Happy 5th Anniversary to ME!!!!

Many of you have been asking what I do. What all comes into play by being a Director of Catering and Conference Services? As I began to think about that, I thought "Wow! Today marks my 5th Year in the Hotel Industry!" What a great opportunity to share in detail what I do, and how I've gotten here.

Compared to a lot of my colleagues, 5 years is nothing. Many of them have over 20 years experience (I'll get there one day). However, at my age (26) and what I have accomplished so far, it's something definitely worth celebrating!  Just to give you an idea, here's a little timeline of how my career has developed so far:

WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE?
So what's next? I've always been a person who likes to work hard and push myself to succeed. I'm thrilled to see where I will be in the next 5-10 years, and based on the the last five years, the possibilities are endless. I just plan to continue to work hard and advance my career as much as I can. My goal is to progress and move up to lead larger properties/resorts, and eventually end up in a Regional or Vice-President position for a Hotel Company where I can share my skills and experiences with multiple properties. Leading and Teaching is my passion. I crave it and become a better person each and every day from it.

As I continue to make that journey towards my highest goals, I continue to focus on the current position and involve myself more and more within the industry.

MARRIOTT UNIVERSITY PARK HOTEL
This property is the perfect start for my major leadership track. The Marriott University Park Hotel has 219 guest rooms, and about 12,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor function space. Manageable for a new Director, and plenty of opportunity for me to step up and make major improvements based on my experience with other properties.

I directly oversee an awesome Catering Team that consists of myself (the Director), a Catering Manager, and an Executive Meeting Coordinator. Together we sell and/or service all events that take place within our hotel. Specifically, I am responsible for maintaining our Catering Food and Beverage Budget by developing appropriate pricing strategy, special promotions and marketing, and action plans for my team to meet our expectations. I also deal with forecasting our anticipated revenues on a weekly basis, menu development, creating standard operating procedures as they relate to our events and functions, and lend my expertise within our Sales database system as the System Administrator.

CERTIFIED WEDDING PLANNER
Through Marriott's extensive wedding training program, I became a Certified Wedding Planner. This certification places me as an expert in the art of weddings, and will help me stand out amongst my competitors as I continue to succeed in my career.

MEETING PROFESSIONALS INTERNATIONAL
I recently joined MPI's Utah Chapter where I look forward to educating myself and surrounding myself around years of knowledge and experience within the colleagues I associate with. I am serving on the Events Committee where I will help plan the chapter's many annual and monthly events that they host.  


NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CATERING EXECUTIVES
Utah currently does not have a Chapter for NACE. So, recently, I have teamed up with the National NACE office and they are assisting me in preparing and leading a steering committee in order to get a Utah Chapter in place. I'm stoked for this experience. It's going to be hard and it's going to be a long process, but I know it will give me an opportunity to step up as a major leader in my community and prepare me for bigger and better things in my career.

These are just a few things I get my hands in. Those that know me, know that I will always keep myself busy and find ways to get involved with everything I can. "CHEERS" to another 5 great years in the Hotel World!

TJ