News

Buffalo Business First
Planning, planning and more planning makes your event work
Fall/Winter 2007
By Jane Schmitt

Corporate Banquet & Catering Guide Jeannie Wolf is a planner, a manager and, yes, sometimes even a handyman. You see, she is a professional event planner and as such she occasionally gets called on duty for quick fixes onsite and anything else that needs to be done to ensure a smooth, well-run event.

"I carry a big 'event toolbox' that contains everything I need to make a decision or fix something on the fly," said Wolf, an event specialist and owner of the Buffalo-based Event Elements.

She handles minor and major problems with a professional ease that can only come from lots of experience. Parties, galas, balls, corporate events and fundraisers - she has she has done it all and says she thrives on the excitement of taking an event from start to finish.

"I mean, it can even get down to this," says Wolf. "You're having a party and there's not enough light in the port-a-johns."

Say what?

"If it goes into the evening and it gets dark outside, you have to put some pop lights in there," she says with a laugh.

An unsavory assignment, perhaps, but event planners have to be ready for anything. Remember that Murphy's Law that says whatever can go wrong will go wrong? Forget it, says Wolf, who earned the designation of certified meeting professional from the Convention Industry Council, a Washington-based group.

"Planning is everything when it comes to social and corporate events," she says. "Pre-planning can be three-quarters of the actual event."

Nancy Mosman agrees. As co-manager of The Frog Hair on Transit Road, she knows that the most successful events are the result of advance planning.

The indoor-golf entertainment facility opened in January and is a full-service restaurant and bar open seven days a week. In addition to social events, it also hosts company lunches, dinners, meetings and cocktail parties. That's in addition to the facility's regular "traffic," Mosman says.

Business customers usually know exactly what they want and come in ready to start the planning process, she says. When it comes to social events, people require a bit more guidance to set the details of their event. She says the bottom line for both, however, is this: "Lots of planning to cover every detail so there are no surprises on the day of the event."

The earlier the process begins, the better. That means securing the date, setting a budget, determining the goal of the event as well as the theme, forming committees for specific tasks, compiling the guest list and considering the menu.

A worry-free event, whether small or large, depends on addressing the myriad details well in advance - weeks, months or even up to a year. Professional planners can help. Wolf, for example, is part of a growing field of specialists who belong to trade groups such as Meeting Professionals International and the International Association for Exhibition Management.

"There are so many tasks involved in an event that most people don't consider," she says. "They all relate to each other. The event planner is the person who ties all the pieces together. They need to be aware of everything that's going on so the event will (run) smooth and seamless."

Her biggest event? A 600-person fundraiser years ago for the Culinary Institute of America in New York City that brought in nearly $1 million. She previously was employed by the institute as manager of fundraising events.

More recently, she planned the Taste of Lockport food festival, held in mid-August.

"It's like hiring any other professional," Wolf says. "You hire them for their expertise in a particular field, just like an accountant or a lawyer or an insurance agent." She recently attended a conference in Montreal that drew 4,000 meeting planners.

"It's an industry," Wolf says. "It's really becoming a job that people take seriously.

" After 10 years in business, she has seen first hand how far the industry has come.

"I love it. It's like putting different puzzle pieces together: The florist is a piece; the entertainment is a piece. Put it all together and then you step back," she says. "I like being in the background. You can enjoy the event and see other people enjoying what you helped create."