If it weren't for an Eastern Air Lines strike 10 years ago, Kathy Blount, CMP, might still be a flight attendant instead of the founder of Meeting Dynamics Inc., a full-service meeting and special event planning company in Miami. During the strike, Blount's brother talked her into coming to work at the hotel that employed him. Blount did and spent several years in hotel sales and destination management until she struck out on her own a little over four years ago.
When she started Meeting Dynamics, Blount had one client and did everything. Four years later, her business has grown to include a staff of four. Her client roster includes PolyGram Video, South Florida Super Bowl Committees, NFL Enterprises, Omnipoint, Lipton, Orbit Sports Marketing, MCI and AT&T, among others.
Blount says her niche is finding one-of-a-kind event venues. For example, she scouted 42 locations for NFL Enterprises' pre-Super Bowl '99 party for team owners, sponsors, players and celebrities. For that event, which attracted more than 1,100 guests, Blount chose the 30,000-square-foot slab of concrete that served as the helicopter pad for the old Nixon compound in Key Biscayne, Florida. She tented the helicopter pad to create an open-air ballroom with a "Miami Deco Lights" theme.
Because this was a private residence, Blount had to get 20 permits and go door-to-door to the 200 surrounding houses to get permission to throw the party. Not surprisingly, Blount's motto is: "Deal with the little things before they become big things."
That event was such a success that NFL Enterprises referred Blount to the Denver Broncos, and she provided state-of-the-art decorations and staffing for the national champions' Broncos Celebration Party-with just four days' notice. Blount is already planning both the 2000 and 2001 NFL Superbowl Parties.
