Sears, Roebuck & Co. DealerFest Conference

Since 1999 Empire has been recommending and securing entertainment for Sears, Roebuck & Co.'s annual DealerFest conference. The conference draws more than 1,000 Sears Dealer Store owners and spouses each year. In past years, venues ranging from Reno and Nashville to New Orleans, Empire has presented performers including Legends In Concert, Neil Goldberg's Cirque, comedy-juggling duo the Raspyni Brothers, country music legends Roy Clark and Juice Newton, comedian Brian Regan, and even a seven foot tall walking and talking robot to welcome guests to the event. This year, Empire presented one of the most successful nights of entertainment yet, with up-and-coming comedian Jim Gaffigan opening the show, followed by a headline concert by classic headline rock act - America. Jim Gaffigan, who has appeared on Late Night with David Letterman an unprecedented eight times, and is now appearing as "Roy" on Fox's hit "That 70's Show", had the crowd in stitches with his jokes about Cinnabons being so big that he doesn't know whether to eat them or sit on them (his conclusion "hey....I can sit on it, AND eat it!").

With the crowd warmed up and in a good mood, America took the stage, exciting the crowd with timeless hits including "Sister Golden Hair", "Ventura Boulevard", and "Horse With No Name". The band cleverly dedicated "Lonely People" to the notoriously lonely Maytag repairman (Maytag was Sears' sponsor for the evening), and then, at the client's request, made a more serious dedication of their hit "I Need You" to a couple in the audience who were celebrating their 38th Wedding Anniversary. The couple slow-danced in front of the stage as the band played the song in their honor.When the band's set was over, the crowd jumped to its feet for a standing ovation and called the band back out for an encore. The band was as personable as could be at the meet and greet, taking photos with Sears VIP's and signing CD's and photos for them.

Empire is a leading resource to companies looking to program appropriate entertainment for a variety of different audiences.