With the U.S. Open right around the corner, MSG Promotions President & CEO MIMI GRIFFIN is already on site at Oakmont Country Club making preparations for the event’s corporate hospitality. Although most of this weekend will be reserved for work, there will still be plenty of time for play. “When you are working events, you savor your weekends so much because many of your weekends are taken away,” she said. “When you do have a free weekend, it is Nirvana.”
DOCTOR MY EYES: Being in Pittsburgh, I am trying to take advantage of all that this fabulous city has to offer. I am taking my staff and a couple of other friends to a JACKSON BROWNE concert on Friday night at Heinz Hall. I am extremely excited because his music touched my soul in college. The timing could not be better. After being on site for a week already, I need something to touch my soul.
BIKE PATROL: We will probably spend most of Saturday on site because we are trying to make sure all of the hospitality areas are finished and all of the specs are done exactly to the clients’ wishes. After that, I hope to rent a bike and ride it over all of the city’s bridges. There are so many great areas to explore. I am hoping to get out early evening and just ride around the city. We are staying right by Market Square. It has fabulous choices for dinner. We can roll right out of the hotel and eat whatever we want. It is a culinary smorgasbord like no other.
A PIRATE’S LIFE FOR ME: I have not thought that far ahead yet to make plans for Sunday. Again, we will be on site. It is all consuming with an event of this magnitude. I cannot even tell you what day it is. They all just kind of run together. The great thing about Pittsburgh is you can make a decision last minute. We might try and go to the Angels-Pirates game at PNC Park. Everything is within walking distance. When I went to Pitt back in the dark ages, the city itself was nothing like it is today. It is so fresh and so alive, whether it is sports or cultural.
PARKS & RECREATION: I live in Allentown, and we have great cycling trails around our area and a wonderful system of parks. I just got a puppy in March. We both love walking the parks. I enjoy playing golf in the late afternoon because it is the best time of day and usually a much slower time for the golf course. We go to Avalon, N.J. every year for at least a week during the summer. We have a house that is right on the water, and I literally park myself on the deck. You can see the water from the deck, and we have a pool in the back. I just sit around like a beached whale. In my business, you are so active and so busy and in front of people so much on a day-to-day basis, so when you get away you do not want to be bothered.
