The WSJ Celebrates AZA's Holiday Party

AZA’s fabulous 2021 holiday party was featured in text and photos in the The Wall Street Journal story “Omicron Variant Sends Some Office Holiday Parties Back to Zoom.”

The story focuses on how the pandemic has changed some Christmas cheer. But it noted: “Houston-based law firm AZA held an in-person holiday blowout with about 300 employees and guests on Dec. 1. ‘I’m comfortable enough that the vaccination numbers are now so high,’ said John Zavitsanos, the firm’s managing partner. Masks weren’t required and the firm’s special events room was large enough that people didn’t have to be close together, he added. The 5? hour evening event featured ethnic food stations and Napa Valley winemakers, along with a DJ. All in all Mr. Zavitsanos hopes the evening made up for skipping last year’s party. ‘The Zoom thing is for the birds,’ he said.”

The story featured pictures of our sumptuous dessert table and our delicate and delicious “AZA”-embossed macaron display. Associate Shahmeer Halepota was quoted by the national business newspaper too: “It’s the one thing we all look forward to on a yearly basis,” said Shahmeer Halepota, an attorney at AZA. He stayed for hours. “It was really nice to get together again and see people in this more relaxed atmosphere.”

Journal reporter ?Ray A. Smith wrote “Companies scrambled?to create virtual alternatives?to the sometimes-corny corporate tradition last year. This year, in a survey of 182 human resources executives, 27% said their companies would hold in-person events, up from 5% in 2020, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., an outplacement firm.”

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