EDITOR’S PAGE Bon Voyage
For those of you who have been in the event industry for a while, you probably know my boss, the fabulous Melissa Fromento. She is that no-nonsense blond hurricane with the dangly earrings and blue eye shadow that has been bustling around (especially) The Special Event for decades. While I’ve been with the company for over 11 years now, she served for 35 (!!). She became my supervisor in December 2019, right as the year was turning to 2020. That year, 2020—not only was it our very successful pandemic show in Las Vegas, which bowed the Thursday before the world shut down—but she also received the Steve Kemble Leadership Award at our annual Leadership Luncheon. I have never seen anyone more surprised when her name was announced, but she gracefully managed an acceptance speech that was filled with warmth and humility. Actually, as I write this, Melissa will be my boss for just a few more days. Wouldn’t you know it, but she decided to retire on March 31, opting to literally “sail off into the sunset” as she embarks on a new chapter of her life, with cruise shipping a huge part of her agenda for 2025. I wanted to write about Melissa today, because it’s a fact that the kind of leadership you have on the job can make or break your experience. It can determine whether you look for new opportunities or keep yourself happily planted. All I know is that I’m not the only person who would follow that lady to the ends of the earth in search of a new way of creating a customer experience, while (of course) keeping an eye on the bottom line. So, bon voyage, my dear colleague and friend. Retirement is sweet when you leave a legacy.
Kathleen Stoehr Director of Community & Content Strategy
WEBSITES specialevents.com catersource.com informaconnect.com/catersource-thespecialevent/
CONTRIBUTORS Meghan Ely, Scott Frankel, Katie Mast, Christie Osborne, Chris Weinberg
Director of Community &
Content Strategy Kathleen Stoehr, kathleen.stoehr@informa.com Content Editor Amanda Nicklaus, amanda.nicklaus@informa.com Senior Content Producer Amber Kispert, amber.kispert@informa.com Director of Design Sarah Kolcheck, sarah@nxtgennetwork.com Sales Director Michael Lindahl, michael.lindahl@informa.com Sales Account Executive Kevin Hacke, kevin.hacke@informa.com Ad Operations Specialist Lauren Loya, lauren.loya@informa.com
Special Events magazine is published quarterly by Informa Connect Foodservice Group, 650 Third Ave, 22nd Floor, New York, NY 10158. Subscriptions: Go to specialevents.com and sign up to receive Special Events’ quarterly issues and/or monthly e-newsletter products. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission prohibited. ©2025 Informa Connect Foodservice Group. All rights reserved.
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SPECIAL EVENTS SPRING 2025
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