Looking Back

My longtime business motto has been: “Don’t look back—and don’t look down!”

But I am looking back now. After 21 wonderful years with Special Events Magazine and The Special Event, I am stepping back. Our company, Informa, has been gracious enough to offer a departure package to people like me who been around for a ridiculous amount of time, and I am taking it.

From Australia to Austin, the Bahamas to Boston, Dubai to Denver, my tenure at Special Events has allowed me to travel to amazing places. I am so grateful for this. (And my husband is envious because my passport has cooler stamps than his does.)

I am even more grateful for the experiences I have had with you all.

I remember our guests walking into the stunning Wedding Luncheon in Las Vegas in 2004 and bursting into tears because it was so beautiful. (Thank you, Cheryl Fish.)

And always, always, I am so proud of the Special Events Gala Awards. It has been a privilege to watch event professionals take the stage to enjoy the recognition they richly deserve. These moments are engraved on my heart.

I am also grateful for the business owners who shared their stories—good and bad—for our articles and our endless lists: the rental industry, corporate forecast, big DMCs, and so on. When I started at Special Events, some big-time business reporters called me out for being unable to quantify the size and scope of our industry. We’ve made it our goal to remedy that—an initiative that is even more important as our industry fights to prove it deserves COVID relief in these trying times.

The Special Events brand will be in good hands with my colleague Kathleen Stoehr of Catersource taking the reins. And you had better promise me you will be at The Special Event Catersource 2021 in Miami Beach in July.

Thank you for opening my eyes to how beautiful, exciting and powerful special events can be.

Wishing you better, brighter days,

Lisa