During the live broadcast, the guests of “Smart Start” expressed their gratitude!

2024 Smart Start guests share gratitude stories

We have a lot to be grateful for this year at Smart Meetings; one of those things is our newest podcast this year, Start Smart: Great Ideas in Your Planning Toolboxwas born.

During the year we went through the process of coming up with an idea and watching it come to fruition; Eming and Sara spent hours in the conference room doodling on whiteboards, planning out the plans from “Meeting of the Minds” to the rebranding initiative of “Smart Start” that we know and love; and most importantly, those precious moments capturing great conversations with our amazing guests.

Think of this story as a highlight reel of gratitude from those incredible guests themselves, and as you read, revisit the inspiring conversations they participated in to make sure you’ve filled in every thread of their insights Add to your toolbox or just have more fun chatting with us and celebrating being part of this wonderful industry.

Read on, as we close out 2024, some of our esteemed guests turned friends express their gratitude and look ahead to 2025 with even more skills, insights and ideas to build a better, more Bright meeting industry.

Finally, we would like to say thank you for meeting your professors/listeners/readers/friends and thank you for taking this journey with us. It’s been an adventure and we can’t wait to bring you more content.

With thanks,

Your smart boot host,

amin and sara

Navigating Activities Work/Life Balance

Spencer GlazerWolters Kluwer Ventilation Management Specialist II, Global Incident Management

1. What’s one thing you’re grateful for this year that helped you excel professionally?

I am extremely grateful for the guidance and support from my industry peers, which has inspired me to bring new ideas and innovation to every event I participate in this year.

2. What are you grateful for that enriches your personal time?

I’m grateful for the flexibility afforded by the events industry’s hybrid working model, allowing me to balance the demands of planning complex events with meaningful personal moments.

3. What are you most grateful for this year?

I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to create experiences that bring people together, inspiring connections and collaboration that create lasting impact.

Discover the secrets to career growth

Jaclyn Bernstein, pResident and owner of Empire Force Events

1. What is a relationship you’ve made this year that you’re grateful for?

Sara Robertson of Smart Meetings was honored for this humbling feature:

“Equally exciting is meeting people we’ve only known digitally until now (I’m talking to you, Jaclyn Bernstein). This woman and I have been emailing back and forth for months, ever since we Since first working on a podcast together, and later when I asked her to submit a journal response to “Notes to Self,” a self-reflective activity in the back of every magazine, I had never met her in person until today. One of the highlights of my first IMEX experience).

And, become real-life friends with @SubwayCreatures on Instagram, where he has 3,000,000 followers – a third of New York City’s population! It really shows what goes on on the New York subway (which I’m so proud to ride!) and how wild and crazy New York is!

2. What’s the biggest win you’re most proud of this year?

We started developing incentives in 2019 before the pandemic!

Highlights include:

• 18 days on site
• Two waves, 500 people in each wave
• New York City Mayor’s Office Temporary Vehicle Street Activity Permit
• 40 Event Managers/New York City Certified Tour Guides/Pickup Escorts – Dispatchers – Receptionists
• Two exclusive breakfasts during Tiffany events
• Two fireworks displays next to the Statue of Liberty
• Our team is proud of what we have accomplished!

3. What are you most grateful for this year?

It’s here!

This is the 30th edition of the Imperial Power event^th Anniversary of the Destination Management Company I have worked for since college so still being respected and prominent in our industry means we are resilient, at all costs (Empire’s mantra), serving our customers and the industry we love gives me life.

Alexis Dick, eWind Planner, Hadi

1. What is a relationship you’ve made this year that you’re grateful for?

Thankfully I’ve met a lot of great people in the events industry this year who have just taken me under their wing and chat with me regularly as a friend or colleague. I feel so lucky to have met them at conferences and learned everything on LinkedIn.

2. What’s the biggest win you’re most proud of this year?

Professionally, I’ve spent a year at HARDI and I’m fully aware of what goes on during the year. I’m excited to see what happens from the launch in 2025. Personally, I’m so proud of myself that even with all the craziness of event travel and planning, I was able to get back into my exercise routine!

3. What are you most grateful for this year?

I am so grateful for my friends and family and have been able to spend so much time with them this year!

Together: Championing women at events

Tyra Dyson, CMP, DES, Chief Event Strategist, TDC Events & Hospitality, LLC

1. How have professional relationships inspired you or helped you grow this year?

This year, my professional relationship with my good friend and industry partner, Eric Kincaid of Choose Chicago, had a profound impact on my career. As a result of our relationship, I was given the amazing opportunity to join the 2024 Democratic National Convention planning team. It is the pinnacle of my career to date that I live and work in Chicago while contributing to this historic event. I am extremely grateful for Eric’s support and for putting in a good word on my behalf to allow me to be considered for this position. This experience not only enriched my career but also inspired personal growth, reminding me of the power of collaboration and the importance of meaningful connections.

2. Which women have inspired you this year and why?

The woman who has inspired me the most this year is my mom, who sadly passed away in April.

Over the course of my life, and especially during her 20-year battle with a terminal illness, I have witnessed her life, which was nothing short of extraordinary. She has faced countless challenges in her life and has overcome many hardships, and even in her toughest moments, she has remained true to herself – full of energy, strength and grace. She refused to let her illness define her or accept failure, and I have never seen anyone face life, or even death, with such courage and dignity. Her strength and resilience will forever inspire me, and I hope to carry those lessons forward in my own life.

3. What are you most grateful for this year?

This year, I am most grateful for my faith, family, and friends. My faith has been my anchor and given me the strength to cope with the overwhelming pain of losing my mother. The unwavering support of family and friends reminds me that I don’t have to face grief or life’s challenges alone. Their love and presence fills my heart with gratitude and joy, and I am forever grateful to them for serving me at such a critical time.

Embracing empathy in meetings

Naomi Clare Krillin, fStorycraft Lab Founder and CEO

1. Share a great example this year of how you think empathy has had a positive impact.

Earlier this year, I watched our VP of Creative Strategy, Katy Mull, create empathy-focused artwork to express each experience profile. For Katie, giving the gift of creativity is a love language. I’ve seen her give gifts to colleagues, clients, and partners and they look beautiful. During our first Storycraft Lab retreat, we printed these on canvas and gave them to team members as personalized gifts. For Katie Marr, empathy is an art, a science, and a gift—and I’m grateful for all she has done to guide, embody, and express empathy.

Editor’s note: As a gesture of gratitude, Crellin is sharing some of Katy Mull’s art that she posted on LinkedIn: one is “The Adapter” and “The Seeker”; one is “The Adapter” and “The Seeker” “; the other is “The Adapter” and “The Seeker”. One about the Creator and the Seeker; and one about the Harmonizer and the Thinker. Crellin also shared a fascinating video of Mull talking about how she extends empathetic thinking to the entire industry.

2. Share a moment from last year when someone made space for you when you needed it.

There have been communities this year that have given me space to share my voice and perspective on belonging and empathy, and I am so grateful for these gestures of true community. World Experience Organization, as a collective, wholeheartedly encouraged us; MPI NJ, for making room for me on their main stage; Sarah Shewey and Happily, who curated me to attend their Happily Fest this summer; BYU Marriott Business The College Alumni Magazine profiled me in their article on the experience economy; and of course Smart Meetings, they invite me to communicate my mission and vision—the shared space helps me feel connected through shared goals and gives me a sense of gratitude for the work we do.

3. What are you most grateful for this year?

This is the Storycraft Lab team. As we grow and develop, there are many changes and adaptations that occur. Transformation is exciting but not easy – I often think about butterflies and what happens in the chrysalis work hard. We’re starting to make the transition, but getting there may require a testing process. Last week we had our first retreat and shared our stories with each other. It is a time of love, sincerity and appreciation. 2024 is a year of chrysalis for Storycraft Lab, but my heart is so full from the empathy and grace the team provides each other as we guide this process together.

Make the event fun

Jacques Mattiquet, party scientist

1. Share a moment this year that you made a truly genuine new connection.

I had an hour-long chat with renowned neuroscientist Paul J. Zak at the Google XI event in Las Vegas. He and I are interested in the science of behavior change and happiness. Despite his status, he asked me great questions and was interested in my newest event business: JoyCamp. I felt heard and valued!

2. What moment in the past year has brought you pure inspiration and joy?

This year I hosted my first sober festival…I felt the pressure and pressure a typical event producer goes through…but here’s the twist: despite the pouring rain and cold weather, everyone was together and with each other help. My happiest moment was during the opening ceremony – despite the cold weather, everyone was 100% engaged, dancing, singing and mingling. It made me say to myself: “If we can create happiness under these conditions, we can create happiness anywhere.”

3. What are you most grateful for this year?

It sounds crazy, but I appreciate the negative comments on social media the most. Since I went viral on social media, I have learned a deeper level of forgiveness and love. The negative impact I received for dancing and spreading joy in public has made me a better person…I am more accepting of human suffering now. And I want to lighten it up!

Read more: Event leaders share their gratitude practices