Q: What’s your favorite part of your job? A: My favorite part of my job is when my production schedule comes to life on the day of the event! There’s nothing better than all the planning, late nights and millions of details all coming together before your eyes.
Diana Cazares
Senior Director of Event Operations Office of Development and Alumni Relations
Columbia College Chicago Chicago, IL Years of experience: 20
Q: How do you like to spend your downtime? A: Watching classic films. It’s a great escape from the event planning world. Q: Any tips for planning small meetings? A: I approach planning small meetings the same way I do large events; determine goals and objectives, set a budget, create a checklist and timeline and create a pro- duction schedule, which is a huge part of planning any type of event. It gives you the opportunity to run through an entire event from beginning to end, all on paper. It definitely helps me to visualize the many details that form the big picture.
Q: What’s your favorite part of your job? A: The favorite part of my job is the sense of accomplishment with each satisfied
Kristi Anderson Convention Sales Manager Sanford Center, Bemidji, MN Years of experience: 3+
client’s event! Q: How do you like to spend your downtime? A: Spending time with my kids and granddaughter! Q: Any tips for planning small meetings?
A: I plan meetings from 10 to 1,000 people. My tip is treat them all with integrity, attention to detail and a smile, no matter the size!
Q: What’s your favorite part of your job? A: Traveling is my favorite part of my job. I love planning events and meetings where I get to go to places I have and have not been to before.
Wanda Gilles Executive Assistant to Chief Sales Officer
Total Administrative Services Corporation, Madison, WI Years of experience: 28+
Q: How do you like to spend your downtime? A: Riding motorcycle! Q: Any tips for planning small meetings? A: Keep them interactive so participants feel they are getting something out of it. Q: Ever had to implement Plan B? A: We had a speaker arrive late afternoon for an event. I met him, had dinner with him and then he went to his room. He didn’t show up the next morning to speak. We went through every aspect of trying to contact him and finally had the hotel break into his room. Sadly, he had passed away during the evening. We ended up having our President punt with a topic that he knew well and we did some other key interactive work with our people, using the time wisely that was supposed to be for our speaker.
Upcoming Question You know that diet and exercise are key components to a healthier you, but maintaining your home health routine while traveling can be tricky. Sometimes it’s just easier to grab that pastry for breakfast. And the vending machine can be the quickest option for that afternoon pick-me-up. Do you grab any extra sleep you can or get up a little bit earlier for a morning jog? From making the right choices for meals and snacks to sneaking in those runs or workouts, how do you stay healthy while you are on the road? Share your healthy habits with us (as well as your photo) by sending them to
christianne@midwestmeetings.com and you could appear on these pages.
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