3 Cheers for Malene S. Ward, CMP, CEM, DES, this Month’s Member Spotlight!
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Malene S. Ward, CEM, CMP, DES
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The Phoenix Planning Group is an event planning, logistics and management company that specializes in corporate meetings, conferences and tradeshows. Malene’s vision for her company is to support her clients from the start of the contract signing to the end of the budget reconciliation while ensuring event attendees have the absolute best experience possible.
Her 20-plus years of experience in managing and executing conferences, meetings, webinars and tradeshows makes her more than worthy of this month’s Member Spotlight. Let’s take a moment to learn more about Malene S. Ward:
What is the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Never stop learning! During this challenging time, I've earned my DES, the Google Fundamentals of Digital Marketing, and CVENTs certifications in event management, mobile event app, and venue sourcing certifications. While COVID-19 may have slowed down the live events world, I’ve decided to make the best of my newfound free time and continue educating myself on different facets of the events sector.
What is one of your most memorable events and why?
The one that is sticking out the most right now is one I planned in November 2001. I had started working for the Eye Bank Association of America in August of 2001 and had been at the association about a month when Sept. 11 happened. This was my first manager position where I was the lead for the meeting (being a planner at that point just over two years). The association made the decision to still move forward with the meeting. It was going to be at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans; that city has a special place in my heart because I assisted with my first conference there. It turned out that our attendees loved New Orleans too, it was a great meeting, and we met or exceeded all of our attendance and financial goals. For me personally, it was great to get back to flying and the business of meetings after such a horrible tragedy.
What do you find most inspiring about the industry right now?
I'm very inspired by how our industry is supporting each other, whether it be a word of encouragement, sharing job listings or providing a recommendation. It’s so great that despite the loss of jobs and business within the hospitality industry, we haven't forgotten to be hospitable to each other!
What is one thing you would like to see change in the industry?
I want to see more efforts to improve diversity, equity and inclusion with more representation in high-level positions, speaking opportunities and considerations for diverse partners and suppliers.
What do you love most about being a member of the MPI Potomac Chapter?
I'm new to MPI but have been very impressed with the efforts in DE&I, as well as the sharing of education and information during the pandemic. I want to see those efforts continue and do my part to help as a member of the DE&I, Business Development and Networking Committees.
Malene Fun Facts:
Malene loves to travel. Just last year she traveled to Greece and Italy, where she was able to visit the Vatican, the Colosseum, Santorini, Mykonos and Athens. Other travel destinations include Aruba, Australia, Jamaica, Hawaii and the list goes on. Malene is patiently waiting for the next time she can safely jump on a plane to tackle her next exotic destination!
