Member Spotlight - Erin Pham

Erin Pham | LinkedIn
Technical Support Staff at eSAX
eSAX (The Entrepreneur Social Advantage Experience): Overview | LinkedIn
Graduated of the Event Management Certificate Program in April 2021

Why did you decide to join MPI Ottawa?

I have decided to join to expand my connections with other professionals within the events industry. Throughout the Events program at Algonquin College I’ve learn one thing: you must network to get new opportunities. I’ve met with great mentors and learned a lot from them.

What do you like the most about MPI Ottawa?

I love the fact that MPI Ottawa has a lot of opportunities to volunteer. You can start by helping organizing events, doing the marketing, posting on social media. They have several committees you can choose from based on your interests. They offer you a lot of volunteer opportunities and volunteering is a great way to start before exposing yourself in the field.

In school you learn a lot but it’s mainly academic teaching. When you volunteer you see the real picture of how things will be running in real life. You see the technical and logistic aspects of the event.

How did you get where you are today?

My secret is a lot of hard work and never giving up. There are lots of challenges and setbacks along the way to achieve your goals. If you choose to work in the events industry, you need to be prepared for a fast-paced environment. If, at any point, you feel tired and decide to give up you will go nowhere. When you start working on an event, you need to work really hard, laser focus your attention on specific goals and go all the way to the end. Don’t stop in the middle; take responsibility for what you’ve started until the very last minute of the execution.

Describe your most memorable event experience?

Last minute changes for your projects will come from nowhere and you will not be expecting it. You must be very flexible. To prevent losing track you always have to have back up.

Real story: during my Events end of the year project, one of my entertainers didn’t perform as planned and we couldn’t find another professional entertainer to replace him. It was so rushed that we were thinking about changing the event programing, but then, we thought outside of the box and we were able to find friends/family that helped us to overcome this obstacle. It happened 3 days before the live event but because we worked together and we stayed strong together, we were able to find solutions.

What is an industry tool you could not live without?

I have so many so it’s hard to pick only one…I will present two:

• Air Table: it is a tool for project management & deadlines. It’s a must have for planners because you can enter team members tasks, send reminders & follow-up. It gives you a clear picture of where your team is in the project.
• Canva: it’s the best site for graphics, logos and presentations. They have a free version and a professional (paid) version.

Last words

During the pandemic I had the opportunity to work for Jarrod Goldsmith | LinkedIn at eSAX (The Entrepreneur Social Advantage Experience): People | LinkedIn and I have learned how to produce events virtually.

 Article written by Elodie LORTAL, BHM, CMP | LinkedIn National Arts Centre

Article edited by Darlene Kelly-Stewart, Stonehouse Sales & Marketing Services