ESPA Virtual Conference & Inaugural Leadership in Services Award

By Paola Bowman, CMP, CMM | Arlington CVB Destination Services Manager & ESPA Board Member

In what has been a tough and unprecedented year for everyone in our industry, The Event Service Professionals Association (ESPA) held its annual conference virtually this January 21 & 22. Though we know that ESPA members’ resourcefulness and expertise would be second to none in navigating through running a face-to-face convention with the current protocols, we are aware of the struggles our members are going through with furloughs and budget restraints.

ESPA has continued to provide education focused on supporting our members to help planners face new challenges while planning COVID-era events. ESPA leadership’s commitment to stay true to our primary mission …to prepare members, through education and networking, for their pivotal role in innovative and successful event execution, rose to the top of evaluation and decision process for this conference. ESPA’s objective is always to keep our members connected and to deliver content, education and peer networking in the best way that we can. Given the current economic climate of our industry, it was clear to the leadership that to best serve our members, a Virtual Annual Conference was the optimal way to reach more people and carry out a lower cost for member participation.

ESPA gathered virtually over two days Thursday / Friday January 21-22, for a services-centric event with the theme #ServicesStrong. Education focused on new and changing event services topics included learnings and best practices for COVID-era events. The organization was pleased to hear from keynote speakers like author and entrepreneur Simon Bailey, PNC Arena’s Larry Perkins, celebrity psychologist Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo, MPI’s director of events Melinda L. Burdette co-presenting with Jesse States from the MPI Academy, and others. The conference delivered a blend of these high-impact keynotes with interactive coffee and activity breaks, think tanks and breakout sessions. Building interactive moments during the conference was important for ESPA’s membership. The planning committee team provided that through sponsor appointments, activity breaks, virtual happy hours, and engaging members for conversations to last post-conference. The conference also featured a leadership track to enable Services department heads to share best practices and collaborate.

ESPA announced at the start of the conference that two event service professionals would be recognized after rising above a challenging 2020 with a top national award in leadership in event services. Kristen Turner, CMP, DES, Director of Convention Services at Visit PITTSBURGH, and Una Garvey, Director of Convention & Tourism at Tampa Convention Center, were honored with the Leadership in Services award at ESPA’s virtual annual conference. “ESPA created this award to honor our special members who have been proactive in the face of adversity,” said Jamie Huckleberry, ESPA president and director of event services at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh. “Amid COVID-19, Kristen and Una exhibited innovation, empathy, drive and superior communication skills to overcome.”

The Leadership in Services award recognizes event service professionals from CVBs, Convention Centers, Hotels and Conference Centers who have demonstrated leadership in 2020. With the many obstacles that COVID has presented this year, these individuals took the lead to keep the well-being of our industry or of their own community top of mind.

As a forum for CSMs and an educational and networking resource, ESPA advocates for the role and impact that event service professionals have on the success of events and destinations, hotels, and convention centers. As such, the organization looks forward to another full year full of virtual content and networking for its members and the industry at large. ESPA’s next conference will take place Jan. 21-23, 2022, at The Westin Kansas City at Crown Center.

About ESPA

With more than 500 members, the Event Service Professionals Association (ESPA) is dedicated to elevating the event and convention services profession and to preparing members, through education and networking, for their pivotal role in innovative and successful event execution. For more information, visit www.espaonline.org.