Kendra Jane

The buzz around this year’s banquet dinner began days before the event, with tickets selling out the night that registration opened! We knew it would be a packed house, everyone dressed in their finest or sideshow attire, but what we didn’t know was the extra special entertainment that awaited us from Chris Glunt, your incoming Medical Liaison. From push ups to burpees and even a few lap dances, Chris put his back into it to ensure as many raffle tickets as possible were sold. When enough tickets were on the line he even puckered up for a kiss with the very handsome Paul King. It was a highlight for everyone in attendance in an evening filled with laughter and a heightened sense of community.

From there the entertainment got into the swing of it with a great sideshow act from Swing Shift Entertainment. (They have been long-time attendees of Conference so for many, they were watching not only performers but friends.)

As the entertainment wound down the doors were opened to non-tickets holders, our board members, both old and new, took the stage to either say goodbye or introduce themselves. Announcements were made, and awards were handed out. Joshua Benjamin and Diablo Organics took home the awards for both technical and creative innovations. Best individual booth went to Blessings to You, and best multiple booth went to Tawapa. After a long list of thank yous, which brings tears to her eyes each year, Caitlin McDiarmid had the honor of announcing the 2014 Josh Prentice Volunteer award. This year’s recipient has dedicated countless hours to bettering the industry and currently spends many an hour answering Tumblr emails, reblogging piercing after piercing, and giving his time to many of the APP’s committees, Ryan Ouellette. Rounding out the awards portion of the evening was Elayne Angel, who presented the President’s Award to Brian Skellie, who over the past many years has served to educate piercers around the world and keep knowledge at the forefront of our industry. (Brian is also the APP’s incoming President.)

Bethra also had the distinct privilege of presenting Steve Joyner with a Recognition Award from Arkansas body artists to thank him for his support and work on their state’s legislation over the past years.

As always, the evening was brought to a close with the drawing of the final top ten raffle prizes. Some of this year’s prizes were:

• $15,000 worth of Industrial Strength Jewelry
• $12,000 in credit from Anatometal
• $5,000 from Body Vision Los Angeles (BVLA)
• H2Ocean prize pack valuing almost $1500

The grand prize (from Industrial Strength Jewelry) was won by Javier, owner and piercer at Amour Real Tattoo Banquedano in Chile. This prize will be a real game changer for Javier and his studio. There could not have been a better winner, and his excitement was uncontainable, which got the whole room buzzing. No one could have asked for a better end to the evening.

A special thank you to those who sponsored our banquet dinner: Industrial Strength Body Jewelry; Anatometal, Inc.; LeRoi Fine Body Jewelry; The Safe Piercing App; and Kaos Softwear.

Next year the APP Conference will be celebrating our 20th anniversary and we know that the banquet will be one to remember! Ensure you get your banquet tickets when you complete your early registration so you don’t miss any of the fun!