Friday, February 28, 2014

Thank you Cantrav

My Ode to Cantrav
As I look forward to some holidays and the end of my time at Cantrav draws near, I look back with fond memories on the many friends and fabulous events I have enjoyed during my five years as the Creative Director here.  I have had many fabulous creative and production team members, notably Kelly Clarke, my compadre and the other half of my brain whose balance to my skill set has been (in her word) "awesomesauce", the lovely Jen Aldridge, fiesty Luiza Junqueira aka Darth Vader and the quietly fabulous Tristan Bassett, all who made my work life more interesting, and more enjoyable.

George, our fearless leader; Lisa who brought me here to start with; Janice and her endless energy and depth of knowledge; the Resource team of Marijke, May, Teresa, Monica and recently Priscilla and Krista whose intimate and updated knowledge of our area astounds me; our support team with Brian, Ruth, Jenny and Lynne, and the inimitable Sue who keeps popping up; Christine and Selene, Dave and Tom with their stories; Our Service delivery team of smart, funny, customer-focused women including spunky Kim in Whistler; adventurers Lynn, Kim, Tracey and Claudia who have Rocked the Rockies with me; Michelle who balances my early mornings with her late nights, Jen and Jo-Anne and Missy, our Director of Business Events who pointed out today that we have worked together for all but nine months of the last nine years, and whose yin is my yang and who with the team members will continue to make conferences brain-friendly and awesome.

No DMC or Event Producer is complete without great vendor partners, and we have had these in spades. You know who you are because you are the ones working our programs, and bringing it home with us show after show. My deep gratitude to you.

For me, the journey to engaging events using technology is a logical next step, and I look forward to seeing where this leads, and working with many familiar faces in a new way, and learning and growing as we move forward in our fast - paced world.

They asked today what my favorite events were in the past five years, and there are really too many to name, but here are a few...
Four Seasons of Canada - 600 guests

MPI WEC 2010 Welcome Reception
My last "Fire and Ice" at the Olympic Cauldron, 2012
Would I recommend Cantrav? In a heartbeat. The things I have loved - the depth of knowledge, the passion for service, the innate skills and the dedication to excellence, these are all still here so if you need an excellent partner for your business or special events, you can trust they will get it right!