I have to hand it to Stacie Krajchir-Tom, Vanessa Williams, Doyon Ahn Morato and Siska Hutapea — these ladies know how to put on a conference. If attendees of the Guam Women’s Chamber of Commerce Hightide Women’s Summit on Feb. 17 took nothing else away (which would be utterly impossible) from the energized, information-rich panels and presentations about building confidence, harnessing the power of social media for your business, and branding and monetizing a business, they likely took away notes about how to plan a very impactful event.
Just like crafting an article, designing floor plans or creating a company logo, planning an event requires that the individual moments that will form the complete event be visualized at the start, or the lack of direction will be apparent in the final product and the well-intentioned purpose of the event or project might fall flat.
Stacie, a Guam-raised, now L.A.-based public relations guru whose vision it was to host a women’s summit in Guam, explained the back-and-forth collaborative process with Creative Director Kelley Lilien to capture the essence of what the event would be in a logo. And the logo became a core part of the event, creating cohesion and uniformity among everything else — the stage setup, the program booklet, the speakers and the flow of the presentations, the gift bags, the side shops and activities.
It was obvious the planners had walked through the event in their minds identifying opportunities to facilitate networking and conversation, to thoughtfully promote the vendors and sponsors — including Guam Business Magazine’s sister publication, the Marianas Business Journal — throughout the event and to give added value to the attendees through things like a popup photo studio where women could have their professional portraits taken and then delivered by email.
Having a vision early on creates a better outcome for any type of planning. A mental walk-through of all that is likely — and if you’re really organized, for what is unlikely — to happen, will not only be yield a more impactful end result, but a result that is longer lasting and, hopefully, more cost-efficient.
One example where envisioning contingencies is crucial is in planning utility infrastructure. The utility corporations face lack of funds and resources, which have, as you’ll see in our in-depth coverage of utilities throughout Micronesia this issue, created a barrier to thinking or planning too far past the problems at hand. There are, however, substantial projects and positive steps taking place on almost every island in the way of improving utilities infrastructure, and we hope this feature provides you some useful information as you seek to grow or invest in the islands.
Also this issue is our second feature in a year-long series called Passport to the Airline Industry. In recent years, we’ve had series on leisure activities, on eateries for business-specific occasions with Business Bites, and now we’re offering a more personal look at the individual airlines serving Guam and Saipan. Every issue will feature airlines serving a specific region from the Marianas. You’ll find their on-time performance, in-flight amenities offered as well as what features will cost you extra.
Jackie Hanson
Managing Editor
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