Plan Your Meetings

By Guest Blogger Allison Goldstein, PYM intern

On Sept. 16, I attended my first event with the Plan Your Meetings crew at the beautiful Atlanta Botanical Gardens. It was my first visit to the gardens, but I quickly discovered just how beautiful they are; what a perfect location for an event! Upon arrival, the other interns and I received a quick tour (all the setups were flawless!) and were given an overview of what would be taking place there in a few hours. We arrived just in time to watch the exhibitors set up in Day Hall, where the trade show would be taking place. Everyone was so friendly! A few of the exhibitors even gave us a summary of their companies and asked us about our internships. It was refreshing to see people so enthusiastic about their jobs.

When 3 p.m. rolled around, the other interns and I stood outside the doors of Day Hall and offered eco-friendly bags to the incoming meeting planners. We welcomed all the planners to the event, and by 3:30 p.m., it was obvious that everyone was excited to be in attendance. Around 4 p.m., just as the presentations were about to begin in Mershon Hall, the clouds opened up and it began to POUR. Not that rain isn’t welcomed at an organic garden, but had it waited just 10 more minutes, the planners would have been able to successfully make the 20-yard walk from Day Hall to Mershon Hall without getting soaked. I, personally, found the situation quite challenging, but the PYM staff was on their toes. Within five minutes, we had gotten a hold of what seemed like a dozen umbrellas, which we used to literally shuttle people between buildings. Unfortunately, my lack of height made it hard for me to stay under the umbrella, but I was happy to help the planners stay dry as they made their way into Mershon Hall for the presentations and keynote speech.

After all the planners were transported to the appropriate location, the interns and I headed to the registration table to hand out parking vouchers and collect nametags for those leaving the event. The nametags were going to be recycled and reused for the next event. In fact, the whole event was environment-friendly! Even the silverware was made of bamboo, and the guests loved it. Not only was I amazed by the event’s great vibe and success, but also that it was promoting environmental awareness.

I would like to thank the whole Plan Your Meetings staff for making me feel so welcome at the company. I am so grateful for this opportunity, and I have already learned a lot about the company and the industry. I always look forward to Monday and Wednesday afternoons when I get to return to work, and I can’t wait for the rest of the semester!

Allison Goldstein is an Atlanta Metropolitan Publishing editorial intern for the 2009/2010 school year. With Plan Your Meetings, she assists at local PYM LIVE Events, copyedits and fact checks. With Encore Atlanta, she assists the editors in the creation of arts-centric editorial.