Expo! Expo! 

On November 16^th I had the pleasure of attending the International Associations of Exhibition and Events DC Chapter Pre-Expo! Expo! Young Professionals Kickoff Event. The meeting was hosted at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority’s DC office. The gorgeous weather that evening allowed the event was moved to rooftop with spectacular views of the Capitol and White House.

The event was a networking mixer for young professionals to meet the night before the major Expo! Expo! Conference taking place the next day. It was a unique idea to provide have small group of professionals with common interests to meetup in a more intimate setting to make lasting connections.  With over 250 exhibitors at the convention, it can be tough to make a lasting and meaningful impression during such a large meeting. If/when there I an opportunity to attend a pre-convention event as a professional, I will definitely take advantage of the time to network.


Overall, the event was very well done. There was music, light hors d'oeuvres, and did I mention the views? Everyone was so excited when they arrived and saw the DC skyline all lit up, especially the out of town guests. Everyone was very friendly and impressed that as a student we were out networking with professionals.  I even made a connection with one association meeting planner who referred me to her website for possible internship opportunities. Overall it was well worth the experience. 

Here is clip from one of last year's booths at Expo! Expo! .

~Kristen 

Things I Learned This Semester

This semester has been very insightful in event management. The top three things I learned are:

1. From doing my informational interview I learned that I am better at networking one on one than in large groups. I realized that I make a better impression and I feel more comfortable when I can sit and connect with the person I am speaking to. In large networking I get intimidated and I never know how to approach someone.

2.  I always knew project management was vital in event planning but I wasn’t aware of the tools that can make this a lot easier. I really enjoyed getting to use MS Project and ASANA. I really liked that ASANA allows you to set up email reminders to help you stay on task. This is something I will absolutely utilize in the workplace.

3. I learned there are multiple avenues for event planners. When I would think about possible career choices as an event planner I would picture myself as a wedding planner, convention planner, or meeting planner. What I truly appreciated was listening to my peers during the informational interview presentations. I was able to quickly learn about other possible career tracks that I would have never considered taking or knew even existed. This really opened up more options for me as I apply for future jobs. There were projects about event planners at major clothing companies and even planners that work with professional athletes, both industries I would love to work in but did not consider. 

~Kristen 

Grape Expectations!

I asked a few of my classmate what types of events they were attending and they all seemed be going to major events and conventions in the DC area. I decided to take an alternative approach and attend an event in my local area, Gaithersburg, MD. Upon searching I found an event at one of my local beer and wine stores Grape Expectations and they were hosting a wine tasting on Friday, December 4^th. At first I was confused, and then intrigued, how could a little store that sells booze possibly host an event?

To my surprise it was quite a sophisticated and fabulous event. We entered a dimly lit room with the filled with the hum of classical music and guests gathered in groups talking among themselves.  The sommelier was very knowledgeable and presented us with free samples of four different wines from California. He walked us through the flavors and notes. I’m not much of a wine drinker but I really enjoyed the ambiance and experience of trying the different blends. Just as we were leaving a live band started setting up to play light jazz music for the rest of the evening. It was such a nice touch.

What I really appreciated was how creative the owners were at creating a way to interact with their customers and increase business. According to the sommelier, drinking wine is experience and Grape Expectations created an avenue for their customers to have the experience in their store for hours as opposed spending five minutes grabbing a bottle and heading out. He more time customers spend inside the store, the more money they are willing to spend. This event showed me that there are nontraditional ways of having a career event planning. I could easily consult with small businesses managing unique events to help set them apart from their competitors and interact with their customers. As a side note we passed a beer and wine store a few doors down and I was complexly empty, I think Grape Expectations has the right idea.

~Kristen

My three takeaways from Event Management class

Time really flies and finally our Event Management class comes to the end. I would like to share three most unforgettable experiences during the past four months.

1.       Visiting Social Table

Field trip is always exciting and interesting for me as we have the opportunity to communicate with the management team face to face. As a startup company, I think they are doing an excellent job by combining the latest technology and event design. We learned that there are eight stages: announcing, attracting, anticipating, entering, experiencing, engaging, exiting, and extending. When event planners plan events in the future, the software could easily help them to figure out the main process and attendees’ activities, which is really helpful for event planners.

2.       Risk management in the events

As a student majoring in hospitality, I realized how risk management was crucial for an event by taking this class. Through different cases, my classmates and I learned the main risks for the outdoor event like Barbeque. As an event planner, it is important to identify, analyze and respond to the risks.

3.       Informational interview

It was my second time to conduct an informational interview. Besides learning the professional experience from my interviewee, I think another critical takeaway was the kindness. Many professionals are willing to help students like us and I expect one day, if I had the same ability to help others, I would do whatever I could, just like my interviewee.

The 8th International Conference on Services Management

As a student majoring in hospitality management, it was my great honor to participate in this industry conference. The overall theme of the 8th International Conference on Services Management is "Creating Value, Innovation in Delivering Services". This conference addressed creating value and innovation in delivering services, socio-economic complexities of the growth of service organizations and tourism destinations and their responsibilities to different stakeholder groups. This conference was a forum for sharing knowledge about the practices of organizations in dynamic economies of different continents including Asia, Middle East and Africa, America, Australia and Europe. It incorporate both conceptual and empirical research papers that link knowledge to different country and service industry contexts including tourism and hospitality, retailing, financial services and banking, education, and healthcare and professional services. 

During all the paper sessions, I was quite interested in the paper involving historical hotels as tourists experiences, which was presented by Prof. Soelvi Lyngnes. From this event, I realized more research opportunities in the hospitality field and I look forward to participating in the research projects in the future.

Jenée's Takeaways

I appreciated learning about all the different organizations that contribute to the event and meeting management field. As I browsed their websites and attended one organizational meeting, it really widened my view of the field. It is amazing to meet so many individuals who have the same passion and the desire to help you. It is reassuring to know we are in a field with amazing individuals.

I loved the behind scenes tour of Gaylord National. The inner workings of the event and meeting management within the hotel industry has always been interesting to me. I was so surprised to see how large they are and hear how many event managers they are. I was equally impressed to see how long everyone had stayed on board within Gaylord National.

I am always seeking effective ways to be better in project management. I tend to go about these things the hard way. When we learned about new ways to be organized (Asana and MS Project) I was really excited. I use to utilize my calendar (ineffectively) and Microsoft Word to organize my event and meeting management projects. Now I will utilize MS Project through the rest of my program and in my business. Also, the project management exercise was too fun. It was a challenge and I was determined not to let it defeat me!

I had an amazing time in event management! I loved my classmates and everyone's perspective. There is nothing like it and I am excited to see where our journey leads us! Cheers!!

The Impressive Gaylord National

GW Men Basketball Faces Penn State

Last night, I attended the GW Men basketball game at the Smith Center. The game started at 7pm and the Colonials won with the score 76 to 66.

This result is really exciting because the victory was George Washington's first over a Big Ten team at home since a 77-74 triumph over Wisconsin in 1977. George Washington has now defeated teams from three of the Power Fiver conferences this season: Virginia (ACC), Tennessee (SEC), and Penn State (Big Ten).

After trading lead changes over the first six minutes, GW took the lead at 13-12 on Alex Mitola's 3-pointer with 13:24 left. GW hit on 7 of 14 first-half 3-pointers in taking a 40-33 advantage into halftime.

My favorite player in this game was Yuta Watanabe. He tallied 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-7 from three-point range, which was really excellent among the whole team.

We look forward to GW Men basketball’s next game!