The first time that I met Pamela Wynne, I was struck by her energy and enthusiasm. I was assigning a story about what it's like to run a meetings department, and at the time, she was manager of corporate meeting planning at Educational Testing Service in Princeton, N.J. Even though she had 800 meetings a year and six full-time planners to worry about, she was always gracious and responsive when I called — which was often. In the end, I had learned so much about her and how closely she worked with her CFO that I decided to make that the focus of another article, which became Corporate Meetings & Incentive's cover story last August.
What I didn't realize about Pam is that her openness with the press was part of a very smart campaign that she had mounted to get herself recognized both inside and outside her company. She was also learning the business side of ETS and furthering her education by taking a mini-MBA course. She became a platinum speaker for Meeting Professionals International and spoke all over the country. And she reached out to people like me to share her knowledge and to establish herself as an expert in industry magazines.
In fact, our cover story last year helped her to achieve that recognition within and beyond her company. “After the article came out,” she says, “I started having people come up to me and say, ‘Wow, you're ready for the next level.’”
Pam is living proof that taking the time to promote yourself pays off. Here's the best evidence of all: Earlier this year, she was offered the position of vice president of client relations — a job created just for her — by EMC Meeting Solutions, headquartered in Brielle, N.J. She had repeatedly done speaking engagements on subjects like procurement and meeting consolidation issues for EMC (through MPI, of course — it all fits together).
Just as an excellent product might go unnoticed without good advertising and promotion, a meeting executive's work — even if he or she does a fabulous job — doesn't always speak for itself. As Pam and others in this month's cover story will tell you, it's up to you to do the talking.
Barbara Scofidio
Editor
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