Title: Director of Special Events
What she does: Events for 50 to 2000 people in attendance—everything from annual general meetings, to screening and receptions to CTV's annual Christmas party.
How long she's been at CTV: 12 years
Career path: She completed high school, but did not pursue college or university and has no formal training in event planning. "I began as an executive assistant to the president and C.E.O. of CTV Television. From there, I was promoted to manager of community and public relations and later to director. In that capacity, I was involved in many events, but my main responsibilities were in sponsorship and getting CTV's name out to the community. Just recently, I was promoted to director, special events, which is a new position at the company."
Number of people on her team: Just her. "But I can't be in three places at once, so I recruit volunteers from within the company to help me with the day-to-day activities."
Where she lives: Scarborough
Where she grew up: Downtown Toronto
Where she goes for ideas: "Sometimes it's clear what the theme for a party is going to be. For example, when we hold our Oscars party, we do an Oscars theme, because we want people to feel like they are actually attending the show. But when the theme isn't obvious or preset and I have to come up with something original, the ideas will come from magazines, newspapers, TV, or things I've seen or heard."
Biggest challenge: "Coming up with new and creative ideas for every event while staying within budget. A lot of the budgets I'm given are not realistic. Everyone wants the million-dollar event without the budget. I find that with effort, it's possible to make a dollar stretch a long way. If you're creative enough, you can make a $50,000 event look like a $100,000 event. But it's always a challenge."
Best advice she ever received: "Never say "can't." That was the only thing I learned in high school. One of my art teachers said it to me once, and I've never forgotten it. I never give up, no matter what. If someone says, "You can't do that, that's impossible," I'm only encouraged to try harder."
Favorite venue: "If I had to pick one, it would be the Guvernment & Kool Haus entertainment complex. There is a lot of potential in this building. Plus, for my large events, there aren't too many venues in the city that can meet our requirements to hold parties for up to 2,000 people."
Favorite drink: Wine
Favorite magazine: Vanity Fair
Favorite play: The Phantom of the Opera
Favorite band: Beatles
What is the most important.phpect of an event?
The ambiance, which is created by all the elements working together as a complete package. The decor is very important, but it doesn't stand alone. People also have to eat well, they have to be entertained, and they have to walk away satisfied. So it's really the coordination and timing of the event as a whole that is most important. Each element is like the piece of a puzzle. If just one is missing, the event is a disaster.
What's the most expensive element of a CTV event?
For small, simple events, decor usually makes up 70 percent of the cost. But for big events, the technical production, which includes lighting and staging, is the most costly element. Since we're in television, we need to do production bigger and better than everyone else.
How do you calculate return on investment?
The main way we have of measuring our success is through the feedback we get afterward, whether it's in the form of thank-you notes, email, or flowers.
How much pressure is there to keep up with style and design for events in the television industry?
Expectations are extremely high, which makes for immense pressure. You always have to be three steps ahead of everyone else. What might be fine for another industry might come across as cheesy and inappropriate for ours. We're in show business, so people expect everything to be that much bigger, and every year we're expected to top the year before.
What does it take to be successful in the event business?
The main quality you need is determination, and, of course, you also have to be very creative. I don't think anything else matters. People from all different backgrounds are successful in event planning.
What is the most unusual event story you can remember?
Shortly after CTV was acquired in 2000 by Bell Globemedia, which also publishes the Globe and Mail and offers Internet and telephone services, we held an event for 2,000 executives from the different company divisions. The purpose of the meeting was to get the executives talking about convergence, or how the divisions could work together and share resources. The event was scheduled for a Monday, and on the Friday before I learned that the venue we had reserved was going to be unavailable. That meant we had to scramble to find another venue and set everything up in time, which we managed to do. Then, in the middle of the C.F.O.'s presentation, the lights went out due to a blackout in the neighbourhood. Fortunately, we had candles on hand that we were going to light during dinner. I radioed the caterer, who was five floors up, and asked him to bring them to me. He came down the staircase in pitch black, and we were able to put candles on the tables and continue the meeting. Everyone was impressed at how we had all pulled together to make the event work—and that act of pulling together served to underline the theme of the meeting. Just as the company's executives were trying to do, we had taken a challenging situation and turned it into something successful.
What is your worst event fear?
That people are going to go home unhappy.
—Patrick Allossery
What she does: Events for 50 to 2000 people in attendance—everything from annual general meetings, to screening and receptions to CTV's annual Christmas party.
How long she's been at CTV: 12 years
Career path: She completed high school, but did not pursue college or university and has no formal training in event planning. "I began as an executive assistant to the president and C.E.O. of CTV Television. From there, I was promoted to manager of community and public relations and later to director. In that capacity, I was involved in many events, but my main responsibilities were in sponsorship and getting CTV's name out to the community. Just recently, I was promoted to director, special events, which is a new position at the company."
Number of people on her team: Just her. "But I can't be in three places at once, so I recruit volunteers from within the company to help me with the day-to-day activities."
Where she lives: Scarborough
Where she grew up: Downtown Toronto
Where she goes for ideas: "Sometimes it's clear what the theme for a party is going to be. For example, when we hold our Oscars party, we do an Oscars theme, because we want people to feel like they are actually attending the show. But when the theme isn't obvious or preset and I have to come up with something original, the ideas will come from magazines, newspapers, TV, or things I've seen or heard."
Biggest challenge: "Coming up with new and creative ideas for every event while staying within budget. A lot of the budgets I'm given are not realistic. Everyone wants the million-dollar event without the budget. I find that with effort, it's possible to make a dollar stretch a long way. If you're creative enough, you can make a $50,000 event look like a $100,000 event. But it's always a challenge."
Best advice she ever received: "Never say "can't." That was the only thing I learned in high school. One of my art teachers said it to me once, and I've never forgotten it. I never give up, no matter what. If someone says, "You can't do that, that's impossible," I'm only encouraged to try harder."
Favorite venue: "If I had to pick one, it would be the Guvernment & Kool Haus entertainment complex. There is a lot of potential in this building. Plus, for my large events, there aren't too many venues in the city that can meet our requirements to hold parties for up to 2,000 people."
Favorite drink: Wine
Favorite magazine: Vanity Fair
Favorite play: The Phantom of the Opera
Favorite band: Beatles
What is the most important.phpect of an event?
The ambiance, which is created by all the elements working together as a complete package. The decor is very important, but it doesn't stand alone. People also have to eat well, they have to be entertained, and they have to walk away satisfied. So it's really the coordination and timing of the event as a whole that is most important. Each element is like the piece of a puzzle. If just one is missing, the event is a disaster.
What's the most expensive element of a CTV event?
For small, simple events, decor usually makes up 70 percent of the cost. But for big events, the technical production, which includes lighting and staging, is the most costly element. Since we're in television, we need to do production bigger and better than everyone else.
How do you calculate return on investment?
The main way we have of measuring our success is through the feedback we get afterward, whether it's in the form of thank-you notes, email, or flowers.
How much pressure is there to keep up with style and design for events in the television industry?
Expectations are extremely high, which makes for immense pressure. You always have to be three steps ahead of everyone else. What might be fine for another industry might come across as cheesy and inappropriate for ours. We're in show business, so people expect everything to be that much bigger, and every year we're expected to top the year before.
What does it take to be successful in the event business?
The main quality you need is determination, and, of course, you also have to be very creative. I don't think anything else matters. People from all different backgrounds are successful in event planning.
What is the most unusual event story you can remember?
Shortly after CTV was acquired in 2000 by Bell Globemedia, which also publishes the Globe and Mail and offers Internet and telephone services, we held an event for 2,000 executives from the different company divisions. The purpose of the meeting was to get the executives talking about convergence, or how the divisions could work together and share resources. The event was scheduled for a Monday, and on the Friday before I learned that the venue we had reserved was going to be unavailable. That meant we had to scramble to find another venue and set everything up in time, which we managed to do. Then, in the middle of the C.F.O.'s presentation, the lights went out due to a blackout in the neighbourhood. Fortunately, we had candles on hand that we were going to light during dinner. I radioed the caterer, who was five floors up, and asked him to bring them to me. He came down the staircase in pitch black, and we were able to put candles on the tables and continue the meeting. Everyone was impressed at how we had all pulled together to make the event work—and that act of pulling together served to underline the theme of the meeting. Just as the company's executives were trying to do, we had taken a challenging situation and turned it into something successful.
What is your worst event fear?
That people are going to go home unhappy.
—Patrick Allossery
![For the after-party, Event Eleven built three 30-foot pagodas and hung 300 lanterns from the ceiling. They also brought in a 20-foot-tall bonsai tree and a variety of 30-foot red maples, along with other greenery and foliage. '[It all] helped create the organic atmosphere and helped transport guests into a gardenlike room,' said Schubert.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2024/02/Shogun.41_f.65dba8f23433b.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
