March 3, 2004 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Q. How can I find training in event, gala, and meeting planning?
A. First stop: Check out your local colleges and universities. Many offer degrees in event and meeting planning, often as a concentration within a travel-management program, says Joanna Lanzirotti, senior meeting and events planner at the Enterprise Foundation, in Columbia, Md., which supports low-cost housing, child care, and job opportunities to low-income people. In fact, even if your local institutions of higher education don’t have appropriate programs, several universities offer meeting-planning courses online. George Washington University, for example, offers event-management courses. The William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration, at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, offers courses in hospitality management.
Training opportunities to be found within professional organizations, such as Meeting Professionals International or the Professional Convention Management Association, which offer conferences and more online course work, as well as various certificate programs and industry publications.
But while education is definitely helpful, the best training in event planning is gained through experience, says Ms. Lanzirotti. “I’ve been at five different nonprofit organizations in my career, and each one is a little bit different,” she says. Learning about the ins and outs of different venues, union rules and regulations, and all the other details that go into planning a successful event are things that you are most likely to learn on the job.
In fact, if you want the best training in event planning, serve as a volunteer on the planning committee of a high- profile gala event in your area, advises Steve Gruber, director of development at the Tammy Lynn Center for Developmental Disabilities, in Raleigh, N.C. “Get on to that committee, go to every single meeting,” he says.
Only a small percentage of volunteers on such events are able or willing to really work their hearts out, Mr. Gruber says. But if you dedicate yourself, you’ll get a close look at what really goes into planning an event — and can pick the brains of those planners who seem to know the most about the work at hand. Just don’t do this during the event’s crunch time, he adds. Also, keep an eye out for the people who work for companies that provide services at charitable events — these individuals may also be fonts of useful information.
