event consultant profile 40 CORPORATE MEETINGS & EVENTS corporatemeetingsnetwork.ca CM&E:Walk us through a typical day of work. JENNIFER:When we’re not into execution of an event, a typical day would be reaching out to suppliers, clients, we may have meetings, building timelines, critical paths, logistics, budgets, basically planning and the tools that are needed to do that. On execution day, it’s a whole different thing and there’s a lead-up to that. If we’re fortunate enough, we’re in the space the day before and getting organized. You’re juggling day of event, getting in that mode, getting organized, making sure everybody is doing what they need to be doing and then sometimes juggling that office work from a cell phone if you have to. CM&E:What are some skills a good event planner needs? JENNIFER:Attention to detail, flexibility, the ability to multitask. You have to be honest with your suppliers and your clients. I think you need to be high energy. You have to be happy with what you’re doing. You have to have the ability to enjoy the building process of an event. When you’re on-site you have to set the tone, you have to be the cheerleader, you have to keep people moving, keep them on task. CM&E:Is there anything you’d like to add? JENNIFER:I’m really fortunate to have great people who work with me. We all kind of offset each other’s strengths and weaknesses. It’s a good unit. I think it’s really important to surround yourself with good people. And the other thing I learned over those 15 years is when you hang your own shingle, you need to have a support network so that if something happens to you or there’s a personal situation that comes up, you have to have good people that can back you up; and if you don’t have them under your employment, you should link up with somebody like-minded and have each other’s backs so to speak, because things can happen and it’s really important that at the end of the day the client is taken care of. That was a big learning curve; when you rupture your achilles, you realize it’s really nice to have people working with you. Why Advertise? Why Advertise? Corporate Meetings and Events (CM&E) magazine provides Canadian corporate and independent meeting planners with the information and resources they need to deliver events that support your business goals. Our bi-annual magazine covers industry issues and reaches more than 8,000 senior-level staff employed by Canada’s largest corporations who hold positions in meeting and event planning, marketing, sales, human resources management and executive administration. Additionally, more than 2,000 independent and third-party meeting planners, event consultants, and trade show organizers turn to CM&E to help them achieve their meeting goals. In two feature-packed issues – one including our Annual Industry Sourcebook – CM&E provides the comprehensive editorial content and robust advertising platform that can have a meaningful impact on your audience. Contact Nancie Prive at 1-866-201-3096 ext. 402 nanciep@mediaedgepublishing.com to learn more. mediaedgepublishing.com