May 20, 2022
As an 18-year-old professional cheerleader, Thuy Diep was so joyfully immersed in the tasks of organizing dinners, hotel arrangements, welcome events and competitions for her cheerleaders association, that she just may have been belting out her own personal cheer: “5, 6, 7, 8! Who do we appreciate? Event planners!”
During college, her curiosity for event planning became more intense, along with her enthusiasm for it.
“My major was public relations, and I realized that I was enjoying more of the event designing portions of PR versus writing all the press releases,” she explained. “Those… more
May 16, 2022
The second quarter of the year is moving full steam ahead as organizations covering all facets of the corporate events industry continue their robust hiring and promoting activities to fill key positions and reward hard-working staff with elevated titles. Take a look!
Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau
The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) has named Alex Batista vice president of convention sales. In his new role, Batista is responsible for managing the organization’s daily sales activities as well as assisting Senior Vice President of Convention Sales… more
Apr 28, 2022
Born and raised in the Hawaiian islands, Teri Orton’s passion for the hospitality industry started early. In fact, it’s part of her family legacy. Both her parents worked in hospitality, so she was born into and exposed to the industry as a small child, yet never felt the need to rebel against or stray from the family business as a young adult.
After majoring in communications at the University of Hawai‘i and advancing her training in hospitality management through various certifications with Starwood and Hilton Hotels, Orton stayed the course, spending more than 25 years holding an array… more
Apr 25, 2022
Event industry suppliers, CVBs and hospitality groups throughout the U.S. and across the pond are fine-tuning their teams and elevating staff via robust hiring and promoting moves. Take a look!
CORT
Leading furniture rental and transition services provider CORT recently announced the retirement of Executive Vice President Mark Koepsell after more than 34 years of dedicated service to the company.
After beginning his successful career with CORT in January of 1988 as national accounts manager, Koepsell soon became the director of national accounts, vice president of national sales and in… more
Apr 21, 2022
Some people are fortunate enough to be born into their life’s calling. Chef Purvill Chaney is such a lucky individual. A consummate culinary professional who discovered his passion for cooking while working as a chef in his parents’ restaurants in his hometown of Flint, Mich., the budding chef wasted no time in embarking upon a professional career path in hospitality after college, cutting his teeth as a sous chef at a local Hyatt Regency. Since then, Chaney’s long and storied career has included more than 27 years with Hyatt at a dozen different locations in multiple cities followed by a 15-… more
Apr 07, 2022
Hotels and event-related organizations throughout the country are scooping up new team members and elevating executives as the hiring frenzy across the events and hospitality industries continues unabated. Check them out!
Visit Seattle
Following a nationwide search, Visit Seattle and its board of directors have tapped hospitality veteran Tammy Blount-Canavan to be its president and CEO, starting May 9. As Visit Seattle’s first female CEO, she replaces 15-year leader Tom Norwalk, who retired earlier this spring.
With a rich leadership history spanning two countries and three decades,… more
Apr 06, 2022
Sherrif Karamat is a life-long learner with an impressive list of credentials—an MBA and post-graduate certificates in business, management, strategic negotiations, data intelligence and big data, to name a few. But some of his greatest lessons—personally and professionally—have come over the past two years of the pandemic.
Capitalizing on those lessons is one of his top priorities as he guides the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) and its members in successfully moving forward in the evolving events environment.
Reinvention is key, according to Karamat.
“Our industry… more
Apr 01, 2022
Liz King Caruso never thought she could make a living planning events—she thought it was just something fun to do. That was until she took a job as an administrator at her university.
“I realized I was the admin for the event team and that I had just wasted a lot of money on a psychology degree,” she said. “I learned a lot at my first job and started the twitter account @lizkingevents just to learn more about the industry.”
Before long, she started getting client inquiries and kept turning them away since she wasn't an official business, but finally took the leap and decided to start her… more
Mar 25, 2022
He's worked alongside some of the world’s top chefs, but Eric Vaughn’s fondest culinary memories are of his childhood, creating delicious Sunday meals with his parents and sister and learning how to bake with his grandmother.
“It was our family tradition, and we learned a lot, especially how much fun we were having together discovering new dishes and ingredients,” he said. “It was the start of my fascination with food, touching it and seeing how it was affected by heat, and working with some of the most unique things I had ever seen food-wise—cooking things like chicken strudel with phyllo… more
Mar 24, 2022
Event tech and marketing wizard Dahlia El Gazzar is on a mission to empower event professionals with intel that helps them create next-level experiences. It’s the very reason she has been so passionate about the events industry since diving into it more than 10 years ago.
“What first got me interested in event tech is the ability the solutions have to help catapult event organizers' desires to create better experiences for their stakeholders, their events and their internal teams,” she said. “And yet it's an enabler, and I found that strategizing about how to use tech and combining it with… more
Partner Voices
MGM Resorts is renowned for its exceptional service and diverse venue options across Las Vegas, Detroit, Springfield, National Harbor, Biloxi, and Atlantic City, providing flexible spaces for meetings of any size. Beyond these offerings, MGM Resorts distinguishes itself through a strong commitment to social responsibility and sustainability, making it an ideal choice for your next meeting.
At the core of MGM Resorts' company values is its platform, "Focused on What Matters," dedicated to meeting customer needs while advancing socially responsible practices. This commitment is evident more