The Fredericksburg Expo &

Conference CenterBy:

Martina RaskovaTOUR 490Fall 2009

http://www.fredericksburgexpocenter.com/photos/building_photos.asp

http://www.fredericksburgexpocenter.com/photos/building_photos.asp

Table of Contents

Overview Responsibilities Challenges Special Project Overall

Experience Conclusion

Courtesy of the Fredericksburg Expo and Conference Center

Overview -Internship Agency

The Fredericksburg Expo and Conference Center (FEACC) is located in the Central Park area in Fredericksburg, VA, about 10 minutes from downtown Fredericksburg.

The FEACC was completed in January of 2006, and is a 116,000 square foot building that holds a variety of events, from weddings and small meetings, to the Marine Corp Marathon and conventions.

Owned and operated by the Ballantine Management Group, the FEACC strives to follow the guiding principles of the Ballantine Management Group while being able to reap lasting financial rewards while the cities and local businesses enjoy unmatched economic impact.

Overview – Services The Fredericksburg Expo Center offers all of the

services necessary to implement an exceptional event

In house catering

Janitorial staff

Event coordination

Operation staff

Courtesy of the Fredericksburg Expo and Conference Center

Overview – Personnel There are currently 10 full-time employees and 8 part-

time employees at the Fredericksburg Expo and Conference Center.

The employees I worked with most were: Sales Coordinator (Marjorie)

Exhibitor Services Manager (Casey) Director of Convention Services (Laurie)

Exhibit Sales Manager (Adrian) Director of Operations (Tim)

Assistant Director of Operations (Eddie) Food and Beverage Director (Ryan)Courtesy of the Fredericksburg Expo and Conference

Center

Overview – Onsite Supervisor Laurie Cassel

Director of Convention Services Gave me a full orientation to introduce me to the

FEACC Gave me tips on how to improve my Special Project and

on many of the tasks that I was asked to complete Very flexible and easy to work with

Responsibilities Some of my responsibilities during my internship were to:

Answer phones and transfer calls when needed Greet clients when they walked in Send out work schedules for the box office employees Assist Marjorie, Casey and Laurie in the implementation of their

events Give Site Visits Help Adrian input vendors applications into the computer for all

of the Ballantine Management Shows, such as, the Fall Home Show and Fall Arts and Crafts Festival, send out exhibitor packets, balances due and booth locations

Sign vendors in at the Exhibitor Services Desk and assisted them with any additional decoration and electrical orders and answered any questions they had

Market the Fall Home Shows, Fall Arts and Crafts Festival and Holiday Craft Show by handing out coupons at various locations

Be the contact for the MCSC Small Business Conference

Challenges

Learning how to transfer calls

Cold calling all of the contacts of each organization for the special project

Learning new procedures and routines that have been implemented here and are unique to the facility (event outlines, the different duties of all the employees)

Courtesy of the Fredericksburg Expo and Conference Center

Special Project – Importance My Special Project is important to the Fredericksburg

Expo and Conference Center because it will increase revenue and put the company name out there

The Special Project focuses on companies, organizations and associations that will bring in weekday business during regular business hours

The goal is to gain at least 5% of the companies, organizations, and associations as clients with 10% being the ideal number of gained clients

Another important aspect of the Special Project is to increase awareness of the FEACC as a venue that is holding different sized events, not just large events, as many assume

Special Project – Introduction

My special project was a compiled list of organizations, companies, clubs, associations, etc in the Fredericksburg and Richmond area.

There are three parts to the Special Project 1- List 2- Description 3- Questionnaire

Special Project – List The first part of the Special Project is a

compiled list of company, organization, association and club names in the Fredericksburg and Richmond Area that could potentially have an event at the Fredericksburg Expo and Conference Center.

This list includes the name of the company/organization/club/association, the contact person of who I spoke with or who to contact about events, the phone number and if given, the extension number, the email address and the street address

Special Project – Description The second part of

the Special Project is a description of each company, organization, association or club.

This includes a little bit about them and if they are a not for profit organization. Courtesy of the Fredericksburg Expo and

Conference Center

Special Project – Questionnaire The questionnaire is the last part of the Special Project. The questionnaire is composed of about five questions

that every contact is asked. How often do they have events?

What types and the usual number of attendance? Where are they usually located?

Would they ever consider having an event at the FEACC? If no- would incentives help?

Special Project – About

Completed in three parts Research Emailing all the contacts the questionnaire Calling all the contacts who did not return my email

and asking them the questionnaire I called a maximum of two times After trying to get a hold of my contact person twice, I did not

call again unless requested because I did not want to seem annoying or leave a bad taste in their mouth since I am affiliated with the Fredericksburg Expo and Conference Center

Special Project –Challenges

Some challenges that I faced while completed the Special Project were: Cold calling

This was difficult because I felt I was being too invasive, which is why I called a maximum of two times

How hard it is to get in touch with many of the contacts

A lot of the people I was trying to contact were in meetings, out of town, stepped out for a moment or already left for the day, I was very hard to get a hold of many of the contacts

Special Project – Outcomes As of now, the Fredericksburg Expo and Conference Center

has booked two events because of the Special Project Print Pak Holiday Party Booze Allen Hamilton Holiday Party

Marjorie, who is the Sales Coordinator, has contacted all of the contacts who answered were interested or might be interested in having an event here, and many of them have requested to be sent Sales Kits. We have also bid on a few of the meetings that the various locations have coming up.

The Special Project has also reminded a lot of people that we are still here and are ready to create a lasting business relationship with them!

Overall Experience Awesome! Gained so much experience!

The amount of experience the staff possess has taught me so many new things that will benefit me in the future!

In addition to furthering my knowledge about implementing an event, I have shadowed the event coordinators on many of their events and was able to plan an event by myself for the Marine Corps System Command (MCSC) which will be held Wednesday and Thursday, November 18th and 19th.

I have learned how to: Create layouts on Auto Cad Create Requests for Proposals (RFP’s) Create Cost Breakdowns Create Contracts And so much more!

Met so many new and exciting people! Networking!

Through my internship here at the FEACC, I have had the opportunity to network with many of the companies and people who are planning the events that take place here. One in particular is the National Defense Industry Association. Our contact for them who is planning the MCSC event has mentioned job openings at her association and other companies she knows of who are hiring. Hopefully through my newly learned networking skills, I will find an excellent job soon after graduation!

Conclusion My internship at the Fredericksburg Expo and

Conference Center has been a wonderful experience and has taught me so many skills that I will take with me to future places of employment

The Special Project although challenging at times, has provided the FEACC with the opportunity to market themselves, create business relationships with new markets that will hopefully last for many years to come.