Interviews

Planner Spotlight Series: Valerie Crisostomo

Read how Event Specialist and Florist Valerie Crisostomo of One Soul Events & Flowers, adapted to the ever-changing landscape of the events industry

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How were you able to adapt during COVID-19 when the meeting and events industry got disrupted?

The pandemic came and truly transformed the way we now operate in the events industry. I was able to adapt by leveraging the slow down of events, by coordinating and attending virtual meetings. I went from traveling for regional meetings to hosting weekly zoom updates with shareholders and directors. With social events (weddings and special occasion events), I learned quickly that moving events to future dates were becoming a bit of a norm. I have had to quickly adjust and connect with vendors to find out their future availability as well as their covid prevention procedures. I have never focused so much on force majeure clauses as I have had to do now! Here are the 3 ways that I have adapted to all of the changes:

 

Valerie Crisostomo: One Soul Events & Flowers

1. I set my mind to flexibility. I quickly recognized that events and meetings were not going to be like they were before and that rushing the process of planning a live event would not help. I decided to go with the flow and to deal with what I could control in the moment while searching for alternatives.


2. I changed my diet. I paid more attention to WHAT I was eating and HOW I was eating. Where I was maybe eating once or twice a day, because of the constant hustle and bustle of event life, I now snack throughout the day and am not starving by the end of the day!


3. I began to understand that some of my old processes were outdated and revamped how I do business, obtain information, and manage events.

This is a wild time for event professionals, but I believe it has made us stronger in our skills and much more resilient when it comes to change. All the best out there to my fellow event professionals!


This post is part of the HopSkip Planner Spotlight Series where we celebrate the extreme resilience shown by planners across the industry when navigating the turbulent waters that COVID-19 has brought to the meetings and events industry. Keep an eye out as we release more stories like this over the next few months. 

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