Internship with Destination Management Company!

Roberts Event Group knows how to gauge and stage an event, is flexible enough to manage one element or the entire program, work up front or behind the scenes. Planners feel at ease with the company’s clear communication, team involvement and tireless work ethic. This is a team that works for you, with you, is accessible and responsive, giving you what you want and more - events that come to life, audiences that get inspired and results that get noticed

Roberts Event Group is a full service corporate events company servicing the tri-state region for over 25 years. We provide services that include Destination Management, Event Production, Incentive Programs and Conference Services.

Internship Program – Coordinator Job Responsibilities

The goal of our Internship program is to educate the selected individual in the many aspects of our industry. We are looking for a highly energetic person who is multi-task oriented.

The right candidate will be exposed to:

Coordination Department

• Talent/vendor confirmation mailings;
• Distribution of entertainment/vendor material for clients to include: audio and video dubbing;
• Talent/vendor research for new services and product;
• Destination Management manifest creation and input;
• Proposal research and writing;
• Talent/vendor negotiations
• Event site selection visits
• Hands-on experience in DMC to include transportation staffing and registration;
• Special event coordination

Administration Department

• Back-up answering the phones and directing calls
• Take new call sheets and distribute
• Make up corporate packets
• Make up social letter packets
• Mail packets
• Copy, distribute and mail contracts
• File single papers into files
• Type and file new contract folders including proposals
• Keep proposal log up to date
• Keep music library filing up to date
• Take direction from Office Administrator for other odd jobs/projects to be completed

Internship would require 3 - 5 days per week and 15 - 40 hours per week. Weekend hours would only be necessary if the candidate is interested in working on an event that falls on the weekend. There is no payment for this internship program; however, additional income may be obtain from working on events for the company.

The office is located by the Jenkintown Train Station.

If interested please contact:

Robert Carachilo

Director of Operations

robertseventgroup.com

215.887.7880 (w)

Penn State Experience at the 2008 PCMA Annual Conventin

Three years ago, when I stepped foot into the Philadelphia Convention Center for the 2006 PCMA Annual Meeting, I never thought five days would change the rest of my college career. As a freshman at Penn State, I came home from the convention counting down the days until graduation. I had found my true passion, the events industry.

Beyond discovering my passion, PCMA has also allowed me to develop personally and professionally. My networking skills have improved drastically and my confidence has grown significantly. Those skills are reflected in interviews, group work, internships, classes, and my personal life. Penn State’s curriculum only has two classes devoted to event planning, so the educational aspect of PCMA has given me knowledge I otherwise wouldn’t have exposure to.

During the recruitment of students, I always try to convey how important this organization is to me. I try to explain how spellbinding the Annual Convention is in every aspect. Penn State ended up sending twenty students to the 2008 Annual Convention in Seattle, and I couldn’t be prouder. We represented ten percent of the student body, the second largest population (second to a school that was driving distance).

Tuesday night in Seattle, our group was sitting around a table and we all shared about our experience with the convention thus far. Each first time attendee radiated passion and gushed about how grateful they were for joining PCMA. It literally brought tears to my eyes because they finally got it; they finally understood the passion of the industry and the importance of PCMA.

After returning to State College, that energy is still high within the group. We have numerous guest speakers planned and students begging to get more involved. Individually, students are continuing to build their network and are seeking more opportunities for education. Our professors are more than impressed with the organization and the students, calling us a “model student organization” with “first rate” educational programming. We as an organization look to those compliments with gratitude, yet also use them to raise the bar of excellence.

On behalf of PCMA Penn State, I would like to thank you all. Your hospitality and willingness to help foster our education is why we’re able to be successful. You, the people, are what make this industry amazing, so from all the students I express my deepest gratitude.

Ashley Akright
Secretary
PCMA Penn State

[Ashley is the 2007 winner of the Greater Philadelphia Chapter PCMA Student Scholarship]

Amazing Student Scholarship Opportunities - Deadlines Approaching!

Applications are due March 12, 2008 for the Roy B. Evans Scholarship, the Multicultural Scholarship and the Student Planner of the Year Scholarship.

Greater Philadelphia Student Members have a history of winning!

Last year

• Astrid Schrier from Temple University - Student Planner of the year,
• Matthew Ardakanian from University of Delaware - Roy B. Evans Scholarship

2006

• Widener University – Student Chapter of the Year
• Linsey Poletti - Widener University – Chairman’s Award
• Deana Piva – Widener University - Roy B. Evans
• Matthew Ardakanian – University of Delaware - Roy B. Evans
• Dr. Brian Miller – University of Delaware – Educator of the Year

2005

• Katie Steigerwalt – University of Delaware – Chairman’s Award

2003

• University of Delaware – Student Chapter of the Year
  

Apply now to win a $5,000 tuition-based scholarship; an opportunity to attend the 2009 PCMA Annual Meeting in New Orleans and plan a student seminar with a $1,000 tuition-based award; and/or $1,000 scholarship to offset the expenses of tuition, textbooks, and other associated educational costs.

NEW Scholarship opportunity! The PCMA Education Foundation is making it possible for up to five lucky PCMA Student Members to receive a scholarship to attend the PCMA Leadership Conference June 8-10 in Los Angeles. Check online for more details. We will begin accepting applications soon, so look for the application to be posted March 4th. The deadline for this scholarship will be in early April.

Watch your body language!

Job Interview coming up? Watch your body language! Image consultant Susan Bixler says you should never underestimate the importance of nonverbal communication in a job interview.

To read the full article click HERE.

Myspace, Facebook, Meeting Planning, Oh My!

What do websites like Myspace, Facebook, YouTube, Flikr, and Wikipedia have to do with meeting planning? These social networking sites are now important means of creating connections between users, and many of these users are meeting attendees.

Social networking sites are now very popular means of getting messages out to attendees, and also are used by attendees to do research on the meeting destinations and information about upcoming meetings and events.

Michael Goldstein wrote an article recently about social networking and meeting planning, and it can be found here.

Student Planner of the Year - Astrid Schrier

Every year the PCMA Education Foundation offers students the opportunity to gain hands on experience at the Annual Meeting through their scholarship programs. This past year I was chosen as the recipient of the Student Planner of the Year award. This scholarship requires that the student create an education session that can be implemented at the Annual Meeting. My session centered on the topic of servant leadership and how it can be put into practice in our industry.

In June of 2007, I was informed that I had won the scholarship. I proceeded to call my boss, GPPCMA Past President Eva Matyskiela and my previous advisor, Dr. Joe Goldblatt to tell them the good news. I think it only took about another two hours before most of the GPPCMA chapter and the faculty at Temple University’s School of Tourism and Hospitality Management knew about the award. I guess I told the right people to spread the news.

Within the next couple of weeks I was contacted by Kristin Crane, Manager of PCMA’s Education department and Dr. Cynthia Vanucci, my PCMA appointed mentor who was on the Annual Meeting Program Committee. My next step was to work with Dr. Vanucci to establish my goals and learner objectives for my session. After this was completed, I needed to find a speaker. In my original session proposal I identified two men from the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership. I contacted one of those men, Larry Spears, but he informed me that he and the other speakers in their speaker’s bureau would be unable to attend. He recommended I contact Jan Levy, a former member of their Board of Directors who lived in Seattle and worked for Leadership Tomorrow. I contacted Jan and she agreed to be my speaker.

In the months before the Annual Meeting I would touch base with Kristin and Jan to make sure that everything was in order for the session. Since I had chosen to have a single speaker on a single topic, as opposed to say a panel of speakers, there was not much else to do before the actual session.

Upon arriving in Seattle, I was able to meet and connect with the other scholarship winners and PCMA staff members. Being scholarship winners we had a predetermined schedule to follow that included attending all of the student sessions, helping speakers, assisting with set-ups and the Career Fair and attending meetings. I also got a chance to be filmed for a video for the PCMA Education Foundation promoting the scholarships that they offer. It was nice to have a preset schedule to follow because I did not have to worry about planning all of my own activities, but we still had allotted time where we could make our own decisions.

My session was held on Tuesday morning proceeding the general session. I started to get nervous on Monday night, but as the general session ended, my nervousness hit its all time high. All of the other scholarship winners except Lauren Staiano from University of Central Florida had to be at another session, so Lauren was instructed to keep me calm and she did. All I really had to do during my session was introduce my speaker after I had been introduced by Gery Seibert, Chairman of the Education Foundation. Of course it didn’t help that my entire chapter was sitting in front of the podium, but I got through it. The session seemed to be a success and the topic well received.

I recommend that every student apply for the scholarships offered by the Education Foundation. Each scholarship, while being different in requirements and prizes, allows students to gain hands on experience that they may not necessarily get a chance to attain. By being awarded this scholarship, I was able to focus on fundraising for other students in my chapter to attend the meeting since my trip was already taken care of. Also, I was recognized by more professionals in the industry because they knew I had been awarded the scholarship.

If any students have any questions about applying for scholarships, please do not hesitate to email me at astrid.schrier@temple.edu.