2014 Hall of Fame

THEY ARE THOSE with the clipboards and the large cups of coffee—the ones that stand just out of the spotlight so their clients can shine. They are some of Minnesota’s top figures in the event industry, and a few of them are finally opening up to Minnesota Meetings + Events about just what makes them stand out above the rest. Sit back and enjoy as we introduce you to the MNM+E Hall of Fame class of 2014.

Lifetime Achievement
BONNIE CARLSON
President & CEO
Bloomington Convention & Visitors Bureau

Being the recipient of any type of Lifetime Achievement award can make anyone feel a bit old, no matter how old they are. “I am far from done,â€Â laughs Bonnie Carlson, president and CEO of Bloomington Convention & Visitors Bureau. Yet, it was this award that made Carlson stop in her tracks for the first time in her hectic day and reminisce just a bit.

“I went to see the Beatles in the stadium where the Mall of America sits now,†she recalls. “Actually, Minnesota was one of the very few stops that they made on that first American tour. I remember my parents drove us up there. [Laughs.]â€

It’s a nice mental escape for Carlson, who considers herself a workaholic that has always been wired to work. And while 2015 looks to continue to keep Carlson busy with her commitment to an ambitious marketing plan for the Bloomington Convention & Visitors Bureau along with phase two of the Mall of America expansion, Carlson has other things on her mind come spring time.

“I just want to improve my golf game and take a few strokes off,â€Â she chuckles.

Best Meeting Professional
JULIE KRUEGER, CMP
Land O’Lakes Meetings & Events
Supervisor – Purina, Dairy Foods, Supply Chain

Meetings and Event Supervisor Julie Krueger, CMP, says she does her best work in her car. 

“I usually get my best ideas on my commute into the office, which is 120 miles one way,†says Krueger, recognized as Best Meeting Professional in this year’s Hall of Fame class. “I will call myself and leave these random ideas on my voicemail, and will come in sometimes in the morning shocked to find all of my voice mails are from me.â€

The former farmhand who grew up with a desire to travel far from her life milking cows and feeding chickens recently celebrated her three year anniversary with Land O’Lakes, a company which gave her the team atmosphere she had long been searching for. “I like seeing other people happy and love seeing my work come to fruition,â€Â says Krueger, who played an important role in the official announcement events of the recent and quite monumental partnership between Land O’Lakes and the University of Minnesota. “There is no better feeling than seeing people enjoying and appreciating what I do.â€

Up-and-Coming Meeting Professional
STACI KVASNIK, CMP
Senior Meeting Planner
Bostin Scientific

It’s amazing to think that an important part of the prestigious and well known company Boston Scientific actually got her start driving the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile. “Yes, driving a 27-foot hot dog around for a year was a job I relished very much,â€Â chuckles Boston Scientific Senior Meeting Planner Staci Kvasnik, CMP.

But don’t be quick to laugh.

Kvasnik says it was this job that actually taught her some of the most important skills that she still uses in her career today. “I learned planning and how we were going to get somewhere and where we were going to stay and what we were going to need,†recalls Kvasnik, recognized as Up-And Coming Meeting Professional in this year’s Hall of Fame class. “And on top of learning about mobile marketing and public relations, I perfected my negotiation skills. I would get $30 a night at a Ritz Carlton in exchange for driving someone’s kids to school for a few days.â€

These days, this mother of two continues to use these negotiation skills to her full advantage in planning crucial meetings for her employer. “We want to be involved in the big decisions from the beginning to the end,†she says.

Best Special Events Planner
COLLEEN HEALY
Executive Director
Irish Fiar of Minnesota

Irish Fair of Minnesota Executive Director Colleen Healy has always thrived on countdowns and deadlines, often planning her homework in 15-minute increments when she was just a youngster. “I took this job 100 days prior to the 2013 Irish Fair,†recalls the Best Special Events Planner Hall of Fame inductee. “It was a bit like drinking from a fire hose.â€

A former Habitat for Humanity event planner who was a social studies education major with a minor in coaching for swimming, Healy says she has come to now thrive on happy attendees. “I like when people come in and they want for nothing,â€Â says Healy, who serves as the only full-time staff person working on the annual event. “Plus, I love filling binders with risk management and contingency plans for everything from security to high winds.â€

Sounds like a very organized lady, but is she that organized at home? “Let’s just say that I get the laundry folded, but never quite back in the drawers,†she laughs. “I live primarily out of a laundry basket.â€

Up-and-Coming Special Events Planner
SETH LIENARD
Senior Event Planner
Augsburg College

Growing up, there were plenty of days that Seth Lienard pictured himself becoming a lawyer … or an astronaut … or even a musician in some big-time band. But never, ever did he picture himself hosting the Dalai Lama.

“We took on a Tibetan New Year and transformed our gym to a Tibet monastery to celebrate the Dalai Lama’s visit to campus,†recalls Lienard, named Up-And-Coming Special Events Planner in this year’s Hall of Fame. “I look back on pictures of that event and think to myself, ‘Did we really do that?’â€

An avid hunter and fisherman in his free time, Lienard has a number of those surreal moments as the Senior Event Planner at Augsburg College, his alma mater. “I love teaching the next generation how to properly plan an event … especially when it’s more than five days beforehand,†Lienard chuckles. “I guess any planner stresses out on some level, but you have to be fairly level headed to do a job like this. It’s an amazing endorphin rush.â€

Best Supplier
BRYNN MEHRKENS
Director
Strategic Accounts
Hyatt Hotel & Resorts

Best Supplier inductee Brynn Mehrkens has a tendency to talk too fast. Or at least that’s what she thinks. 

Yet, it’s this bubbly, friendly and outgoing personality that has endeared the Hyatt Hotels & Resorts director of strategic accounts to her friends, family and, most of all, her devoted clients. “I love actually being there when my clients experience firsthand the hotel and Hyatt as a brand,†explains Mehrkens, this year’s Hall of Fame inductee for Best Supplier. “I love when they see all of the new and fresh and sleek aspects of the hotel. It makes me proud just to walk in with them.â€

Sharing these experiences with her clients goes a long way towards making the transaction process that much more personal. “I especially thrive on those tight turnarounds and the moments when the stress going through my customers can stream down to me,†she says. “You want to rescue them. You don’t just want to recommend the three hotels you have in town. You want to have a relationship with them whereas you understand exactly what they need.â€

Up-and-Coming Supplier
SARAH JOHNSON
Catering Manager
Bon Appetit at the Minnesota History Center

Catering Manager of Bon Appetit at the Minnesota History Center, Sarah Johnson has often been compared to a sitting duck, just paddling like crazy under the water. “I may look calm, but I am paddling as fast as I can,†says Johnson.

It’s no surprise really, since the Up-And-Coming Supplier Hall of Fame inductee spends her days juggling a number of different events, clients and visitors to the famed museum. “Every day is something different,†says Johnson, who graduated from college back in 2007 eager to find a job in a dreadful economy that would combine her love for food service and events. “I want every client to feel like they are getting the special attention they deserve.â€

Being surrounded by food must make Johnson an amazing cook, right? “My fridge is basically stocked with Sriracha, champagne and eggs at all times,†she laughs. “I do make a pretty good chicken pot pie, though, thanks to my dad. He has passed down his secrets.â€