Meetings & Conventions
It was such a relief not to have to worry about anything knowing your capable staff had it all “under control.” I especially appreciated Antonio’s technical assistance, dependability and easy-going manner.
Dr. Robert Brooks
VBCPS Teacher Forum National Speakers SeriesIt was all wonderful. Nothing but compliments. The entire staff at the [VBCC] and [caterer] could not have been better. Also the quality of the food at both the Ladies Brunch and President’s Banquet was excellent. The other locations that SASA goes too, Myrtle Beach and Pigeon Forge does not come close to what we have at Virginia Beach. Thanks so much for all of your personal attention too.
David Monell, SASA Past President
South Atlantic Shrine Association You all did a great job! The food was great as well! I heard lots of nice comments! Look forward to working with you again next year!
Martha Thomas
Mary Kay Regional Sales ConventionI consider the VA Beach CVB an extension of my office. They took the time to thoroughly understand my event. In every area - they exceeded my expectations. I believe [they] added value to my event, brought quality and professionalism to my team and helped me take my event to a level higher than it could have obtained without their involvement.
Dean Jones, CMP | Conference & Events Manager
Rejuvenate MarketplaceWhat a great event! The CVB really did pull out all the stops. I have to say, they are a very special team who provided an excellent experience.
Scott Graham | Meetings and Expositions Director | Christian Booksellers Association (CBA)
Rejuvenate MarketplaceThe members of my team, as well as my client, were impressed with the professionalism and excellent service we received from the convention center staff at every turn. I felt fortunate to work with a group of professionals that understand the unusual balance of calm and efficiency that keeps the rest of us on track. I am please to now consider Virginia Beach for my other clients’ needs knowing that the city can truly offer excellent service and execution of a flawless program.
Ms. Marti Balcom, President, The Balcom Group
National Association of Workforce Development Professionals’ ConferenceThank you is barely enough, but it is heartfelt and sincere. Virginia Beach and the entire Hampton Roads area could not have been more welcoming and hospitable during Marketplace week...I had delegates come up to me who felt, based only on their arrival at the airport, their ride to the convention and check-in at the hotel, that they had experienced the best Marketplace ever because of the warmth and hospitality of the community and the volunteers. I can't say thank you enough to the hundreds of volunteers who serve...Each of our volunteers is very special and critical to the ABA, and I thank each and every one of you for helping make Marketplace what it is today, and what it will be tomorrow.
Peter Pantuso, ABA President
American Bus Association 2008 MarketplaceCorporate Events
We thoroughly enjoyed our event at your facility and everyone raved about the food! Thank you so much for the excellent service!
Linda Rutherford
Cox Communications TeambuildingOutstanding event! I received many unsolicited accolades regarding the facility and staff. Many of the senior Commanding Officers have not visited the VBCC and were very pleased. Thank you very much for your flexibility and your outstanding service! The large disco ball was a great hit!
Robert McCharen
Hampton Roads Seabee BallThe food was great. People truly enjoy it, and they constantly spoke about just how good the food was.
Carla Bailey, USABI
USABI Construction Contracting ConsortiumGreat job, outstanding example of "green" facility.
Denise Thompson, Director of Member Services & Environmental Policy, Virginia Municipal League
Go Green Virginia ForumSocial Occasions
Patricia and Cassandra, the entire wait staff, the bartenders, the coat check ladies were courteous, friendly and made us all feel welcome. Patricia and Cassie’s level of knowledge and professionalism made the planning and execution of our event easy and enjoyable. Home Depot Holiday PartyErica was outstanding. She made our event so memorable. Dee was wonderful the night of the event and always asked me questions before she did things. Everything ran smoothly. Westminster Winter Gala[VBCC’s event manager] has been our rep for several years and knows STIHL’s likes and dislikes. I can depend on [them] to have everything arranged and ready to go. [VBCC’s catering staff] did a great job planning foods to symbolize different countries for our international themed event. [They] designed the serving areas in the lobby and ballroom differently than in past years and it made for good flow for our guests. [VBCC event manager] was close by in case I had any questions or requests during the evening to ensure everything went smoothly. I have received many compliments from our guests that this party was the best ever.
Kathy Marsh
Stihl Holiday Party 2008 This was STIHL’s third holiday party in as many years at the VBCC. I’ve been fortunate to have worked with the same event staff. We keep to the same format, just changing up the food and decor. We feel the Center’s staff is hard working and they give us excellent service. We hope to see you next year!
Kathy Marsh
Stihl Holiday Party 2009This was a wonderful event. This team did a great job making everything happen for us, and the food and service was excellent!
Connie Boucher
Navy Seal 4 Team DinnerEveryone had a great time at the party and was very impressed with the decor of the room, the courteous staff and the food. Everyone was very friendly and accommodating at the party. We will certainly keep the [VBCC] in mind next year!
Kimberly Holland
Kimley-Horn Holiday PartyWeather was horrible and the van was already circulating parking lot for our guests. Several VBCC staff volunteered & provided umbrella coverage for guests coming off the bus. This was such great customer service without having to ask! We wanted to have a bit different feel and atmosphere for this year, all the recommendations were spot on. The VIP reception was the best in five years!
Gretchen Allen, Director
United Way of South Hampton Roads Women’s Initiative LuncheonThank you for a great event! Everyone had a fabulous time and the food was very good. I’ve had several people tell me how good the food was and was a great time they had. We’ll have to do it again!
Cindy Fletcher
SL Nusbaum Holiday PartyEveryone has been saying how wonderful the food was. The food was excellent and so was your staff. Everyone did a great job and I truly appreciate all your hard work in helping me put this together.
Joanie Ford
Liberty Tax Holiday PartyWhat a great experience! From start to finish, the Sales and Catering staff were A+, and the facilities exceeded our expectations. We look forward to working with the Virginia Beach Convention Center in the future.
Kimberly Bronk
Cox Communications Employee GalaYour facility is GREAT. Your staff is great. You make my job easy.
Laurie Harrison, Event Planner
Hampton Roads Youth Center Ray of Hope Award GalaOverall, our experience was very good. All of the staff members were friendly and Ericka did an excellent job with the food.
Cindy Bogdan
Landstown High School Ring Dance Class of '09Military Functions
With your help and Jane’s, we put up a top notch event that impressed the boss and other attendees. Col Bligh was most impressed with the food service and the ability to add that table at the last minute. My meter stick was based on the glowing conversations and reactions of the attendees over the night. The best testament was the stragglers that stayed until midnight even after the CMC left. Marine Corp Birthday BallThe experience was exceptionally coordinated and executed and the staff was superb. Many kudos and thanks to everyone there. I hope to someday work with them again.
Sheila Flanagan, Conference Coordinator
ModSim World Conference and ExpoHome run. Outstanding. Great folks to work with. Professional, motivated, great attitude and all have a "can-do" response. Thanks for a superb experience.
Steve Strippoli, President
AFCEA USNI Joint Warfighting ConferenceWe will continue to hold the Forum at the convention center and it is largely due to the excellence of the staff and catering.
Barry Forbes
NAVFAC Industry ForumThe Reunion Banquet was absolutely fantastic! The facilities, service and food were all first class and made for a very memorable experience. The skill, experience and professionalism of your staff were spectacular. Your efforts contributed directly to the overall success of the Red Ripper Reunion and allowed 210 former Rippers to have a memorable weekend.
A.T. Desmet, Commander, U.S. Navy Commanding Officer
Red Ripper Reunion BanquetAbsolutely superb work and great food. You all are the best!
Steve Strippoli, President
Joint Warfighting ConferenceExcellent work to you and your team [...] I attended as a guest and was impressed with all you and your team did...Thank you again and a special thank you to all that you worked with last weekend. The food was great, wine was wonderful and service was impeccable!
L. Dittmer
Sea Bee BallThanks for going the extra mile in making our holiday party a great success! Everyone had a wonderful time and enjoyed every aspect of the event. We plan to rebook with you for our next holiday party. We have been hearing nothing but good things from everyone who attended.
H. Scheidt
USS George Washington Holiday BanquetCommunity Events
Dave is such a pleasure to work with. He always makes sure everything I ask gets done right away. Jackie is a huge asset to your catering business. She is very professional and I enjoyed working with her. She also made sure I was well fed throughout the entire event! They are so accommodating and made my very stressful job go smoothly. Dickie, the electrician, is another person I want to recognize. He is so pleasant and gets the job done...FAST! Tidewater RV ShowI want to thank [VBCC event manager] and staff again. [He] is great and you are all very lucky to have [him] on your staff. We need more people like him in the work force.
Cindy Byrum
Tidewater Kennel ClubI can’t tell you how impressed we were by the service, the presentation and the food. We received glowing reviews from everyone who attended.
Ann Marie Hohman | Student Services Coordinator
Regent University School of Psychology & Counseling Commissioning ServiceOur event was just wonderful. Thank you and your staff for such great service.
Doris Dunekack
Joy Ministries Mother’s Day DinnerAs always our meetings with you and your staff to plan the upcoming events for our organization were well handled and efficiently prepared. To date the activities we have held at the VBCC utilizing the services of Distinctive Gourmet have uniformly been excellent. Not only have the meals been creatively conceived, attractively presented , received appropriately hot or chilled as designed, they have been truly enjoyed by our guests. It is a significant challenge to select a menu each year that can be served to what is primarily the same group and still make each appear unique. Our congratulations to the Chef and his team.
The 750 plus or minus guests that attend our main, signature event are the top business, community and professional leaders of this area. They are not easily pleased or quickly satisfied. As such service is always a consideration. Under your direction this very special element of the evening has been completely successful. To date we have received not one complaint in this area and to the contrary have been the recipient of many compliments. It is a pleasure to work with those who know and care about their professions and who produce quality not once but every time.
Nancy Creech, President, Virginia Beach Neptune Festival
Virginia Beach Neptune FestivalOUTSTANDING JOB, You all made me look good.
James Bailey, Freedom Fund Banquet Chairman 3rd Vice President, NAACP
NAACP (VA Beach Branch) Freedom Fund BanquetWeddings
Dee and the catering team were very attentive to our needs. They always made sure we were doing OK and brought anything we needed to our table. Also, Darcy and Patricia did a fabulous job planning and coordinating the event. The wedding was everything we dreamed of and more. All of our guests are still raving about the venue, the food, and the experience. We are so glad we chose the VBCC. You and the team did a superb job with every little detail. Everyone is still craving the seafood stuffed flounder!
Sledge-Beltran Wedding
You are incredibly fortunate to have Cassie Murdough on your team. She went out of her way for us on numerous occasions to provide as many options as possible. We were more than impressed with her level of service. Our guests ALL had raved about the quality of the food and attentive service from your staff. We would like to recognize the banquet manager and the woman who personally serviced the table for the bride and groom. She was kind enough to package a to go box for the both of us as we were busy greeting guests and didn’t get a chance to eat dinner. We were thrilled with the service and the venue itself and thank your entire staff for going out of their way to make our day special. It really was the happiest day of our lives!!
Ingram-Dodson Wedding
Cassandra Murdough, Her warm personality was very inviting from the initial meeting to the day of event. I was in awe of how she offered to stay later to speak with me. Through working with Cassandra during the preparation time, I have no complaints what so ever. It is evident that she truly enjoys and is dedicated to her job. The food was excellent! The staff was also fast at meeting requests. I could not be any more satisfied with how our wedding event happened with both Cassandra and Ericka at my side. They are both dedicated, wonderful staff... They were the “A team” and super exceeded all my wishes and were so wonderful at communicating.
Freytag/Carolino Wedding
Thank you so much for everything you did for our wedding! It was everything we could have asked for and more. Paul and I had a great time and our guests could not stop talking about how great the food was! Thank you so much for making our day special!
Reynoso/Gumayagay Wedding
They were AMAZING! My wedding went perfectly because these ladies treated me like I was the only customer at the VBCC. I felt that by the end of our special day I had made three good friends, and I will recommend anyone to go to them with any event they have. I also want to thank the rest of the staff who set up everything for us. We are still getting compliments on the wedding, and I think it was partly because of the VBCC staff that assisted us.
Cristie Stoneking
I had a wonderful experience with the [VBCC]. All of my guests were impressed with the site, service and menu. Everything fell into place the day before and the day of the event and I have absolutely no complaints.
Tricia McCord
The food was amazing! People are STILL complimenting it! The VIP setup was beautiful and the guests loved it.
Nicole Orozco
It was an absolutely wonderful experience! Everything went perfectly and I could not have asked for better!
Denise Canonizado Alcantara
They were the friendliest, accommodating and professional staff that I’ve ever encountered. What I liked most about each of them was their level of enthusiasm they had when helping us plan. I knew they had other large major events going on and yet they never rushed us and treated us like we were their only customer. I will be singing your praises for a long time to come.
Mary Yanisko
We cannot begin to thank you for making our wedding reception a truly unforgettable event. You made the planning process so much less stressful than it could have been. You were always so prompt to answer questions and so accommodating in the final days leading up to the reception. Our guests commented, ‘the room was beautiful, the food was delicious, and the staff was great! Even with the large event downstairs, our guests said they were greeted at the door and promptly pointed in the right direction.
Janice Lavapie
The food and set up were fabulous and we have received numerous compliments on how delicious everything was (and looked)! You’ve been great to us throughout this entire process and we truly appreciate everything you have done for us. It has been a pleasure working with you!
Joel & Jessica Gutierrez
Thank you (again) for all your help during the planning process and for all of your help during our reception. Everything was beautiful and the food was delicious!
Michelle & Cesar Balot