The Blog

There are two types of planners. The first type gets an assignment and decides on a series of logistical options to make the meeting happen. These planners fill an important function, and their work will always be needed. Every live meeting or event needs a venue, a...

I am the proud daughter of a New York Police Department detective who worked in crime prevention and safety for his entire career. My father, Larry, dedicated his life to educating people in the East New York section of Brooklyn on crime prevention and, as a...

You know if you have it. You know if someone else has it. And, you know if some places and things have it. In the world of style, you either have it, or you don’t. Many of you may have been told that your meeting and events are different and no one can explain why. I...

Meeting planners know the feeling of standing alone in an empty, vast ballroom in the early morning hours before the sun rises or at night long after the last participant duly exits. There is something captivating that envelopes you—that sound of silence when looking...

Twitter allows us 140 characters to deliver a message and catch the attention of our followers to take action. That action may be to connect to an article, Web site, book, or to engage another person. Either way, it is the haiku of the Twitter experience that makes it...

Georgia O’Keeffe said, “I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way—things I had no words for.” Me, too, Georgia, except that when I wear my event designer hat, those colors and shapes are transposed from a canvas to a ballroom....

There was a time in New York City when major department stores ran across popular intersections. The prime example of this is Macy’s. Its flagship location continues to sit on its 34th Street throne, maintaining the importance to the larger brand, and serving as a...

In theater, actors and stage elements are deliberately positioned based on how and where the director wants the actors to move. This is called blocking. Meetings and events require the same deliberate choices, and we call it flow.  The most critical success...

Neil Armstrong (left) with Dianne Devitt (right) I recently had the privilege of working with the brilliant women and men at MIT to plan the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. The name of the event was “Giant Leaps: Perspective is Everything” – and yes, it...