R
enee J. Lewis, CMP, has more than 21 years of ex- perience in the areas of event planning and opera-
tions, association management, project manage- ment and marketing and public relations. In 2013 Renee was hired as the Executive Di-
rector of the Detroit Local Organizing Commit- tee. In this role with the Detroit Metro CVB, she is responsible for overseeing the host city events and activities during the ASAE 2015 Annual Meeting & Exposition. As ASAE 2015 is a limited-duration project,
she saw this as an opportunity to start the com- pany she had been considering to create for many years, Infinity Management Group, LLC. “This was something I had always thought about doing and looked forward to at some point in my career,” said Lewis. “I saw starting my own company as another challenge and I like to be challenged!” Prior to 2013, Renee served as the Executive
Director of the Association of Fundraising Profes- sionals Greater Detroit Chapter from May 2011 through August 2013. Renee also spent almost 14 years as the Director of Publishing & Event Services
for the American Concrete Institute
(ACI). Renee is a member of the Professional Conven- tion Management Association (PCMA), Michi- gan Society of Association Executives (MSAE) and Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). She earned the designation of Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) and is currently working toward her Certified Association Ex- ecutive (CAE) and Certified Meeting Manager (CMM) designations.
WWW.MIDWESTMEETINGS.COM
Midwest Meetings: What was your first experience with the meetings and events industry? What do you remember most about it? Renee Lewis: When I was a fresh- man in college, I volunteered for an event called Christmas on Campus at the University of Dayton. Each De- cember the students put on an event for 1,200 inner-city children who were “adopted” for the evening by a stu- dent. The students took them around campus to different classrooms where there was entertainment, arts and crafts, food and beverage, a carnival, petting zoos, etc. I had volunteered on behalf of the student organization, American Marketing Association, to lead the decoration and activities for a classroom. Our theme for the room was “Christmas in the City” and was modeled after what you would find in NYC. MM: What’s been the most challenging part of starting your own company and work- ing on ASAE 2015? RL: I would say time management. Not that I’m unable to manage my time; it’s finding the bal- ance between running my own company and estab- lishing that rhythm you get when you work for an organization or are working on an event, and working with ASAE 2015 which is new to Detroit and Michi- gan and you don’t know what to expect, every day is different. We’ve established a rhythm with our clients at Infinity Management Group and that makes things easier. ASAE is the future for Detroit, especially with meetings and conventions for associations, so there is a lot of emphasis on this project, it’s very visible. My challenge has been to manage everything I have going on and keep things moving ahead. I’m always working to ensure I’m using my time the best way pos- sible and also keeping some balance in my life. MM: What is most rewarding about your job; what makes it all worthwhile? RL: I believe that if designed well events can be an experience for attendees. Experiences change people. It makes all the hard work worthwhile when the
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