June 2021 - Amanda Touchton, CMP

Amanda Touchton, CMP ghSMART Event Planner & Executive Assistant  Member since November 2020

Please help us welcome Amanda Touchton, CMP to MPI Georgia. She was introduced to the organization through fellow member, Carla Carroll, whom she met through networking opportunities. Professionally Amanda current serves as an Event Planner & Executive Assistant at ghSMART. Her job responsibilities have fluctuated due to Covid. In non-pandemic conditions she would be planning regional onboarding bootcamps, consultant summits and the company-wide social summit. However, because of the pandemic, Amanda has primarily been providing executive support to the Head of Professional Development and two consultants, as well as helping pivot in-person meetings to virtual formats. Even with no in-person onboarding she is also involved in ghSMART’s new hire process.  Amanda enjoys being one of the first people to welcome new folks to the firm and make sure they have a great onboarding experience. She also earned her CMP having passed the test in April.

Amanda was introduced to the meetings industry through her first job planning live medical speaker programs for pharmaceutical reps. She enjoyed the opportunity to develop relationships with the reps, doctor, nurse speakers, and venues. She was proud to have had a small role in making sure medical professionals were properly educated on new treatments. In an effort to build successful partnerships Amanda implements communication strategies to build effective and working relationships. “Even if I don’t have an answer, I’ll still send a note to say I am working on it. That extra touch goes a long way.” Amanda is a collector specializing in second-hand cookbooks, especially from churches and charities. However, she does not cook often. Instead, she finds comfort and nostalgia in these items. Amanda really appreciates regional cookbooks because the recipes are so unique to the region and you can get feel for what the people were like. And very occasionally, she will get a hankering to make a casserole, and “nobody does casseroles like church ladies! "