sea150 behind the scenes of events- industry professionals interview report
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Seneca college
Meet An Event Professional
SEA 150 Final Assignment
Submitted to:Christopher Bacchus
Written By:Nora Hao, Vika Zheng, Ivy Ye
2015/4/17
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Content
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3Amy Falkinson...........................................................................................................................3Leanne Pepper..........................................................................................................................3
Current position details....................................................................................................................4Amy Falkinson...........................................................................................................................4Leanne Pepper..........................................................................................................................4
Educational Background...................................................................................................................5Amy Falkinson...........................................................................................................................5Leanne Pepper..........................................................................................................................6
Past and Current Projects.................................................................................................................6Amy Falkinson...........................................................................................................................6
Lobster Boil at Steam Whistle Brewery on Jul 1st, 2014..................................................6Leanne Pepper..........................................................................................................................9
Images of work...............................................................................................................................11Amy Falkinson.........................................................................................................................11Leanne Pepper........................................................................................................................13
Presentation Summary...................................................................................................................14Interviewee Summary.............................................................................................................14
Bibliography....................................................................................................................................18
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Introduction
Amy Falkinson
Amy Falkinson is a full-time Event Coordinator and Venue Manager based out of
Toronto who is dedicated to always providing superior service to her clients. She
has a passion for developing sound relationships with both internal and external
employees, vendors and suppliers. She brings a creative approach to work each
day and dedicated to continually developing her venue's business. Above all, she
is ways focused on having an entrepreneurial spirit and producing successful
business results.
Amy Falkinson began working at Steam Whistle Brewing as a tour guide and
event staff while at Ryerson University earning her Bachelor of Commerce
degree. It’s then that she fell in love with the history of our building and loved
working at weddings, helping to make a perfect, magical night for couples. Amy
has been our Senior Venue coordinator for three years, helping to substantially
grow our wedding business while also taking care of corporate and other third-party
events.
Leanne Pepper
She has been the General Manager at Faculty Club at the University of Toronto
members club since 1994 and since then she has led the transformation of the
club into a vibrant community of Alumni, Faculty and their families. Despite the
name, the Faculty Club is one of the best hubs for alumni to stay connected to
the University long after they graduate.
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She is also a Certified Etiquette, Protocol and Image Coach, and she trained in
Washington DC at the Washington School of Protocol, so that at the Faculty Club
they can offer etiquette, protocol, and image workshops to students and alumni
to help them further advance their career goals.
Current position details
Amy Falkinson
Steam Whistle Brewing - Senior Venue Coordinator
April 2012 – Present (3 years 1 month)
-Coordinate all 3rd party on-site events at the venue. Work directly in
conjunction with event clients, suppliers and vendors to ensure each event is a
success.
-Building strong relationships and partnerships will all external suppliers and
vendors.
-Assist with the development of new projects, training for new event staff, and
supplier meetings in order to continue the growth and improve the success of our
event operations and Venue
-Manage general event inquiries and correspondence regarding hosting events.
Offer support and guidance to prospective clients, welcoming them to the
brewery, conducting site inspections and effectively communicating the
expectations and procedures specific to our Venue.
-Carry out special projects and events on a changing basis.
-Manage various administrative tasks including processing room deposits and
contracts, updating master event calendar as necessary, and inputting and
updating of data for monthly venue reports
-Creation and editing of event documents as needed.
4
Leanne Pepper
The Faculty Club University of Toronto - General Manager
July 1994 – Present
I'm proud to have been the General Manager of the Faculty Club for almost 20
years.
I love seeing the club as a thriving hub for business networking, social gatherings,
family events, conferences, and of course beautiful weddings.
This year I'm making it my mission to get the message out to UofT Alumni that
the Faculty Club is a great place for them to stay connected with the University
for many years to come, or of course come back into the fold.
This spring we unveiled UofT Bees who will live on the roof of the club, and we
are working hard on a rooftop garden with the University Dig In group too. Come
by anytime and ask for a tour.
10 years ago I qualified as a professional etiquette, protocol and image
consultant. Here at the club we offer training to members, alumni, students, and
external groups. I also instruct the Christopher Leadership Course at U of T on
public speaking and building confidence. It's a joy to see people progress in this
area of their life.
I believe that members of the club benefit from these essential life skills, as well
as the rich networking opportunities and extensive event calendar we offer.
The Club also gives back to the community by working with Evergreen, and
having a commitment to environmental sustainability.
5
Educational Background
Amy Falkinson
Ryerson University
2009 – 2013
Bachelor of Commerce, with Honors
Retail Management, 4.0
Bachelor of Commerce Degree Graduate from the progressive and forward
thinking Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University
Majored in Retail Management, a unique one-of-a-kind program in Canada
focusing on the fast paced and dynamic world of Retail
Leanne Pepper
Washington School of Protocol
2003 – 2003
Certified Etiquette and Protocol Consultant and Image Coach, Dining and
Business etiquette and Image Coach
George Brown College
1980 – 1984
Hospitality Culinary Arts Program, certificate
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Past and Current Projects
Amy Falkinson
Past Projects
Lobster Boil at Steam Whistle Brewery on Jul 1st, 2014
It’s party to celebrate Canada’s national day with lobster and beer.
(Unknown, Steam Whistle)
The Good Beer Folks Show at Steam Whistle Brewery on Jan 1-31, 2015
Steam Whistle Brewery is known as a great supporter of the Toronto arts
community but did you also know that many of our very own Good Beer Folks are
artistically inclined as well? Actors, musicians, painters, photographers,
printmakers, designers and craftspeople no discipline untapped. During the
month of January 2015, sixteen of our very own Good Beer Folks will be
showcasing their talents at the Steam Whistle Gallery.
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(Unknown)
Square2 at Steam Whistle Brewery on Feb 4-28, 2015
Showcasing the works of three local artists (listed below), Squared2 features a
collection of over three dozen pieces all presented in a square format, perhaps
reflective of the current trend of how images are shared digitally through online
platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and mobile.
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(Unknown, Steam Whistle)
Happy Birthday Toronto on Mar 6, 2015
Happy Birthday Toronto is a celebration of the city’s fundamental past, the
evolving present and its promising future.
(Unknown, Steam Whistle)
-Steam Whistle’s annual St-Patrick’s Day Party on Mar 14th, 2015
To celebrate St-Patrick’s Day, Steam Whistle hosted a very exciting party onsite.
Brewery fresh beer, traditional eats from the Irish Embassy, Irish dancers from
the Woodgate-Shamrock Irish Dancers and foot-stomping live music by Brogue
and Scantily Plaid with no shortage of good times all around.
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(Unknown, Steam Whistle)
Current project
Wedding and summer party for a law firm.
Leanne Pepper
Past Projects
The faculty club is a membership club, has hosted weddings, holiday festivals,
and other private events.
Originally called the Cosmopolitan Society when founded in 1907, the Primrose
Club was a private meeting place for Jewish business and professional men. The
Primrose Club remained at 41 Willcocks until 1959 when the University of
Toronto acquired the building for its new Faculty Club.
The Faculty Club opened its doors in the summer of 1960 to faculty and senior
administrators of both genders. For more than a half century, the Faculty Club
has served as an important social centre for the University of Toronto
community, including faculty, administrative staff, alumni.
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Current Project
Thursday, April 16th 5:30pm for 6:00pm Dinner Speaker: Allan Stratton ‘FACT
BASED FICTION’
3 Course Prix Fixe Menu $45.00 (Inclusive) Member $50.00 (Inclusive) Non
Members
(Club)
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Images of work
Amy Falkinson
(Falkinson, conquercancer)
(Lynn)
12
(Lynn)
(SteamWhistle)
(SteamWhistle)
13
Leanne Pepper
(Base)
(Utoronto)
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(Yolaca)
(Unknown, Gettingimages)
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Presentation Summary
Interviewee Summary
Amy Falkinson loves her work. The way she balances her work and life is
schedule the time. She was studying in Ryerson University when working in
Steam Whistle. That’s a very tough for her. When putting every appointment into
timeline, she could figure out her daily life well-organized and refused those
things she didn’t need to do. According to the recent events she had held, the
future trend of the event industry would be more personalized. Every brand
requires their sign and color spread out in the venues. That’s also the way that a
brand builds its brand image. Her favorite event is the one that associated with
Tiff. In that event she met many new people from different fields including
media, actors and good suppliers. Speaking of the emergency, there was almost
no emergency happened because her job is to secure the event to be safe and
smooth. She loves her job and she would keep doing her job because she can
meet new people and create new events everyday and that makes her feels
fresh.
Leanne Pepper has worked in faculty club for more than 30 years. It was her
professor of George Brown College introduced her to work in faculty club. Before
she came to faculty club, she never imagined to work as a club manager. It is the
passion of working in faculty club build her career. The importance change
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started when she became a teacher to teach etiquette in the club. The world
changes fast, she felt young people, as her future customers, are not like the
members she has now. She have to be more flexible to new technologies and art
favors. However, food is always hot topic. The way she deals with the trend is to
open more events of food. What’s more, she held a rock & roll music event last
year and that’s a new thing to faculty club.
Overall, the event industry grows faster than we can imagine. Both of them
suggest new graduates to be positive and get more volunteer experience before
they found a event related job. This kind of experience shows not only knowledge
of the event field but also enthusiasm of working for events. Experience is much
significant than education background.
Process Summary
Why would we interview two professionals while this assignment only requires
one? The reason is that we are international students, we eager to know more
about the event industry in Canada, and we have 2 resources from our dear
professor Chris. Fortunately, we got connections with Steam Whistle and Faculty
Club of Toronto University from Chris class, so we went back and contacted the
senior venue coordinator of Steam Whistle - Amy Falkinson and the general
manager from Faculty Club - Leanne Pepper. Another compelling reason why we
interview them is that these two professionals represent two stages of the career
life: one is new graduate from college for a few years, the other one is in the
golden stage of her career. We have learned a lot from them through the
interview. The challenge they face, the way they found they job and the angle
they treat their career are totally different (see above report). We strongly
believe it is meaningful to interview two professionals in steady of one.
In order to make our presentation more meaningful, media aid is important. We
planned to have photos, video and report as the way we document our
interviews. Before we went to meet these event professionals, we borrowed
tripod from professor Chris and a Canon camera from our classmate. During the
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interview, we both videotaped and voice recorded the whole interviews. Voice
record is necessary to ensure every word had been saved because camera is easy
to shut down. On the other side, photos and report is the best way to document
and we can write the details of the interview which might not been record by
electronically equipments. Overall, we used more than 2 media aids to make
sure our interviews have been documented well.
During the interview, we asked them about the reason to join the event industry,
their favorite clients, way the balance life and work, their insight of the latest
trends in event industry, etc.
We apply the protocols from what we learned from class during this fun activity.
It's our first time to have interview with professions, and the venues are far from
our place, so we need to plan the commute beforehand to make sure be punch.
Moreover, we need to dress properly to demonstrate a professional image
though we are still college students.
Additionally, we found that the photos or stories of professions who work behind
the scene mostly posted online few, which fit the characteristic of their role well.
On the other hand, there is a need to create more exposure for behind the scene
people, there is a lot of treasure to discover.
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Bibliography
Base, Ivan. Wordpress. 14 7 2014. https://ivanchuchu.wordpress.com/tag/dine-like-a-
diplomat/. 16 4 2015. <https://ivanchuchu.wordpress.com/tag/dine-like-a-
diplomat/>.
Club, Faculty. "Faculty Club." n.d. Faculty Club.
http://www.facultyclub.utoronto.ca/getmedia/63a9537a-045a-424b-be7e-
c3328705519d/UWC_Speaker_Lunch_-_Allan_Stratton,_April_12th,_2.aspx. 16 4
2015. <http://www.facultyclub.utoronto.ca/getmedia/63a9537a-045a-424b-be7e-
c3328705519d/UWC_Speaker_Lunch_-_Allan_Stratton,_April_12th,_2.aspx>.
—. Faculty Club. n.d. http://www.facultyclub.utoronto.ca/About-The-Club/A-Brief-
History.aspx. 16 4 2015. <http://www.facultyclub.utoronto.ca/About-The-Club/A-
Brief-History.aspx>.
Falkinson, Amy. n.d. www.steamwhistle.ca/blog/2014/12/. 16 4 2015.
<https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyfalkinson>.
—. n.d. http://www.conquercancer.ca/site/TR/Events/Toronto2014?
px=3598169&pg=personal&fr_id=1513. 16 4 2015.
<http://www.conquercancer.ca/site/TR/Events/Toronto2014?
px=3598169&pg=personal&fr_id=1513>.
Lynn, Ehme. n.d. https://twitter.com/ehmelynn. 16 4 2015.
<https://twitter.com/ehmelynn>.
SteamWhistle. n.d. https://twitter.com/SteamWhistle. 16 4 2015.
<https://twitter.com/SteamWhistle>.
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Unknown. n.d. http://steamwhistle.ca/events/eventdetail.php?id=1659. 16 4 2015.
<http://steamwhistle.ca/events/eventdetail.php?id=1659>.
—. 6 3 2015. http://www.steamwhistle.ca/blog/2015/03/06/women-in-brewing/. 16 4 2015.
<http://www.steamwhistle.ca/blog/2015/03/06/women-in-brewing/>.
—. n.d. http://steamwhistle.ca/events/eventdetail.php?id=1676. 16 4 2015.
<http://steamwhistle.ca/events/eventdetail.php?id=1676>.
—. n.d. http://steamwhistle.ca/events/eventdetail.php?id=1683. 16 4 2015.
<http://steamwhistle.ca/events/eventdetail.php?id=1683>.
—. n.d. 16 4 2015. <http://steamwhistle.ca/events/eventdetail.php?id=1670>.
—. n.d. http://steamwhistle.ca/events/eventdetail.php?id=1682. 16 4 2015.
<http://steamwhistle.ca/events/eventdetail.php?id=1682>.
—. Gettingimages. n.d. http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/students-taking-a-
course-in-propper-dining-protocol-in-red-news-photo/165274447. 16 4 2015.
<http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/students-taking-a-course-in-
propper-dining-protocol-in-red-news-photo/165274447>.
Utoronto. Utoronto. n.d. http://sites.utoronto.ca/faculty/membenefits/courses.html. 16 4
2015. <http://sites.utoronto.ca/faculty/membenefits/courses.html>.
Yolaca. Wordpress. n.d. https://yolaca.wordpress.com/. 16 4 2015.
<https://yolaca.wordpress.com/>.
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