I lectured at Stratford University about benefit auctions.
One of my favorite event planners in Washington, D.C. is Alice Conway, CSEP. I met her when I was a student in the George Washington University Event Management Certificate program, and she was overseeing the program.
Alice has since gone on to launch a similar event management certificate program at Stratford University, while simultaneously running her event management company, BB&C Productions Inc.
Alice is a svelte, sophisticated woman who looks more like she should be a publicist in New York than working as an event planner in D.C. She seems to know everyone in the D.C. event industry, warmly greeting them and then quickly listing off their accomplishments when introducing them to others. She exudes a sophistication in both style and manner … and she’s usually easy to spot, because her chic, tailored clothes are often some shade of pink.
One of the elective courses of the event management program is Event Fundraising. Alice invited me to be a guest lecturer for an hour or so during that 15 hour course.
What a fun class! The students asked some good questions about benefit auctions and other fundraising events, and were also inquisitive about the process of securing an auctioneer’s license. Before leaving, I organized a drawing. The students put their name on a piece of paper and the winner could attend one of my upcoming benefit auctions to observe, assist, and absorb.
All of the students were so enthusiastic about wanting to attend an event, I finally caved. All students have the opportunity to attend a benefit auction now, so some of my clients this fall will receive a bonus. You might be one of the lucky events where I’ll be accompanied by a capable event planner from Stratford University.
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