This monthly article series allows MPI Ottawa Chapter members to share their recent professional and personal accomplishments with the MPI community by highlighting the News Around Town. Get in touch with Élodie Lortal (elodie.lortal@nac-cna.ca) to make a submission for the next issue!

Born in Ottawa, lived here most of my first 30 years with the exception of a university stint in Madrid Spain. From the age of 30-40, I lived in Toronto and opened the D. E. Systems office there. I have been back in Ottawa for ten years now.

With close to 20 years of experience in events and admin, I have a wealth of skills allowing me to serve my clients in many different ways. I wear many different hats: event producer, planner, host, researcher, promoter and DJ! And, I do all that and more in both official languages (English and French).

I am very passionate about events, about bringing people together in celebration of something good or in learning something new. My passion drives me to be detailed oriented and organized, which I think are two qualities that make any planner a great planner.

I was born and raised in Montreal and moved to Ottawa after completing a BA in Sociology and Education at Concordia University. I will always have a special place in my heart for Montreal, but Ottawa is home and I love my city and the quality of life it offers. I have 3 grown children – Sebastien, Nicolas and Alexandra and I am very proud of the adults they’ve become.

I was born and grew up in Koblenz a beautiful town on the Rhine and Moselle Rivers in Germany. Being an exchange student for a year in the US whetted my appetite to work and live internationally. What better industry than the hospitality industry, right? So after my hotel apprenticeship in Bonn, followed by completing the Hotel Management Program at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, I was able to take advantage of work opportunities in top hotels in Monaco, Switzerland, New York City and Munich. I loved them all for different reasons. At the age of 29 I followed my heart to Canada where I expanded my industry experience by working as a regional director for a hotel ownership group and at the Ottawa Convention Centre.

From my work at Colleges and Institutes Canada to my involvement with MPI Ottawa, I truly believe in, and see the power of Nelson Mandela’s words: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” If we continue to learn from each other, the event industry is in a great position to positively impact the planet and build more inclusive communities.

This monthly article series allows MPI Ottawa Chapter members to share their recent professional and personal accomplishments with the MPI community by highlighting the News Around Town. Get in touch with Élodie Lortal (elodie.lortal@nac-cna.ca) to make a submission for the next issue!

Event industry professionals waiting for the world to go back to normal will be disappointed. If you don’t pivot your thinking and adjust to the world situation today, you may never be happy and will always have stress. Now is the best time to consider doing what you’ve always wanted to do. If it’s launching a new business in the hospitality field that’s great. If the industry is not something you are 100% passionate about, perhaps it may be time to reconsider your options. I hope the Pivoted Success podcast helps to ignite your passion!

Our committee is so proud of the event that we were able to bring to life. The post survey results confirmed that 100% of attendees felt comfortable and that we did all that we could possibly do to ensure their safety. We managed to achieve this, while including some fun elements throughout and a grand time was had by all :)

I was born and raised in the capital of Canada although I lived in Vancouver for a short period. I attended Carleton University and graduated with a double major in Law and Psychology. I initially wanted to be a lawyer which is how I met my husband. We now live in Wellington Village with our two kids Logan (3 ½ Years) & Lauren (1 Year).

Having a membership with MPI Ottawa has provided me with many opportunities over the years, both personally and professionally. I’ve had the chance to meet so many people who have not only become colleagues and clients but more importantly, lifelong friends. Over the years, I’ve worked in a variety of roles and many of my opportunities came as a result of my involvement with MPI.

The Canadian Meetings + Events Expo (CMEExpo) is both the first large event that took place in Canada and the very first event that took place inside Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) since the pandemic started.

This monthly article series allows MPI Ottawa Chapter members to share their recent professional and personal accomplishments with the MPI community by highlighting the News Around Town. Get in touch with Élodie Lortal (elodie.lortal@nac-cna.ca) to make a submission for the next issue!

It was a mix of planners and suppliers. The in-person event sold out; the group took over the whole hotel. There were 30 virtual attendees and the MC, Jennifer Spears, did a great job engaging with both audiences. There was a supplier networking event that incorporated the virtual attendees so they could actively participate.

It was a summer job that got me into the meetings and events industry. I was not studying in the field at all, I was studying Fine Arts at Ryerson. I took an administrative assistant job for the summer that my aunt connected me with so that I could make some money to pay tuition. I started with Junior Achievement of Canada in 2000. I fell in love with the events process. I stayed with them for nine years moving through the organization in various roles and responsibilities, creating student conferences across Canada during that time.

Inaugural Ottawa Meeting Professionals Against Human Trafficking (MPAHT) Awareness Day 2020 – with special guest, The Honorable Lisa MacLeod, Ontario Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries

I decided to join MPI Ottawa because I live in the city. When I heard about the Chapter I immediately thought: “I had to look into that”. My professors and mentors were very encouraging about me joining the association, especially my mentor Rebecca Trafford. When I was asking her how to get my feet wet and how to get into Ottawa’s events scene, she told me: “don’t underestimate how powerful the connections are in the events industry”. The Chapter provides valuable resources, webinars, and networking events to help you thrive in the events’ world.

The idea of a putting out a podcast goes back to mid-2019, fresh off the heels of our main stage Community Keynote at MPI’s World Education Congress (WEC) in Toronto. Marie-France Watson, Tim Whalen, and I are the Co-Founders of MPI’s Rise Award winning - the EVENT which kicked off in 2018. After 2 successful years of the EVENT, we wanted to continue our creative pursuits and in February 2020, we recorded our first episode. During the pandemic, we have released 30 episodes. Our two seasons were actually planned pre-pandemic, released during and then like many things, adapted to the trying times our industry has been through.

This monthly article series allows MPI Ottawa Chapter members to share their recent professional and personal accomplishments with the MPI community by highlighting the News Around Town. Get in touch with Élodie Lortal (elodie.lortal@nac-cna.ca) to make a submission for the next issue!