Welcome to our “Day in the Life” series! We feature wedding and event planners from around the world with many different levels of experience. If you would like to be featured, download our questionnaire here and email your responses and photo to info@plannerslounge.com. We are excited to feature New York City event planner Chris James today!

Name: Chris James, CMP

Business Name & Location: Conference Manager for a Non Profit Association in NYC and Independent Events Consultant

Years Working in the Event Industry: 10+ years

Website: www.linkedin.com/in/jameschristine

What is your typical day like?

Well they say no day is typical in the events industry, and that is certainly true. But I will focus on the day of one of my events. I wake up about 5:00 am and by 5:45 am I am in the car headed into the city by 6:30 am. I use the time in the car to review the event plan for the day, and any last minute details. Once I arrive at the facility (usually a hotel or upscale university club), I facilitate the staff members setting up our event registration area. That is a priority because in NYC, many people have long commutes and will arrive very early to beat traffic! We want to ensure they are welcomed from the moment they arrive.

After confirming setup of the registration area, I go into the meeting halls and review the seating plans, meet with audio visual (AV) team and venue contacts to review the event plan once again to make sure we are all on the same page, and modify any head counts. We do a final AV check, and begin waiting on our speakers and guests to arrive. Our conference begins with opening remarks at 8:45am, and new speakers arrive for their sessions approximately every hour. Around 10:30am, right after our guests have returned back from their coffee break, I meet with the banquet manager to review our lunch plans and check the room and review the menu and flow.

Typically lunch starts at 12:30, and while conference attendees are eating, I am preparing for afternoon breakout sessions. Depending on the facility, this may mean closing up room air walls to create smaller rooms, or guiding guests to different rooms in the facility. Once lunch finishes at 1:30, the guests go into afternoon breakout sessions until the last hour of the day, and they have one refreshment break. The program ends around 5:00pm. Once all of their program evaluations and CPE (continuing professional education) materials are turned in, my staff and I begin to breakdown the registration area and pack to go home.

How did you get started in the industry?

I sort of just had a knack for it due to my strong organizational skills. I have an HR degree and background and my first job out of college was as an HR Assistant. In addition to the HR duties, I was responsible for planning all of the company’s internal events. I established their first annual “Take Your Daughter to Work Day,” as well as coordinated the holiday parties and staff picnics.

From there I went on to a 5 year stint in the trade show industry, and the last 5 years I have been in association meeting planning. Through testing and job experience, I earned my CMP (Certified Meeting Professional) designation, which recognizes individuals who have achieved the meetings industry’s highest standard of professionalism. Although I execute mostly corporate events, I like to stimulate my creativity and flexibility as a consultant and volunteer. I have worked on the events team with the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, United Aid for Africa Fundraising, and was one of the event planners for the 2013 Full Figured Fashion Week in NYC.

Where do you find design inspiration?

I am a true foodie, so I get a lot of inspiration from a variety of food magazines such as Edible Brooklyn/Manhattan, Food & Wine and Specialty Food. I also enjoy reading interior decorating magazines, trade show publications, and blogs for inspiration on table settings and event design trends. I try to stay away from traditional meeting planning magazines for inspiration, because they may not always be on the cutting edge of food and event design trends. In my full time role as a conference manager, many of our events are of the traditional educational nature, and depending on the contract, often there is not much variation outside of typical food meeting packages.

What are your favorite online resources for your business?

Pinterest, Anthropologie, Bizbash and Style Me Pretty

Chris, thank you so much for taking the time to share your story and a day in your life. If you are an event planner and would like to be featured, download our questionnaire today and email it to us along with a photo. If you aren’t sure about being featured, take a few minutes to read how it can help your business.