What's Your Story: Elizabeth (Liz) Glover Wilson

Full name: Liz Glover Wilson, CMP, CSEP
Age: 36
Hometown: Yorktown Heights, NY
Current position: President and Founder, Elizabeth Rose Consulting, LLC
Education: B.A., Mercy College - Business Management
Years in the industry: 15

How I got to here in 10 words or less: Hard work, amazing opportunities and many blessings.

As a young artist, I aspired to be a fashion designer and headed to NYC to attend F.I.T. Very soon after arriving, I realized that the fashion industry was not for me. I did not know what else I wanted to do so I secured a job as an Administrative Assistant. In my early days as an Admin, I was always looking for creative projects to take on as an outlet for my creativity and to keep me from total boredom. I worked hard and gave all my projects a 110%.

My mom always taught us to do every task to the best of our ability and to remember that you never know "who is watching." Little did I know that would apply to that particular chapter in my life. After a couple of years in that role, the President of our company offered me a unique opportunity - to build an events department from the ground up. Now the fact was I had no actual professional event experience, but what I did have was a unique blend of strong instinct for events, a high level of work ethics, a load of creativity and good people skills.

I spent about 10 years building the corporate events department. Starting out was hard and I felt very isolated, as I was the only one in the company given this task and had no access to historical data or internal resources. I had to build it all by myself. The first thing I did was to broaden my education and scope of support so that I could be successful with my new task.
I signed up for a course at NYU and learned as much as I could about corporate event planning. Dianne Devitt was my first mentor and still a very valuable part of my life till this day.

Additionally, I volunteered for the local chapter of ISES (International Special Events Society) and quickly was elected to the board of directors as Director of Communications. I stayed on the Board for 10 Years and was President in 2007-2008. I learned so much from my fellow industry colleagues and from other board members. My experience and educations was truly priceless.

I worked hard. I studied everything and collected mentors. I volunteered and took classes. When I resigned my corporate job to start my own consulting firm, I was truly proud of the journey and the department I built. Till this day, the department is strong and my old team is just terrific.

Starting my own business has been a tremendous joy and I owe a lot of my current success to my years of building relationships, expanding my education and being willing to give back to the industry. I do not under-estimate the power of giving back. My new business, in fact, is all about that. I launched Elizabeth Rose Consulting which focuses on event management and fundraising support for non-profit organizations. Each day, we work to give to non-profits the support they need so they can give back to those in our community and world who need services. It is extremely fulfilling.

How I Believe Others Can Get There, Too
My journey is unique in someways, as being an event professional was not my original goal. I did not actively pursue it . . .the profession "found me." However, the most important advice I can give to others regardless of how their journey starts is to first be honest with yourself, then go out and volunteer, know your boundaries and then get ready to work hard for what you want. Oh and did I mention you must have patience.

Be Honest With Yourself - Why do you want to be in this profession? Be honest. Do you think it is glamorous? Do you think it will be fun? Do you think it will be like planning your wedding? Understand "why" you really want to do this. Then get some honest feedback from those inside the industry. Go in with eyes wide open.

Volunteer - I still volunteer these days. You can learn so much about different types of events,styles, processes, etc. You also can learn alot about yourself and explore your strengths and weaknesses. Just recently, I volunteered for CGI and realized that I enjoyed dealing with diplomats from other countries. Did not know that about myself!

Know Your Boundaries - Once you have dedicated yourself to this journey, it is important to know your boundaries both personally and professionally. They do not call the events industry the "burn out" industry for no reason. Many event professionals go at a fast pace for many years and just exhaust themselves. My advice is to set boundaries from the very beginning. For example, commit to taking at least one full day off a week - no blackberry - just shut down. Treat yourself to a spa once a month. Be committed to healthful eating and exercise. I know it sounds a bit extreme, but it can make a difference.

Working Hard - It is very simple to me. What you put in is what you will get out. I was not a success overnight. Years of hard work and dedication did pay off and I am proud of that.
Be Patient - To be a true expert in any field you have to build experience. It takes 10 years or 10,000 hours to be considered an expert, so get relaxed. . .it is going to be a long ride.

Skills you need: Strong instinct. Good writing and communication skills. Exceptional multi-tasking skills. Management ability. Highly organized.

Where you should start: There are planning jobs in every profession; non-profit, law firms, politics, sports, hospitals, corporations, hotels, venues, clubs, camps, parks and recreation, schools, places of worship, and more. Join a local networking groups, such as AFP, MPI, ISES, COPE, HSMAI and NYEP and look for volunteer opportunities and postings.

Best Advice: Luck is when opportunity meets preparation.

What's your Story: Joe St. Cyr

Full name: Joseph Todd St. Cyr
Age: 44
Hometown: South Newbury, New Hampshire
Current position: Director and Owner, JOSEPH TODD EVENTS LLC
Education: B. A., Connecticut College
Years in Industry: 20

How I got here in ten words or less: When opportunity knocked, I answered and walked through the open doors.

Beginning with my first summer job at the lake when I was 14, I have always been involved the hospitality industry in one way or another. From dishwasher to cook to server to bartender to host . . . you name it, I’ve done it. In college I was the organizer who made sure we had enough cups for the keg party and enough ice to satisfy the parched party-goers through the night. It was a thankless task, of course, but why be disappointed mid-party when a little advance planning will do the trick?

After college and a year-long, work-around-the-world voyage financed in part by my skills as a house painter, I landed in New York in June of 1989 without much of a plan. I was lucky enough to have friends to stay with in the city and quickly found a job as a waiter at an Italian restaurant called Fiasco! Within two weeks I was promoted to assistant manager. Six months later I took a job with the bartender’s friend as a public relations assistant. It seemed quite glamorous since my boss was a celebrity publicist for Grace Jones and other New York glitterati of the day. My duties, however, were not fulfilling as basically I procured my bosses drinks during events and fetched ungrateful B-list celebrities when they were late to the events held in their honor (which was always so they could increase the drama of their fabulous entrances, not.).

One day at the beach a bunch of college friends and I were scouring the want-ads in The New York Times looking for better jobs. I found a listing for a catering salesperson at a distinctive downtown boutique firm and decided that was the job for me. With no experience and a lot of charm and bluffing, I landed the job and had my first real gig in the event industry in Manhattan. After two years of working six days a week including a lot of late nights, I decided to strike out on my own with just one client -- a fast-growing advertising firm that was doubling its staff every year.

I started attending networking events, meeting vendors, and putting myself out there. One of the high-end caterers I had hired for my few and far-between events (mostly corporate holiday parties) offered me a job with benefits and I grabbed it, realizing I was not quite ready at the age of 27 to be on my own. I stayed there for three years as Sales Director and learned about every aspect of social and corporate event planning. Just after New Year’s Eve 1999 I was poached by the newly re-launched Russian Tea Room (RTR) as Senior Private Dining Manager which was a high-pressure, numbers-game sales position. I had tripled my salary with the move and was enjoying my new position uptown in a fancy office tower next to Carnegie Hall. Our team was cranking out $100,000-revenue nights with corporate clients taking over all four floors for swanky receptions featuring fine caviar, champagne, custom decor, and the works.

That dreamy scenario lasted until September 10, 2001 and soon after the Russian Tea Room fell into a swift decline as companies were loathe to fly their employees into New York and the locals were not in the mood to celebrate. My great job at the Russian Tea Room ended in late July 2002 when the owners very suddenly announced on a Friday afternoon they were filing for bankruptcy. By Saturday, I was out of work.

I decided to take the bull by the horns and go back out on my own with a sole proprietorship I had always kept registered. Referrals from RTR contacts and friends kept me going with both corporate and social clients. However, by 2007 my corporate referrals had dried up and I realized a need to revitalize and re-brand. For a reason I am still not quite sure of, I filed papers for the creation of Joseph Todd Events LLC, designed and launched my website, and took out print ads and on-line listings focusing solely on the upscale New York wedding market. I always liked the intimate relationships I formed with my social clients and they provided like-minded and qualified referrals. Do a great job for a bride and her family and they will tell two friends and so on. Inescapably, I was thrust into the Manhattan bar/bat mitzvah scene and these wonderful clients were even better at providing referrals. After several years with a home office, I finally leased my own space in June 2009 and knew that the social market was where I belonged. Lucky timing too, since the corporate event market suffered greatly after the financial meltdown in August 2008.

Skills you need: Event planning requires an eye for detail but that same eye has to see “the big picture” too. Of course, organizational and interpersonal skills are a must. Most planners have had the necessary skills from an early age . . . and a little OCD never hurts! As a child I was famous in my family for having an impeccably neat room and for spacing the hangers in my closet one inch apart. That sounds scary, I know, but that skill translates to tabletop precision in design. I can see a crooked place setting from 20 feet away.

Where you should start: Anywhere! Event planners come from all walks of life and all work disciplines. However, starting as a production assistant in catering or floral/event design is a way to learn a great deal quickly. Food and design are key elements at all events.

Best advice: Get any job in the event industry to get your foot in the door and then network, network, network. But remember it’s not just about selecting flowers and china patterns! Like anything worthwhile, event planning is a lot of hard work.