president@iseshouston.org

Greetings from ISES Houston Chapter!

This year, as I take on the President’s roll of our ISES Houston Chapter, we are focusing on going forward with “Motivating, Educating and Having Fun Doing It All!” Our board this year is very cohesive, and we are a family dedicated to helping each other in every way beneficial to our valuable members.

We plan to give them more than in years past and implement better efforts of growing the chapter’s membership threefold. For example, our membership committee has created hands on literature designed to excite and attract potential members. Our student director is working very hard at creating energized campus activities and recruitment sessions. All of these amazing efforts are intended to showcase the benefits and networking opportunities available to ISES members for future endeavors.

This year’s ISES meetings and events are also taking on a new spin with game show themes, speed networking sessions and our lively happy hours. Educating our members on different market segments and recognizing our star players via the annual Crystal Icon Awards are major components of this chapter’s efforts to not only recruit the best, but to BE the best selection of special events experts Houston has to offer!

ISES Houston’s 2011 goal of “Motivate, Educate and Have Fun Doing It All!” has only just begun! We have a number of dynamic speakers lined up and even more fun activities on the agenda—but you have to join to see what’s next.


Hope to see you at an ISES event soon!

Matthew Finnan
2011 President, ISES Houston Chapter
 

President Elect

Adrienne S. Wagenheim
IDeal PartyDecorators
(713) 661-1113 

Adrienne Wagenheim founded Ideal Gifts in 1990 and Adrienne began creating made-to-order gift baskets for an array of clients. The company gradually grew and evolved and, in 1992, changed its name to Ideal Party Decorators. Over the last eight years, Ideal Party Decorators has grown to levels never expected by Adrienne when she started off hand assembling her products from her living room. Driven by Adrienne's charisma and Roy's dedication, Ideal Party Decorators is the preeminent company for all things decorations. Specializing in events ranging from corporate galas and grand openings to birthday parties and bar/bat-mitzvahs, Adrienne and Roy have created a legion of satisfied customers and fans.

15 Years of catering success

Award Winning Catering Company: Best Caterer-Asian Food Fest, and Best Caterer-Texas H Magazine

Chosen by the “The Knot” Magazine as Best Of Wedding Caterer,

Houston and East Texas Areas

Voted as one of Houston fastest growing woman owned business by Houston Business Journal

Houston’s 25 Top CATERING COMPANY - Houston Business Journal Book of Lists

Award Nominated by ISES

Veronika Millstid-Levine, Owner, Past President of ISES Houston Chapter,

Currently on ISES committee, member of MPI
WBEA certified, Members of: MPI, ISES, PREFERRED CATERER FOR SUPERBOWL XXXVIII

Beth Flores founded Elegant Linens in 2002. The company has grown successfully giving service to individuals such as brides and many of Houston’s venues specializing in corporate and wedding events.
After a few years in the linen décor business and daily interaction with brides she became an event coordinator as an added service, which she enjoys to the fullest. Beth has been actively involved as a board member of the Houston Chapter ISES for the past year and is looking forward to a successful and wonderful future.

Richard Hoggatt Jr.
Stage Directions Inc.
President

communications@iseshouston.org

I’m the guy who built a strobe light for a science project in high school. Next year, I did a whole light –show. I never could come up with a real scientific purpose for it but something about lights flashing on and off to Led Zeppelin was cool. I got a B. Later I went to college at The University of Houston majoring in Communications. Wanted to be a DJ on the radio but instead found my way into producing large-scale multi-media projects. So it’s no wonder when I started Stage Directions in 1987 I created a company that worked in the full spectrum of audio-visual production and live presentations. I still think it’s cool that we get paid to do this stuff, and that it touches and moves people in powerful ways.

VP Membership

Courtney Rai

Courtney Rai has been a member of ISES since 2008 when she joined the Magic Moments Parties and Events team. Starting in the Dallas area, Courtney worked at the company’s main office until 2010 when she relocated to Galveston with her husband to open up a satellite office to service the Houston-Galveston areas. Magic Moments was founded by Courtney’s mother, Debbie Jordan, back in 2002 and has since grown to a full-scale event design and décor studio that offers everything from table décor to lighting, theme props, lounge furniture, drapery, custom furniture, and LED technology pieces. With a diverse clientele from weddings to corporate and other social events, each event is strikingly different from the last and helps to bring that level of customization that every client expects. Courtney has been very dedicated to the industry over the last years and has been involved with several industry organizations and on the ISES Dallas Chapter Board in 2009. Courtney is our new VP of Membership for this 2011-2012 year and looks forward to getting to know each and every member of the ISES Houston chapter.

Vivian’s life-long passion for creativity and design was satisfied when she founded Juz Do It Productions, an event planning and concierge service company. She started her career journey in Atlanta working in the entertainment industry as a road manager, promoter, marketer and artist developer. Her promotional endeavors included radio, television, retail and concert. Seeking out new challenges – she decided to enter the hotel industry. Her ten years of hotel hospitality experience included employment at the Swissôtel, and the Ritz-Carlton. At these prestigious 4 Star 5 Diamond hotels she served in various capacities inclusive of concierge manager, catering & convention services coordinator subsequently leading to catering & convention services manager. She was honored to receive two Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards – an award signifying performance excellence. Her academic training combined with the confluence of experiences gained in the entertainment and hotel industries acted as a catalyst prompting her to return to her hometown of Houston. She always knew that her career journey would bring her back home where she could finally fulfill her life-long passion of starting her own business- thus the story behind the creation of Juz Do It Productions. Vivian is a self-made innovator who always seeks her own path. To coin a modified phrase from her favorite writer Robert Frost – “I took the road least traveled and that made all the difference.”

Director - Communications

Michael Dodd 

Michael Dodd – A Tale of Two Careers

Michael Dodd is the owner and operator of Game Plan Entertainment. A company that strives to maximize the fun in every event it’s involved in by providing the very best in interactive entertainment and encouraging guests of all ages to get involved. He graduated in 2007 from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Mechanical Engineering but after a brief engineering career soon discovered a way to capitalize on his true passion. As an enthusiastic new board member, he looks to contribute his unique perspective to help grow ISES to its true potential.

Director - Membership

 Craig Howard
Corporate Incentive Travel, Inc.
(713) 320-7234

Craig started in the event business in 1979 and was one of the 40 founding members of ISES, later working with Special Events Magazine for 12 years and later for Cirque du' Soleil Events. Currently Craig is Craig is the Sales and Marketing Director of the new Bayou City Event Center.

Sharlene Barris
Event Coordinator
Hidden Oaks Bed & Breakfast
srb9402@gmail.com

Sharlene Barris grew up in Cape Town, South Africa and moved to Houston, Texas 27 years ago with Lawrence, her husband of 26 years. Barris has been involved in various aspects of the event industry for over 20 years, and for the past seven years has been the in-house Event Coordinator at Hidden Oaks Bed & Breakfast. In addition to her work at Hidden Oaks, Sharlene specializes in coordinating various private events around Texas as well as other parts of the country. She has been involved in the Houston ISES Chapter for 8 years, and has served as VP of Programs and Education, Director and has been on many committees.

Sharlene’s advise for ISES members and in-coming members……
GET INVOLVED, get onto a committee, and attend all meetings and socials, not only will you learn from them, but make great friends along the way.
 

Katy Hoch

Katy Hoch’s journey through the hospitality industry has spanned over a decade. She obtained her degree from the world renowned Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel&Restaurant Management at theUniversity of Houston. At the height of her college tenure she was General Manager of Par Excellence, an elite scholarship based organization, Event Manager of Gourmet Night 2009 and became involved with ISES among other campus activities. Her professional career started with managing corporate and social catering at Arcodoro Restaurant for their Dallas and Houston locations. Moving forward, her innate flair for creativity, eagerness to please and connect with clients led Katy to her role as Sales Manager of Over the Top Linen. She is dedicated to each client, being a dependable vendor and continually offering a superiorly unique product. This year she will join the board as the Student Liaison, helping the students of her alma mater become involved in the special event industry through networking and hands on application.
 

Linda White

Linda F. White studied Hospitality Management at the renowned Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Houston. She began her hospitality career with Marriott Hotels and Resorts where she started as Room Service Coordinator at the Renaissance Houston Hotel and advanced to Director of Sales at the Courtyard by Marriott -Brookhollow also in Houston. After spending ten years with Marriott, working both in Houston and Chicago at the Marriott O’Hare property, she decided to explore another area of hospitality – special event planning - where she worked as Senior Event Planner at the George Ranch Historical Park in Richmond, Texas. Linda, a native of Chicago, has extensive experience in planning corporate, non-profit and association events as well as social and international events of all types. Linda is currently Catering Sales Manager at Brady’s Landing Restaurant and Event Center located at the Turning Basin of the Port of Houston Ship Channel. She exemplifies Marriott’s philosophy of “the spirit to serve” by building genuine relationships with her clients and having a passion for the hospitality industry.
 

Jason Fajkus

Jason Fajkus, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, has been a member since 2009. Was recently on New Membership Committee and since has joined the Board under Programs. Fajkus joined the DJ’s Unlimited team in 2008 and was quickly promoted to sales and public relations, with – in a year he was promoted again to Sales Manager, handling the largest clients of DJU. Fajkus is now Vice President of Sales & Marketing to largest DJ company in Texas.
 

With over 30 years of project management experience, in 2003 Tutti established Event-Tastic! and began transitioning those skills into the hospitality industry. Since then, her firm has provided meeting/event planning and management to a variety of clients, planning and managing training seminars and product launches as well as customer and employee appreciation events. The firm’s customizable Association Management Services offer non-profits, government and commercial organizations a flexible and cost-effective way to reduce unnecessary overhead without sacrificing member benefits.

Tutti has served on the Board of Directors for the Houston Chapter of Meeting Professionals International and managed its 13 week study group for hospitality professionals seeking to earn the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) designation for several years. She has earned multiple industry awards including Mentor of the Year, Torchlight and Volunteer Leader of the Year.

The Houston Business Journal has honored Event-Tastic! on multiple occasions as one of the largest Houston-based Meeting/Event Planners and as one of Houston’s TOP 50 Fastest Growing Women-owned businesses. Tutti has also been featured in the Minority Business News Texas’ Accent On Business.

As part of her philanthropic efforts, she works with Angel Tree Ministries each year to plan and execute an event that assist over 500 families during the holiday season by providing a toy and an article of clothing for each child, dinner and faith based entertainment.