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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Meet our Newest Intern! Dakotah Radabaugh

Dakotah Radabaugh is the newest intern to join the team at Paragon Events. If you recognize the last name, you are correct... Dakotah is the youngest son of Managing Director & President, Renee Radabaugh, and brother to Francesca Radabaugh, Paragon's Operations Manager.

This summer, Dakotah began his first job at Paragon Events as an Event Coordinator Assistant. Dakotah graduated in May 2013 from Boca Raton Community High school and will be starting at Florida Atlantic University in the fall, majoring in business. Dakotah’s favorite thing about working at Paragon Events is the mentorship that he receives from all of his coworkers, especially his sister Francesca. Dakotah looks forward to learning more about the event planning industry and the business aspects that it entails.

Kayla Schwenk Receives GOAMPI President's Award

July 15, 2013, Delray Beach, FL: Kayla Schwenk, Assistant Director of Meetings and Events of Paragon Events, Inc. was recently awarded the 2013 President’s Award by the Greater Orlando Area Chapter of Meeting Professionals International (GOAMPI) at the Annual Chapter Celebration.
Once a year, all of the board members of the Greater Orlando Area Chapter get together for the Annual Chapter Celebration. At the celebration, the new board members were inducted and special awards were handed out to outstanding members of the chapter. This year, Kayla Schwenk was recognized as one of those outstanding people and given the annual President’s Award. Schwenk was selected by the 2012-2013 president Jeffrey Perrin, CMP for going “above and beyond” for him and the chapter.
 "Kayla is always there to assist and offer advice. Her knowledge of what is happening and how everything works together is a definite benefit to our success. Her attention to detail is outstanding and she is always in a positive mood," Perrin says. "She is always looking out for our best interests and offering suggestions on how to improve. With the help of her support team at Paragon Events, Kayla picks up the slack on all member initiatives by consistently going above and beyond the scope of her responsibilities." 

Schwenk has been the Chapter Administrator for the past two and half years. Some of her tasks as chapter administrator include overseeing website changes, managing event registration and on-site event logistics, creating board packets, and being the liaison between the board and MPI.
The Greater Orlando Area Chapter of MPI provides meeting and event professionals located in Central Florida the opportunity to network with other professionals in the hospitality and convention services industries by hosting monthly meetings, special events, and fundraisers.
Paragon Events, Inc. is an award-winning event planning firm specializing in meeting planning, corporate brand strategy, high-end society events, etc., association management, destination management, and full-service marketing and advertising.  


Thursday, June 6, 2013

Guest Blog! Kristen Explores Germany for IMEX 2013

Kristen recently returned from the IMEX Conference in Frankfurt, Germany!

"My time in Germany was well-spent with some amazing people in a beautiful country! The IMEX Conference is quite an experience in itself, with people from all over the world under one roof. You see different cultures, hear different languages, eat different food, and connect with people you would never normally get a chance to meet face to face. Everyone is professional, energetic, friendly and ready to do business! I learned a lot about the different countries, what they have to offer, and how they do business. I expect to send some them some business in the future! I was lucky enough to have the chance to explore on my own as well! I went to Heidelberg and hiked on Philosopher's Way, took a boat tour down the Rhine valley where I enjoyed castles, German food and a wine tasting! I also had the chance to visit the Linderhoff and Neuschwanstein Castle’s of King Ludwig II. The Neuschwanstein Castle was Walt Disney’s inspiration for Cinderella’s castle- so of course this was the highlight of my trip! 

I got the opportunity to go when Paragon Events was asked as a company to attend. I asked Renee if I could be the one to go to represent Paragon. You have to have someone host you (like a supplier hosting a planner) and NH Hotels ( a European company based out of Spain) chose me! We had to get RFP’s ready and do practice interviews and appointments! Paragon will benefit from my experience because I built personal relationships, learned about other destinations that we never would have thought about, got  leads for new business, new ideas for team building, heard about some great renovations at hotels, learned about new hotels, and learned a lot about how the international market works! For example, if you plan a meeting in Germany you get all of the VAT (value added tax) back to you (which can be up to 20% bill). It was incredible."

Enjoy the photos!