By: Danielle Wright, Marriott Tulsa Hotel Southern Hills 

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I have been in the industry since I started my own business as a marketing and sponsorship consultant in 1995 in Phoenix. Working from home was a pretty new concept back then, so I was worried about my dogs barking in the background. I used a PO Box for all of my business correspondence! When I got married and moved to New Orleans with my husband and our oldest son, I decided to fold my business and got an amazing job with Conde’ Nast Johansens luxury hotel guides. These were coffee table books and a website that recommended independent luxury hotels to their readers. I had the privilege of visiting prospective hotels and staying there to see if they were nice enough for our guides! I did that while we moved around – my husband was an officer in the Marine Corps – we lived in New Orleans and DC and evacuated back to KS for six months after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. We finally decided enough was enough, and after our third child, Maggie, was born in 2007, we moved “home” to Kansas City. Both me and my husband are originally from Fort Scott, KS, which is about an hour south of here. I stumbled across HelmsBriscoe when I was searching around for a new, more full-time business since our kids were going to be in school. It was the perfect fit! I combined my travel industry experience with my marketing expertise to find clients and to help them find the best hotels for their events. I started my business in January of 2009, in the dark days of the recession. So many of my colleagues and their clients were getting hit with attrition and cancellation penalties. I made a conscious decision to diversify my portfolio, with an emphasis on associations and non-profits and a little bit of corporate mixed in.

When did you come involved in the PCMA Heartland Chapter and what made you want to join?

Belinda “B” Waldo talked me into it. I was in KCSAE the first couple of years of my business, but it wasn’t really a good fit for a planner. I joined in 2012 – B convinced me that PCMA had the best education opportunities and a strong base here in KC. I haven’t looked back!

What are you looking forward to in 2018 as the Heartland Chapter President?

This year I’m focusing on membership! We are rolling out a membership campaign and our goal is to exceed 300 members by the end of the year. See the membership article in the newsletter for more information on our campaign. I’m also super excited for our E3 conference in Tulsa – Michael Farr and the Hyatt Regency, along with Danielle Wright and Visit Tulsa, and of course our Past Presidents committee, have done an amazing job putting this together.

What is your biggest accomplishment for the Chapter so far this year?

I’m so proud that we raised more than $25,000 from our February silent auction — kudos to our auction committee, especially Megan O’Keefe, who works so hard to make this happen every year. It was a great feeling to present a $15,000 check to the Veterans Community Project!

Where do you see the Heartland Chapter headed?

We are in a great position as a chapter – we are growing, unlike many professional associations – we have a strong board and committees with lots of member involvement – we are branching out to reach all of the states our chapter serves, with events scheduled in St Louis, Fayetteville, Tulsa and Kansas City this year. Next year, we hope to add Nebraska and Iowa events. The sky’s the limit for our chapter. As Liz Huston said in her farewell speech in February – we are no longer the “little chapter that could,” we are the Little Chapter that DOES!!!

What do you want chapter members to know about you?

I shared this during my speech at the board installation gala in February: I’m the girl who listens to hard rock on the way to the farmer’s market from yoga. I’m a bit of a split personality – half of me is all business, the other half is a crunchy do-gooder with a fondness for happy hour. Navigating the time we live in – with bad news coming at us from every angle – is not possible without some coping mechanisms. Prayer, yoga and happy hour are my top picks.