My Career

With only months left until my college graduation, I realized that the time had come for me to figure out what I wanted to do as a career. It seemed like every second I was being bombarded with questions about what I was going to do after school, and I always had the same answer—that I wasn’t sure yet. Over the past couple of summers, I had spent my breaks interning at an art gallery, a trust firm, and a non-profit group, all of which were unique experiences that were completely different from one another. In the end, I came to realize that I walked away from each experience with loads of new knowledge and skills, but no true passion for any of the dynamic career paths. Over the years, I had always considered event planning as a potential career that I could really love, but had little actual experience in the field outside of small sorority recruitment events at my university. When I came across the incredible opportunity to intern with Gala, I was more than excited to learn more about this industry that I previously knew so little about. Within the first week I learned more than I had ever anticipated I could possibly learn in an internship. From learning how to set up and number tables in a room, to how to fold a napkin five different ways, I gained a wide range of new knowledge and skills that I genuinely found interesting and fun. However, the most valuable thing I learned during that first week at Gala was the importance of the strong relationships event planners have with each and every one of their clients. My very first day on the job, I was able to sit in on a meeting with a planner and her client, where I was able to witness the passion that the Gala planners have for their work. After seeing this, I was really inspired to be an event planner, and I knew for sure that this was a career path that I wanted to pursue.

by Jessica Marzelli, Event Planner Intern

A lesson learned

There was a time, early in my career, when I was working regularly at a downtown hotel and my clients were small associations and small corporations with special events. Three times within a two month period, my clients told me that they had a limited budget for the special event that would be the grand finale of their annual meeting.

I would plan their events and give them a bit more than they were budgeted to spend. It was a big bang for their buck. I also had a trick up my sleeve. The hotel had beautiful, 8 feet tall palms in large terra cotta containers lining the large concourse in front of the ballrooms.

After my crew set up the décor that the client had paid for, I had my guys bring in as many of the palms as we needed to enhance the look of the event. Everyone was thrilled with what was done.

The fourth time I went to pull my little trick, the palms wouldn’t budge from their settings. I asked my contact at the hotel what had happened. He told me that they got tired of having to move the palm trees back after I had used them so they anchored them to the floor.

It had never entered my mind to tell my crew to put them back after the event was over. I inadvertently outsmarted myself by not considering the hotel’s needs.

I learned a great lesson. Always treat all people that work on your job as a member of your own team. Their tasks should always be considered and should always be respected. You want them to cooperate with you, so you should set the tone and cooperate with them. Since then, teamwork has been an important feature of each and every event that I have executed.

by Paul Garner, Vice President