People 8-1-1998

Meetings & Conventions: People August 1998
August 1998
People

EDITED BY CHRYSTAL INGRAM WHITE

Jean Baier Swaffer is an independent consultant based in Half Moon Bay, Calif. A 20-year veteran of the meetings industry, she specializes in helping corporations integrate travel management and meeting planning operations.

If the sky were the limit, how would you reward yourself for a meeting well done?
I'd get a massage. After a day at the spa, I would get some really good mystery books, curl up in my bed and not come out until I had to.

What was your first job?
I was a secretary for Edison Electric Institute. One day I was asked to cover a meeting because someone was sick. They said all I needed to do was register people. I found out there was a lot more to it.

What's your best travel tip?
Wear broken in, comfortable shoes. (I own about 12 pairs of Aerosoles; I have them in every color.) Also, after you've packed everything you want to take, put half back.

Describe the perfect attendee.
Someone who actually reads the literature that was sent to him.

What popular song would make a good meeting planners' anthem?
"R*E*S*P*E*C*T."

What celebrity would make the best meeting planning partner?
I wouldn't pick a celebrity; I would pick my husband, Fred Swaffer (a longtime Hewlett-Packard travel manager), because he sees things from a different point of view.

Who is your mentor?
Doris Sklar (former General Electric planner, who died in a car accident), for her honesty, attention to detail and willingness to share her knowledge with others.

LOREN G. EDELSTEIN

Buckles returns to TSEA
Sharon Buckles has been named manager of education and conferences for the Trade Show Exhibitors Association in Springfield, Va., a position she held in 1995-96. Buckles was most recently manager of association services for the Society of National Association Publications in McLean, Va.

Butler moves to IFT
Stan Butler has been named meetings and expositions services manager at the Institute of Food Technologists in Chicago. Butler was previously meetings and conventions director for the American College of Emergency Physicians in Irving, Texas.

McKnight joins CTAM
Patti McKnight, CMP, is the new director of meetings for CTAM, the marketing society for the cable telecommunications industry, based in Alexandria, Va. McKnight was formerly director of partnership marketing and event management for the Interactive Services Association, based in Silver Spring, Md.

Taylor opens consulting firm
Bill Taylor, outgoing president and CEO of the American Society of Association Executives, has formed Bill Taylor, Association Consulting, in Washington, D.C. Taylor was president of ASAE for 16 years.

Suppliers

If you would like notice of a career move considered for inclusion in this column, contact Chrystal Ingram White, Managing Editor, M&C, 500 Plaza Dr., Secaucus, N.J. 07096; fax (201) 319-1796; e-mail: [email protected].