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EPISODE FOURTEEN

PONTIAC CELEBRITY CHARITY

 

Celebrity Hockey or Barenaked Ladies?

Pleasantly surprised by the double firing of Allie and Roxanne, Sean and Lee continued their good times when they returned to the suite and discovered that all their former colleagues gathered there to lobby for positions for the final task. Sean was euphoric, especially upon seeing his heartthrob, Tammy.

Sean swiftly told Andrea and Tammy he'd love to bring them aboard and settled into informal interviews with Allie, Brent and others, searching for the final member of his corporation. Based on Andrea's strong recommendation, Sean selected Tarek. Also shopping for talent during the social hour, Lee re-bonded with his loyal pal Lenny and listened to the Russian's personnel advice before choosing Pepi and Roxanne to join them for the final task.

Meeting later with Trump, George and Carolyn in the boardroom, the reformed corporations chose their final missions. Lee's Gold Rush settled on this task: to successfully manage and execute the Pontiac Celebrity Hockey Game, benefiting the Leary Firefighters Foundation. Following Trump's suggestion that, "I would always rather work with bare naked ladies," Sean opted in favor of an event featuring the rock group bearing the same scantily clad moniker. Synergy's task: to successfully manage and execute a Pontiac-sponsored Barenaked Ladies charity concert to benefit the World Wildlife Fund.

Sean's Synergy: Truly Driven

The new Synergy showed a much-needed surge of energy as they plunged into their event at the Trump Taj Mahal. Daunted by the complexity of their mission, Sean had Andrea create a timeline and pinpoint the key tasks, which included creative fundraising, pre-party planning, putting on the Barenaked Ladies concert and highlighting Mr. Trump's appearance. "The list of things I'm actually responsible for is pretty much along the same size as the Taj Mahal itself," joked Sean. He and the rest of Synergy were responsible for event logistics, operations, marketing, food and beverages, gift bags, accommodations, satisfying shareholder execs and optimizing the overall attendee experience.

Tarek fretted that Sean may have neglected an important meeting with Pontiac to spend time with his crush Tammy at the caterers. Sean acknowledged his feelings for Tammy: "I'd be in there like swimwear if I had the opportunity." But he realized that if they got too close, it might prove detrimental to the task. And despite the distraction of love, like the brand new Pontiac G6 convertible, Synergy seemed to be hitting on all cylinders.

Lee's Gold Rush: Meeting Disaster

If Synergy was a finely oiled machine, Gold Rush was sputtering by comparison. Though Lee wasn't lacking confidence, the 22-year-old seemed short on experience. Their initial fundraising meeting with Lys Hopper of Denis Leary's foundation in support of firefighters, quickly fizzled. Lys chided Gold Rush for not thinking big enough, criticizing ideas such as firefighter date auctions.

Emphasizing her organization's track record of putting together exclusive top-of-the-line events, Lys slammed Lee's approach, "If you just want to throw together a keg of beer, nobody's really interested in doing that." Roxanne, for one, was stunned: "We thought we were shooting for the stars. We were shooting below ground."

Things weren't much better at the next meeting with Pontiac execs where Lee seemed shaky. In the words of one exec, Lee "missed a big opportunity" to secure matching funds for his corporation's auto auction. Later, regrouping in the war room, Lee admitted he was surprised with the degree of attention required by the celebrities involved in the charity hockey game. "Lee is definitely taking a laid back approach to this entire task," said observer Carolyn. "I don't think he's really displaying good leadership abilities. He thinks the event is going to run itself."

Synergy Sick Call, Gold Rush on Life Support

The last thing Sean needed in the midst of Synergy's insanely complex Barenaked Ladies charity concert event was to lose his secret weapon: super-efficient, queen of organization, Andrea. But that's exactly what the classy Brit faced when a nervous Andrea told him she had to see a doctor immediately because she was coughing up blood. His priorities firmly grounded, Sean told her to forget about work and take care of her health first.

Meanwhile, Gold Rush probably wished they could forget about work. Lee's series of unimpressive meetings culminated with a call from Lys at The Leary Firefighters Foundation, skeptical about Lee's overall fundraising strategy. "I don't think you know what you're going to do," she said. "I'm not feeling very comfortable right now, at all." Lys demanded an unscheduled walkthrough of the next day's event, which made Lee cringe, but he had to agree to it. "Lys is definitely busting my balls," said Lee. "She is putting me to the absolute test." Roxanne summarized her leader's predicament: "If Lee doesn't deliver, Lys could pull out. And if Lys pulls out, Lee is s#*t out of luck."

Will Lee be able to dig Gold Rush out of their deep hole? Or will Sean's Synergy bury them once and for all? Will Andrea's medical leave cause unforeseen complications for Sean and lead to a miraculous recovery for Lee? Tune in next week for all the Barenaked thrills and cross-checking chills in this ultimate Apprentice charity smackdown.

 

 

LESSONS LEARNED