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KOSHER
CATERERS
CLASSIC CUISINE
Approved by Council of Orthodox Rabbis
WE'LL BEAT YOUR
BEST PRICE!
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Weddings
Bar/Bat Mitzvahs
Showers
Banquets
Anniversaries
Reunions
Birthdays
Etc.
We Cater At Most Synagogues,
Temples, Hotels and the Halls
Of Your Choice
PHILIP TEWEL
Food Si Beverage
Director
(248) 661-4050
Farmington Hills
a
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not selling?Il
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For a consultation:
248.642.6033
Enid
Wasserman
Linda
Dobrusin
Doll & Bear
Extravaganza
10-50% OFF
ALEXANDER•EFFANBEE
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STEIFF•GUND•HERMANN
PAULINE•LAWTON•GINNY
MADELINE•SUSAN WAKEEN
LEE MIDDLETON•GENE
VANDERBEAR and MORE...
thOLL
TOSPITAI,
Sak ends 3/2/02
3947 W. 12 Mile Rd,
Berkley (248)543-3115
Hours:
Mon-Sat 10-5:30 Fri 10-8
y
soLDIER
nu ,
Sava-
Some exclusions. Cannot combine
w ith any other promotion.
mingle and entertain you. Fire-eaters
heat tip the rooms as on-site sand
sculptors transform grains of sand into
a larger than life "Bud Bowl"
Anheuser-Busch logo. And the really
hot part of the evening comes from the
kitchen with Cajun Creole and hot and
spicy chicken wings.
And what if Cool AB Blues is more
to your liking? Cool dry-ice smoke fills
those rooms while deep blue lights
rotate. Buffets feature "frozen" women
models on pedestals. A Blues Brothers
look-alike team of ice sculptors works
on their versions of the AB and Bud
Bowl logos.
And all that is just a prelude to the
entertainment — a live show by B.B.
King and master blues guitarist Jimmy
Vaughan.
As you wander between red hot and
cold, you can pose with one of the AB
Clydesdales. Your picture will be digi-
tally printed onto a cover of Rolling
Stone magazine.
Trax employs 28 full-time staffers and a
part-time event and travel staff of more
than 100. Outside staff,is hired in
other states as needed.
"Seventy percent of our business
today is derived from producing corpo-
rate meetings, events and incentive
travel. The remainder comes from
entertainment and bar mitzvahs," said
Craig Erlich, 34-year-old Star Trax
president.
"Although we have enjoyed great suc-
cess in both divisions of the company,
my heart and soul is in the social divi-
sion," said Renee Cherrin Erlich, Star
Trax partner, CEO and Craig's wife.
Renee is a board member of Detroit-
based JVS and co-chairs the JVS 60th
anniversary event Sept. 14 at the Fox
Theatre with Jay Leno.
Once Star Trax got actively involved
in the corporate business in 1999, rev-
enues went up from $2 million to
$3.3. Craig Erlich projects a gross of
$5.5 million this year and $7.5 million
in 2003.
The company has more than 100
corporate clients. They do work for
Microsoft, Quaker Oats, Gatorade,
Home Depot, DaimlerChrysler, Ford,
GM, Saturn, Visteon, Bank One, the
dent, manages the corporate events
project team. She said the turn-around
time for planning the Super Bowl spec-
tacular was within the company's usual
120-day sales cycle.
Fresh Ideas
"I had a relationship with AB through
a reference," said Wagner. "We were in
St. Louis as clients of a trade show in
October. That led to meetings with the
AB department that produces meetings
and events. The director wanted new,
fresh blood, and because we are more
of a boutique firm, we clicked.
"Their Super Bowl events for years
have always been the same. We
changed that. We gave them a brain-
storm document," said Wagner. which
followed the script at the beginning of
this article.
On Dec. 17, Star Trax made their
first site visit to New Orleans.
"We have become a part of their
(Anheuser-Busch) team," said Wagner.
Founding partner and current chair-
Corporate Party
man of the Star Trax board Marc
Schechter started the company in 1987
This big blow out, which rivals the
while he was a junior at the University
Super Bowl halftime show in creativity
of Michigan. Before Karaoke began,
if not in production, takes place Friday
Schechter engineered a way to extract
night, Feb. 1. The host is expecting
the lyrics from music so that someone
could sing them. He took the concept
— he called it Star Trax — to a bar in
Ann Arbor and sold the owner on the
idea. "The basis was if you put this
machine here, people would come on a
slow night," said Craig Erlich.
One bar became 17 bars, and it
spread from Ann Arbor to East Lansing
and Southfield. "Soon I had 10
machines and it was really taking off. I
had a great time and became a serial
entrepreneur," said Schechter.
By 1992, Schechter realized the
Detroit market was ready for a new
type of entertainment for bar mitzvahs.
He introduced an interactive concept
with masters of ceremonies, disk jock-
eys and dancers.
Renee Cherrin, 26 at the time, had
her own party planning business, and
often hired Star Trax and Schechter for
Renee Cherrin Erlich with Shay Scott at Star MIX' S West Bloomfield offices.
their entertainment products. They
became partners in 1993 when Renee
bought half of the company from
University of Michigan and Motor
more than 1,000 to attend.
City and Mandalay Bay casinos, among Schechter. By the next year, the compa-
So just who is responsible for all this?
ny was doing 600 events.
others.
Surprise! It's your nice bar/bat mitzvah
Their national breakthrough came in
Why did Anheuser-Busch come to
entertainers from Southfield's Star Trax.
1998
when Inc. 500 listed Star Trax
them?
Randy
Wertheimer,
partner
and
They've come a long, long way.
Event Productions as 457th on their
vice president in charge of new busi-
There are two divisions within the
list of the fastest-growing private com-
ness development for Star Trax
company. Star Trax Event Productions
panies in America.
Corporate Events, attributes it to the
handles entertainment (MCs, DJs,
"We owe it all to the unbelievably
fact that he and his co-workers are a
photo keepsakes, valet services) for bar
talented
team of professionals that
passionate
group
of
people
who
love
and bat mitzvahs, school parties, etc.
we've amassed," said Schechter
what they do.
Star Trax Corporate Events produces
Sheri Wagner, Star Trax vice presi-
events like the Bud Bowl parties. Star
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