Pop the Champagne!

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This week we wanted to do a bit of a round up of all of the exciting things that happened last week. And … as some of you might know, brevity is not our strong suit and we might get a bit wordy in some of those Insta posts. So we thought this would be a great way to highlight some of the topical event-related subjects we had covered over the last seven days just in case you missed them.

Pop the Champagne:
Let’s start with the most exciting! Last Thursday we were awarded the ‘Best Professional – Event Planner’ of the year award at this year’s Edmonton Event Awards! We were also a finalist in the ‘Best Live Event’ category for the Alberta School of Business’ Centennial campaign. We have to throw out a special ‘thank you’ to the Timewise team for conceptualizing the Event Awards and for all of the hard work they invest into making this event possible. We’re very excited about being recognized but we’re also very thankful to everyone who makes opportunities such as this possible. If you missed us gushy about you, you, and yes, even you … you can read our mushy post here:

For those of you that know me, you know I like to get in an ‘OMGG’ where I can, and last night was definitely an ‘OMGG’ (and unexpected) moment! . Receiving the Planner of the Year award at last night’s Edmonton Event Awards, heck, even being a finalist in the Best Live Event category for the Alberta School of Business’ Centennial campaign, was an honor. I feel very fortunate and proud of these opportunities. . But something I am more proud of are the relationships that allow me to have these opportunities in the first place and celebrate moments such as last night’s. . My family, my friends, my partner in crime, my vendors, my peers and colleagues, my mentors, my cheering squad, my ambassadors, my clients (side note: as of yesterday we’re so excited to welcome TEC Edmonton and Make Music Edmonton to the Tycoon family!). Each and every one of them have a unique contribution to making our company what it has become, what we will continue to be, and in making this eventprof the tycoon that I set out to be. . To all of the finalists and award winners last night, I want to recognize each and every one of them because of their commitment, dedication, passion, hard work, accomplishments, set backs, late nights, tears, milestones, highs and lows, successes and failures, and the drive to keep at it every day. To all of my colleagues who might not have been recognized last night, the exact same applies! This lady recognizes the hard work that you do each and every day! . When I woke up this morning I felt extremely proud. Proud of the people that surround me every day, that I interact with, that I depend on, that I work with, that have shaped and moulded me, that inspire me, that motivate me, that guide me, that challenge me, that test me, that nurture me, that lift me up, that ground me, that drive me to work harder and be better. Moments like this exist for me because of you and I can’t say thank you enough for that. You’ve heard me say it before and I’ll say it again – invest in your community and your community will invest in you. Now … can I get an ‘OMGG’?!

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New Clients:
We’re excited to welcome two new clients to the Tycoon Family: TEC Edmonton and the Alliance française of Edmonton. We’ll be working with TEC Edmonton on their prestigious VenturePrize event on May 4, 2017 (which is also celebrating their 15th anniversary this year!) and with Alliance française of Edmonton on their fouth annual Make Music Edmonton event on June 21, 2017.


Springing Ahead:
Next week is the official kick off of Spring and that has us thinking ahead to the Spring and Summer event season. The second quarter of the year tends to be a busy time for staff appreciation events, client appreciation events, golf tournaments, and retreats. You can check out one of last week’s Insta posts on some guidelines and things to think about here:

‘Tis the season for staff and/or client appreciation events … well … the season to start planning them that is! . In order to effectively and favorably recognize the support and contributions of your staff and/or clientele, it is incredibly important to understand how they would define value. For example, if we look at team appreciation events, is family an area of high value to your organization? If so, it might not be the best idea to hold a staff event on the weekend when staff would prefer to be spending time with their family. If a weekend event is a must because of calendars/staff schedules/production schedules, it would be beneficial to allow staff to have immediate family members attend the event with them to share in the experience. . Other things to think about and factor into your planning might be: – do your staff require special considerations for any impairments or disabilities? – beyond special dietaries, do you need to consider types of cuisine based on the cultural diversity of your staff? – consider introverts vs. extroverts and how you can plan engagement around the needs, and comfort levels, of both – if scaling back your next staff and/or client event, how are you doing so in a way that does not come across that you are taking something away from them and devaluing them? – has a survey been done to collect team feedback based on previous years’ events to see what some of the hits and misses were? . It’s important to think of these elements at your next staff and/or client appreciation event so that it creates and achieves the impact that you want. An article that highlights some great tips and pointers regarding team recognition events is: http://planyourmeetings.co . #Repost @supremepartythemesmelbourne ・・・ What’s better for a summer shindig than your own personal gelato bar? Gelato by @biancolattemelbourne . #tycoonevents #tycoonify #eventprofs #eventplanner #staffappreciation #clientappreciation #engagement #bestpractices #staffwelove #clientswelove #tistheseason #letsgetplanning #staffparty #VIP #celebration #bbq #contributions #planit #knowit #loveit #doit #hitsandmisses #createvalue #whatisvalue #knowyourguests #makingalist #events

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Introverts vs Extroverts:
As event planners, understanding our event participants is so important, which includes appreciating their areas of comfort. What an introvert needs at an event can be very different than what an extrovert needs as part of their event experience.

A few questions to ask yourself:
– at networking events, how are we accommodating both personality types to establish a level of comfort and confidence?
– at conferences, have we created quiet spaces as part of the event floorplan so that participants aren’t retreating to hotel rooms and leaving our event floor?
– do we have appropriate activities for both personality types (i.e. ones that are more group or team focused, and ones which are self-directed)?
– how are we managing Q&A sessions so that participants aren’t intimidated to ask questions in front of their peers?

Such considerations will make the experience far more enjoyable for our participants and show that thoughtfulness has gone beyond high level event details and show that we’ve taken the time to truly understand our guests’ needs.

A couple of great articles from Event Manager Blog on the topic worth checking out are:

1. “Are you Ignoring Half of Your Audience? Event Planning for Introverts”
2. “How to Engage Introverts at Conferences”


How To Get Started In The Events Industry:
One question that I get asked all of the time as an event planner is: “What suggestions would you give to someone who is interested in pursuing event planning or wants to know more about the industry?” Last week I decided to post about this very question and offer some advice and resources that might be helpful.

If you missed it, fret not! You can read it here: http://bit.ly/2nfciVb


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Until next week everyone!

– Your Tycoons, xoxo