Here at Prevue, we want to make sure that meeting planners are getting the credit they deserve. So starting each month, we will acknowledge a Visionary Planner of the Month.
The Visionary Planner of the Month is chosen by our editors based on willingness to share his or her knowledge and experience with the industry, promote the professionalism of the role of meeting planner and, in doing so, move the industry forward. The first-ever winner also just happens to have one of the brightest and most cheerful personalities we’ve ever encountered!
Congratulations to Evelyn Hall, executive assistant/office of the president CEO at Credit Union of Texas and a Prevue Advisory Board member! When she learned she was named, we weren’t surprised by Evelyn’s enthusiastic and gracious response: “I got where I am today as a meeting planner because of those that were willing to share their knowledge with me,” she told us. “I promised to pay it forward as I became more knowledgeable about the industry.”
“I got where I am today as a meeting planner because of those that were willing to share their knowledge with me.”
She also shared some excellent advice: “My goal is to make each and every one of my meetings/events unique. I’ve been successful with this by not reinventing the wheel. I ask a lot of questions to senior meeting professionals, and have requested to be a part of their behind-the-scenes online communities (Prevue, MPI, SITE, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.).
Meeting Planner Tips from Evelyn
We recently asked Evelyn about how she keeps her meetings inclusive. Her planning team, she told us, “is itself already representative of as much social and cultural diversity as possible. We have done our best to be a culturally competent organization, bringing together knowledge about different groups of people and transforming it into standards, policies and practices.”
A few steps she takes in creating space for diversity (as featured in our September IM Inspired professional development section in Prevue magazine):
1) Hall seeks out venues that have conducted diversity training. “This shows that the spirit of diversity is on their radar.”
2) Her marketing department uses diverse images in promotions. “As for me, I do my homework online and by reading blogs like Pickit.” In addition, they consider the subtitles and descriptions used to promote the event.
3) She uses small but diverse “test audiences” made up of members from the HR, marketing and customer service departments, along with key partners.
