laura's logic
Learn more about this month's issue
in our digital edition ignitemag.ca
Passionate Planner
It's always exciting to see new businesses launch: it's fur-
ther indication of the strength of the industry to support
and nurture new initiatives.
That's why I had to meet Shannon Byck, CMP, for coffee.
She recently co-launched Intuitive Conferences + Events,
the new full-service event management company affiliated
with the site selection company Meeting Encore, which
Byck joined last October.
"I would hear our site selection clients describe their
goals for their events, and I really wanted to be involved,"
she recalls. Her Meeting Encore colleague, David Drover,
who also has a lengthy event-planning history, started
talking about leveraging their skills. "It became clear we
were missing opportunities and it made sense for us to
explore the idea of starting a planning company."
Byck came to the industry almost by accident. She had
graduated with a psychology degree but was unsure about
what she wanted to do when a friend asked her to plan an
event. "I really enjoyed the details. I thought, this could be
a career," she says. She enrolled in the event management
program at Niagara College.
That led to 15 years as a planner for associations and,
most recently, as manager of conferences and events for
Canada Health Infoway.
Though she admits that her detail-oriented personal-
ity makes her a bit of a natural planner—"I always have
to-do lists going!"— she's a big believer in education and
improving her skills. She obtained her CMP designation
three years ago. "It was six months of hardcore dedication
but it was so rewarding."
Laura Bickle, Editor
laura@ignitemag.ca
@LauraIgnite
We're thrilled to
announce that Ignite
was named Trade
Publication of the
Year at the Canadian
Society of Magazine
Editors.
Me
and
Shannon,
left
ignitemag.ca
September | October 2016
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