Rachel DeWerth

Responsibilities

I assist everyone in the sales department with tasks they may need help with, along with attending conferences we host and help where I can so the event runs smoothly. I also accompany some of our clients on their site visits to see the city and where they will possibly host their event and stay. Another responsibility of mine is to give out items to planners in our Family Reunion market for their up and coming reunion every Tuesday and Wednesday! Within the Family Reunion market, we help by giving recommendations on where to stay, what to do, places to see and so much more all within their budget. As soon as they book their stay, we receive a copy of their contract at the hotel and then give them free items to give out at their family reunion! Our goal as a whole is to sell the city and bring in business to the hotels and activities around. Getting heads in beds!

Accomplishments

My greatest accomplishment would probably be finding solutions to problems in short amount of times or in other works putting plan B into action. An example here would be when a group of around 100 people were flying into Detroit for an event. All of the members of the program were on different flights and arriving at separate times. We had grouped some members who had similar flight times to go onto certain shuttles, however, there were multiple flight delays due to poor weather. Because of this, we had to last minute switch groups, call extra Metro cars, Ubers, and Lyfts to pick up members who had already arrived in Detroit and take them to their hotel to get ready for the Welcome Reception we were hosting that night. We had to come up with more transportation options so those who arrived were not waiting hours for the rest of their shuttle group to get into town. This was the most ideal plan we had for the guests coming in town. I would also say it was very rewarding to be able to talk with my clients after this event and give my thoughts on how I feel that this event could run smoother next year when we have their annual meeting in Detroit again! The rewarding part of this is when you say something about what needs to change and how to change it and those around you agree with the ideas that are being brought up.

Learning experience

One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned throughout my experience is that you need to be extremely detail oriented. The events that you are helping put on are real events with people possibly from all over the world. These are other people in the industry that I will be working for when I am older and they are all extremely important. Being detail oriented allows for information to be extremely clear so there are no confusions along with slim to no mistakes. If you are double and triple checking your work, you should catch almost all mistakes if there were any. Something else that I knew previously but working has really allowed me to focus and realize the true importance of it is the idea of getting an event planned extremely far in advanced of the date or production. You cannot do anything last minute in this industry as you are working with people and places who have other events going on at the same time. People aren't going to wait around for you to plan something, if there is a better opportunity going to the same location, the place you are having your event at will choose the better opportune for them. Doing things on time allows for a better relationship with not only your colleagues but your clients and other people in the industry all over the world as well. It is extremely important to have a good reputation regarding when you get things done and how effective the work is.

What advice would you give?

There are so many different routes to go within the Event Management Industry. If you do not know what path you want to go down yet, don’t stress out about it, that is what internships and experience will help you figure out! Do not be afraid to put yourself out there and ask questions. If you want to get involved in a project through work or want to learn more, just ask. The likelihood of your colleagues accepting help and wanting to teach you are higher than you think. Being an intern is you’re time to learn how a company works, learning through real life experiences, and discovering first hand work of what you like and what you don’t like. Not even mentioning the connections you make through internships are phenomenal. So, don’t be afraid to be put yourself out there and get the most experience as you can!