Ideal Cabinets held our 50th Anniversary kick off celebration on October 10th, 2019, at the Farmhouse Restaurant in Christiansburg, Virginia. Our theme for the evening was “A Night at the Movies”.
We surprised Ken and Virginia (Jenny) Rakes, our founders, with a walk down the red carpet, and a banquet room full of guests who cheered for them, and celebrated their accomplishment of 50 years in business. We gave Ken a top hat and Jenny a feather boa to make them feel like movie stars as they entered the room. It was only the beginning of a special night.
As dinner was served, between courses, each of their four locations presented awards to them throughout the evening. Before each store’s presentation, a short movie starring that store’s staff played on the four televisions in the banquet hall.
The Christiansburg location, their very first store, came forward. Two of the employees from this store have been with Ideal for over thirty years. Their movie was Wreck it Ralph with a construction theme. As many of you may know that live in the area, the road in front of the Christiansburg store had been torn up for many months, and construction had been ongoing. Their movie was fun take on their year. They presented their gift, which was the original Ideal Cabinets sign that they had refurbished, and an engraved photo frame and clock.
The next presentation came from the Charlottesville store, that is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. The lovely Charlottesville ladies did a fun take on Cat Woman for their movie. They gave a beautiful heart felt presentation to Ken and Jenny with a crystal frame and embroidered 50th Anniversary Ideal Logo golf shirts and golf balls.
Next we had the Salem Shop, the fellas from Salem chose Pirates of the Caribbean as their movie, because let’s face it, they just wanted to dress up like Pirates- ha ha. They presented Ken and Jenny with a small treasure box containing a book of fifty years of Ideal Cabinet memories. Truly something they will always treasure.
Last but not least, the Roanoke store took the stage following their movie presentation of Field of Dreams. The Rakes family are big sports fans, particularly baseball. In honor of that, we presented Ken and Jenny with an engraved cabinet door plaque thanking them for allowing us to play on their “Field of Dreams” . They also were presented with a 50th Anniversary Logo baseball signed by the entire Roanoke team.
But the presentations were not over, their were two beautiful family presentations. Ken and Jenny’s extended family who were able to attend presented them with gifts. To Jenny they gave a new briefcase, and told her she could only take home the work that would fit in it. Pat, Jana, and their children presented Ken and Jenny with some beautiful 50th Anniversary photo collages for each store and for their home.
Next the Mayor of Christiansburg, Michael Barber, presented Ken and Virginia (Jenny) Rakes with a proclamation Congratulating Ideal Cabinets on 50 Years of Business. He also thanked them for all they had contributed to the town of Christiansburg and the community.
The final event of the evening was the Feature Presentation. A movie we had been making secretly for months with help from our friends at WSLS Channel 10 to surprise Ken and Jenny at the end of the evening. The lights went down the film started … Fifty Years of Ideal Cabinets.
When it was over, there was hardly a dry eye in the place. I think it’s going to win the Oscar this year. Wouldn’t surprise me a bit. But then at Ideal Cabinets, when we do something, we do it right.
So that is how we kicked off our 50th anniversary celebration. We have many great things planned for the upcoming year. We look forward to sharing our 50th Anniversary with you !
