ABC Southeast Regional Fall Meeting

ABC Fall Southeast Regional Meeting

"Exploring the Past, Building the Future"
August 20 through August 22, 2010

Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village
St. Augustine, Florida
http://www.worldgolfrenaissance.com/

Click here for hotel reservations

(Looking for a roommate?  Email conference@abc-florida.com)

Friday

Optional Sandals training session 4:00 - 6:30 pm
Don't miss this exciting opportunity to learn about Sandals, Beaches, Royal Plantation and 
Grand Pineapple Resorts as well as how you can earn extra $$$  along with Sell & Go Nights 
at the Resorts!  This is a fast paced and fun seminar packed with information to help you capture 
the honeymoon segment. Your attendance certifies you as a Sandals Specialist and must be 
completed annually to activate or maintain your status. 

click here to download the flyer

Welcome Reception
Enjoy an appetizer and beverage before heading off to dinner!
Sponsored by ABC Central Florida East LNG

Dinner on your own

Saturday Educational Sessions

Scheduled Speakers:
Ana Cruz and Linnyette Richardson-Hall
plus 6 additional breakout presentations!
(see program descriptions below!)

Saturday Night
Off-site event in historic downtown St. Augustine

Sunday
Expanding Horizons: Etiquette and Service Revival
(we’ll wrap by 3:30 pm to allow travel time home)

Registration Includes breakfast and lunch both days and the Saturday off-site event!

Guest rooms are available at the Renaissance Resort for $109 single/$129 double per night
Call 800-266-9432 to make your reservation 

if you are looking for a roommate, email conference@abc-florida.com

General Sessions/Keynote Speakers

Shining Bright and Standing Out	
Ana Cruz, Ana Cruz Event Planning

Join Celebrity Wedding Planner, Ana Cruz, from the Style Network's, "Whose Wedding is it Anyway?"
 and "Married Away", to learn about how she started and grew her successful planning business.  
Ana will share her views on reaching the right clients and building strong relationships with vendors.  
From being involved with the community to gaining media attention to becoming a brand Ana will 
share her secrets on how every planner can shine.

About Ana: Ana Cruz is a born and bred Miami girl with family roots in both Cuba and Spain.  The 
unique mix of those strong, passionate cultures account for her personal style and outlook 
on life.  She is recognized through out Florida and in the greater Miami area specifically 
as an arbiter of style and innovation when it comes to event planning.  She is the star of 
the Style Network’s ‘Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?’ where she is known for always making her 
clients look and feel good no matter what challenge they throw at her. Ana Cruz Event 
Planning – Miami’s premier event planning and lifestyle company with offices in Miami and 
Detroit – is the undisputed leader in its field since opening in May 2001.  Ana’s corporate 
clients include Citibank, the March of Dimes and Pulte Homes, Inc.  As a destination wedding
 and lifestyle expert sharing her views on food, fashion, entertaining and décor, Ana was 
selected to be one of the premier wedding planners featured on the E! Network’s reality 
destination wedding series, “Married Away”.  Today she appears regularly as a popular event
planning consultant on local radio, television and news media outlets.  Additionally she is 
often quoted as a content expert in national news and magazine articles. She and her husband, 
Omar, have been married for nine (9) years and they have two gorgeous sons, Jake and Collin. 

"Destiny - What's Yours?"	
Linnyette Richardson-Hall, Premiere Event Management

There are a lot of people in this game of wedding planning, but many have no true idea of what their 
"calling" is.  Destiny is the path laid out for you - the key is discovering what steps and turns you 
need to take along the journey in order to be truly successful....

About Linnyette:  Artistic, intuitive and with a penchant for creating events that touch all five senses, 
LinnyetteRichardson-Hall and her company, Baltimore-based Premiere Event Management
(www.theweddingdiva.com), take wedding and special occasions to the next level for discerning
clients locally and across the United States. Television audiences have come to know
Linnyette as the out-of-the-box, no-nonsense, designing diva on the Style Network’s hit reality
series, “Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?” where she showcases her flair for the unusual while
sticking to her guns when it comes to proper protocol!!
She is the former Senior Contributing Editor and featured columnist for "Signature Bride"
magazine, a wedding/lifestyle publication specifically designed for the African-American
bride & groom. As one of the original wedding planning advisors for WeddingChannel.com in
the “Circle of Experts” section, her practical advice, expertise and style were found every month
in the form of articles, a question/answer section and regularly scheduled interactive sessions.
Her work and design expertise have been featured in countless publications such as The Wall
Street Journal, Glamour, Essence, The Knot and Baltimore Magazines as well on Style, Fox,
BET, CBS along with many other local and national television outlets. Her other company, The
Business of Matrimony (www.thebusinessofmatrimony.com) offers seminars conferences for
those persons who wish to enter the wedding industry as well various workshops and programs
for entrepreneurs and small business owners. She is also the producer of the “I DO Brunch” - an
annual networking event designed expressly for the professional wedding planner & coordinator.
A graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Linnyette is the mother of two
and resides in Baltimore, Maryland.

Breakout Sessions

Establishing Your Wedding Day Time Line		
Anna Marie Wintercorn MBC, Elegant Weddings & Events 

Each wedding is unique.  Brides/Grooms want to be able to have their dreams and desires fulfilled.  
That is why they hired a bridal consultant to orchestrate their wedding.  Master Bridal Consultant 
Anna Marie Wintercorn will discuss the reasons she allocates periods of time throughout the different 
schedules pertaining to special events before, during and after the wedding day.  Upon viewing the 
different timelines from several weddings, a question and answer period will follow. Upon completion 
of this session, attendee will be able to develop a thorough and accurate timeline for each wedding 
event with input from the B/G, families and vendors involved.  

2010 Internet Strategy for Your Business		
Joe Lemire President/Chief Innovator, Elyk Innovation, Inc

Presentation highlights:

Your business website should accomplish 3 primary goals
a.Attract new clients
b.Serve existing clients
c.Increase the productivity of your team

Revisit your current site to make sure the basics are in place.
1.Search engine friendly.
2.What is Google looking for in a website? ( non-technical )

Move forward with a few simple changes.
1.Go mobile
2.Web applications.
3.Social Networking.
4.Extending your brand.

Branding Yourself to Stand Out in the Social Network Ocean
David Hanscom, Mentor To Winners & Y? Entertainment, Inc.

Social media has taken our personal and professional lives by storm.  You can not be anywhere 
without seeing "Join our Facebook Group here", "Follow us on Twitter there".  Every movie, every 
singer, every company has the ability to contact their clients in way previously either impossible 
or too pricey.  With great opportunity comes great challenge.  Just like these opportunities are 
available to you, they are equally available to each and everyone of your competitors and people are 
becoming more "socially savvy" than ever.  So how do you separate yourself from the rest, how do 
you stand above your competition so that a prospect will discover your originality?  Join me as I 
share the latest tricks, techniques and suggestions to take your "same as everyone else" approach 
to social networking and sky rocket above the rest. 

Linen Practical Skills 						
Connie Duglin Linen 

Guidance For Your Brides As They Tiptoe Through The Tulips 
Lynette Self, Rose of Sharon European Florists

The floral decor for weddings and receptions is the cherry on top.  However, many brides are not clear 
on the preparation needed before they meet  with a florist to determine her style, design and decor.   
Lynette Self, owner of Rose of Sharon European Florist, will give insightful information about what 
your bride should have prepared before meeting with a florist, how to select a qualified florist, and the 
what to expect from her florist from their first consultation to the wedding day.  

Cashing In on Customer Service	
Elisa Delgardio CSEP, PBC, A Flair for Affairs