Working With Blake Mycoskie, TOMS Shoes Founder

The Paragon team was thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Blake Mycoskie, the founder of TOMS, at our latest software conference, Inspire. 

Inspire 2014 was held at the Aria Las Vegas April 6-9 and showcased an impressive lineup of education sessions and keynote speakers. One of the more notable keynotes at the conference was Blake Mycoskie, the inspirational creator of TOMS shoes.

Blake was a pleasure to work with. His positive attitude and kindness was apparent both onstage throughout his presentation, and offstage as he interacted with conference attendees and staff.

Blake's platform is giving back; specifically to the children of Argentina, who Blake discovered spent most of their lives never owning a single pair of shoes. Blake launched TOMS with the intention of raising money for shoes for these children. In the years since TOMS first launch, Blake and the TOMS team have expanded their impact to people without access to vision care and to animals in need. 

Blake's presentation at Inspire was humbling and motivating. 

We hope to have the opportunity to work with the TOMS organization again!

It's a Paragon Event: Inspire 2014

Paragon Events had the opportunity to plan and manage a software conference for 1,600 attendees in Las Vegas this April. 

Now in its eighth year, Inspire has grown to become a landmark event for Perceptive Software customers, partners and associates. Spread over three-and-a-half days, the Inspire conference features more than 110 educational sessions for attendees to dive deep into Perceptive’s products and solutions.

The sessions make up the core content of the Inspire conference, and they cover best practices, showcase new product functionality, provide industry-specific solutions and allow customers to share their success stories with others.

Inspire 2014 featured incredible education sessions and Keynote speakers, including Blake Mycoskie, the founder of TOMS shoes. 

Paragon Events has proudly worked with Perceptive Software since 2006.

Enjoy the photos!

ON THE MOVE: Francesca Radabaugh Meets Corporate Benchmark and Receives Major Gift

MEDIA ALERT 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
4/2/2014

On the Move: Francesca Radabaugh, Paragon Events’ Operations Manager, Meets Corporate Benchmark and Receives Major Gift

What: Francesca Radabaugh, Operations Manager at Paragon Events, has successfully met corporate benchmarks in customer satisfaction and productivity, earning her a 2014 Cadillac CTS Coupe as part of Paragon Events' employee incentive program. The incentive gift was given by Paragon Events President and Managing Director Renee Radabaugh.

Who: Francesca manages office operations for all departments at Paragon Events and several of its clients. Working with Paragon Events' management team, Francesca directly contributes to the development and implementation of organizational strategies, policies and practices. She oversees overall financial management, planning, systems and controls and plays a significant role in long-term planning, including initiatives geared toward operational excellence. 

Francesca developed Paragon Events’ "Green Division," which helps bring environmental 
awareness to events and assist Paragon clients in being environmentally conscious while planning events. Francesca also manages Paragon Events’ association management team, which acts as administrators for six nationwide association chapters.

Francesca has worked for Paragon Events for over four years, starting as an intern and earning promotions throughout her career as an Event Coordinator, Project Manager, and ultimately Operations Manager.

Kayla Schwenk, Paragon Events' Assistant Director of Meetings and Events, was similarly rewarded with a BMW in 2013 for meeting professional goals and reaching four years of employment with Paragon Events.

Where: Paragon Events is a full-service association management, event planning and marketing firm celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Headquartered in Delray Beach, Florida, Paragon Events holds offices in Orlando, FL, Los Angeles, CA, Richmond, VA, Pittsburgh, PA, Washington, D.C. and Sydney, Australia. Paragon Events offers a wide range of services nationally and internationally, currently providing services in markets as distant as Malaysia, North Africa, Dubai and Germany.

Why: “Francesca has invested four years into her career at Paragon Events,” says Renee Radabaugh. “She has worked hard to meet professional benchmarks in customer satisfaction and productivity. It is my goal to provide every employee with a company car because the success of the company relies on the success of each individual team member, which furthers my own success as a leader.”

Contact: Kacey Mullaney, PR Strategist at Paragon Events, Kacey@paragon-group.com

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Paragon Events Opens an Office Location in Washington, D.C.

Media Contact:

Kacey Mullaney, Social Media & PR Strategist, Paragon Events, Inc.

kacey@paragon-group.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Paragon Events Opens an Office Location in Washington, D.C.

New location is the 7^th for the South Florida based event planning firm

March 31, 2014 | Washington, D.C.: Paragon Events, an award-winning meetings and event planning firm, has opened a new office location in the heart of downtown Washington, D.C. Paragon Events is headquartered in Delray Beach, FL and boasts seven office locations worldwide. In addition to the Delray Beach and D.C. locations, Paragon Events holds offices in Orlando, FL; Los Angeles, CA; Richmond, VA; Pittsburgh, PA; and Sydney, AU.

“We are proud to officially join the busy metropolis of Washington, D.C.,” says President and Managing Director of Paragon Events, Renee Radabaugh. “We have been doing business here for many years with several incredible D.C.-based organizations, so it felt natural to open an office here. The D.C. area is perfect for government and healthcare events, and no one knows it better than us.”

With 2 major convention centers, 623 event venues, 115 hotels and over 28,000 hotel rooms, Washington, D.C. is an ideal location for corporate events big and small. The city is both trendy and historic, with a restaurants, clubs, shops, galleries, parks and monuments offering something for every type of clientele.

The new Washington, D.C. office will allow Paragon Events to provide even better service to its existing clients in the area. The new location will also expand Paragon Events' internationally recognized internship program, which boasts an 88% job placement rate.

Paragon Events is a full-service event planning, marketing and association management firm celebrating its 25^th anniversary this year. Paragon Events offers a wide range of services both nationally and internationally, currently providing services in markets as distant as North Africa, Dubai and Germany.

Paragon Events' Washington, D.C. Address:

1629 K Street, Suite 300

Washington, D.C., 20006

BioFlorida's #LatAm14 Life Sciences Conference

Paragon Events is at it again- this time managing a first-of-its-kind life sciences conference. BioFlorida, Inc. hosted its first-ever Latin America & Caribbean Life Sciences Conference in Miami on March 27-28.

BioFlorida is the state affiliate of the U.S. national Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO).

The conference featured premier educational sessions and presentations from industry leaders and experts. Programming covered opportunities and potential obstacles for cross-region collaborations, addressing research, clinical and commercial strategies, economic incentives, the current regulatory climate, and financing options. 

“This conference recognizes the key role Florida plays in setting the foundation for greater scientific and commercial collaboration across the Americas,” said Gregory A. Nelson, conference chair and partner at Novak Druce Connolly Bove + Quigg LLP. “Historically, many areas such as trade and manufacturing, have benefited from this connection. Now, we are bringing the spotlight to the life sciences. 

“This conference is an opportunity for participants to meet in a single location with the goal to optimize their successes and foster the growth of the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device industries,” said Nancy K. Bryan, president and CEO, BioFlorida. “The program is comprehensive and features an impressive line-up of speakers from the U.S. and Latin America, including high-ranked corporate executives, public officials, regulatory experts, and investment and economic development professionals.”

KEYNOTE AND FEATURED SPEAKER LINE-UP: Gabriela Gebrin Cezar, Senior Director & Head, External R&D at Innovation and Brazil, Latin America & South Africa Worldwide Research and Development, Pfizer; James Hogan, President, Medtronic Latin America and VP, Medtronic, Inc.; Miguel Ángel Margáin, Director General of the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property; Gray Swoope, Secretary of Commerce, President & CEO, Enterprise Florida, Inc.; Mark B. Rosenberg, PhD, President of Florida International University and Lieutenant Governor Carlos Lopez-Cantera (invited).

The conference featured six panel discussions moderated by industry experts:

• University & Research Organizations: Capabilities & Collaborations with Latin America - Past, Present and Future 

• Financing Options for Emerging & Established Companies

• Research and Commercial: Successes and Collaborations

• Economic Development and Incentive Opportunities

• Intellectual Property

• Regulatory Framework

Attendees were able to connect via the BioFlorida Partnering system before the event and then for six weeks after the conference. 

ABOUT BIOFLORIDA

BioFlorida (BioFlorida.com) is the voice of Florida’s life sciences industry, representing more than 3,000 companies and research organizations in the biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and bio-agriculture fields that employ nearly 84,000 Floridians. BioFlorida’s member-driven initiatives provide a strong business climate for development and production of innovative technologies and products that improve lives and promote economic benefits to the state.

Paragon Events Plans a Jamaican Incentive Trip

Paragon Events recently had the privilege of planning an absolutely fabulous, fun-filled corporate incentive trip for a software client. 

50 nationwide employees (and their spouses) were chosen to attend the incentive trip based on their exemplary work performance over the past year.

The incentive travel destination was the breathtaking Secrets Wild Orchid Resort and Spa, Montego Bay, Jamaica.

The program included an all-white welcome reception on the beach; various group activities off-site at destinations like Dunn’s River, ATV tours, Horseback Riding on the beach; a delicious rum tasting demonstration; “One Love” themed closing awards dinner; and releasing wish lanterns at the beach.

Paragon staffer Jill Friedman was able to attend the Jamaican event and had a blast. Enjoy the photos!

Amazing beach view

Rum tasting!

The lovely Secrets Resort

Beautiful weather for a cocktail reception

The "One Love" Reception

Wish lanterns

Poolside Reception

Laura Schwartz on the Cover of Smart Meetings Magazine

Congrats to Laura Schwartz on her amazing Smart Meetings cover! What an inspirational speaker. We were thrilled to meet her at last year's MPI SEC Conference.