, to 2003's
Christmas party at The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess with a tequila
station and a Spanish coffee bar - the catering has often been
as entertaining as the scheduled entertainment. Like their festive cuisine, the feel of the Prathers' parties
has evolved over the years. (Just try dishing out pasta to today's
carb-phobic crowds.) When they began, their events were more
casual than the rest and, as such, were reflections of the Prathers'
personalities. But eventually even casual didn't cut it. "After
doing the big corporate thing and entertaining a lot," Marna
admits, "our lifestyle changed. We went into business for
ourselves, and we just got a little bit more private." They
eventually landed in Newport Beach, California, where family
took precedence over parties. Then when September 11 struck,
the economy began to unravel and the Prathers moved to Phoenix.
"We came back to really hunker down and take care of the
business," she explains. "All thoughts were on that
and not on having a good time, so we really haven't gotten back
into that mindset."
The Prathers' roles and experiences have also transformed.
No longer the president of a fast-food company, but the CEO of
a string of successful restaurants (El Paso Barbeque], Bill's
knowledge of catering has become first-hand and first-rate. "To
throw a party watching what [the caterers] are or are not doing
would probably destroy it for me," he says.
They also have to be careful not to destroy it for their employees.
The Prathers still host two Christmas parties for their company,
and they have specific roles to fulfill at both of them. "[We]
try to go from being the employer to making sure everybody has
a good time," Bill says, "getting around, socializing,
interacting, getting more casual than usual."
Once things get underway, the Prathers, who make a point of
not drinking in front of their employees, take their leave. "Usually
we leave when things are starting to really get going,"
Marna says, "because we don't need to be there to see people
dancing on the tables."
The couple has come a long way since the almost magical inception
of their party-throwing days. They have yet to entertain in their
North Scottsdale home and aren't in any visible hurry to rectify
that. Still, if a return to the days of home-hosted bashes is
in their cards, Bill has set upon a theme. "A party I'd
like to throw," the Harley owner says, "is a biker
party."
"Yeah, that would be fun," Marna rejoins, "because
there are so many people here who are weekend bikers now. So
to throw a party like that would be fun... it would be a little
different theme." Talk about change. |
