Today, meetings don’t look the same as they formerly did. Planners are scrambling to catch up with developments that are making conferences and events more dynamic and interesting than ever. But where should meeting industry experts focus when it comes to trends? Even if there are many changes, there aren’t many visionaries that stand out when it comes to contemporary event design. Jennafer Ross, CMP, CED, is a well-known figure in the meetings and events sector. She served as president of the Philadelphia Chapter of Meeting Professionals International in the past and was honored with the Smart Meetings, Smart Women in Meetings, and Entrepreneur award in 2018.

Jennafer obtained her Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) designation qualification in 1996 and her Certified Event Designer (CED) designation in 2020. She is known for her “I can do that attitude” and lack of fear when it comes to taking on assignments.

Jennafer established JR Global Events in 2004   as a women-owned, full-service meeting and event management company. Since then, she has amassed a renowned group of seasoned event experts who share her dedication to collaborating closely with clients to deliver successful events that far surpass all expectations. As the company’s founder and CEO, Jennafer works closely with clients to make sure that all of their demands are satisfied while also managing a group of skilled event and meeting planners that travel both domestically and internationally. Her team takes pride in its ability to play a strategic role in the administration of a client’s event, exhibit, or conference by giving them the knowledge to steer clear of expensive errors and liability traps.

Stepping in Event Management Industry

Like anyone in the hospitality and tourism industry from more than 10 years ago, Jennafer certainly did not start her career in this field as it was not a widely-known profession.  Like many others, Jennafer stumbled into this industry. She began by managing the company’s trade show exhibit booth while working on the marketing team. From that point on, she rapidly understood what she loved and disliked about marketing and that planning, organizing, and executing events constituted a whole career path.

Jennafer was hooked as soon as she learned that professional meeting and event planning existed! Both personally and professionally, she flourished here. She says, “For someone who was a lousy student and not academically driven, I felt like the world had come together and I found my space. Creativity, organization, people connectivity, and design were things I truly felt I excelled at, but as a career, now THIS was something I could get into.” She poured herself into it wholeheartedly, found a new job, joined Meeting Professionals International, volunteered, joined the board, advanced in the board, and finally rose to the position of president of the association while also caring for her kids. In actuality, Jennafer was nine months along in the birth of her third child when she took office as MPI, Philadelphia’s president.

Jennafer began her own business after quitting her position as a meeting planner at a large corporation during that period of professional and personal growth within the association. She recalls, “My first child was 8 months old, and I thought I had to choose between being a mom and being a professional. Apparently I did not.”  When her oldest was 15 months old, she was afforded the opportunity to plan an international meeting in Italy. Jennafer believed that a meeting is a meeting regardless of the destination, hence her international meeting and event management career direction took off.

About JR Global Events

Global Events has grown as a business, yet they remain faithful to their roots. A full-service meeting and event management company, it partners with businesses as a direct extension of their internal marketing, HR, or sales teams, managing the logistics so they can concentrate on the content and deliverables. Its service portfolio includes incentive programs, conferences, meetings, tradeshow management, cultivated gifting, and onsite event staffing.

“We truly are passionate about creating those WOW experiences,” says Jennafer. JR Global Events’ passion is driven by the need to develop, create, organize, and bring people together so that they are enabled to develop, sell, learn, and grow. The company’s philosophy always starts with objectives, desired outcomes, and budgets. And everyone in JR Global Events works as a team with the client’s internal team to fully understand these elements and work together to deliver the desired results while still saving them money when possible. Jennafer says, “We strive to bring cutting edge technology and creativity to every client event or meeting.”

Working in the Hospitality Industry

For the past 18 years (a total of 25 years in the field), Jennafer has been a successful entrepreneur in the events sector. But if nothing else, these past two years have helped her develop her resilience. The hotel and tourism industry undergone a significant transformation that will alter the sector’s appearance. Service problems, a personnel shortfall, passenger demographics, and preferences are constant concerns. The Gen X professionals who have been traveling expected business to continue as usual after the pandemic, but it is evident that this has not been the case. Now, JR Global Events is dealing with the Millennials, who have quite different perspectives on jobs.

Even though technology has always existed, it is now more commonly acknowledged as the new standard for conducting business during meetings and events. JR Global Events provided these features to attract attendees, make them laugh, and, quite frankly, to keep the events afloat. The firm offered a wide range of services, including Virtual Horse Racing, Dueling Pianos, Paint & Sip, and Drag Queen Bingo, to name a few. Jennafer does think these virtual engagements will stick around a lot longer than the team thought. While the return of in-person events and meetings is taking off, there is still a need to engage and be able to connect in any setting. Jennafer contends that the organization must make an effort to provide experiences that captivate all audiences in its capacity as a meeting and event planner.

As a Leader and an Individual

Jennafer feels being the founder of the company is complicated. She started her business while starting a family, all from her dining room table, and that table is a whole lot larger now with the expansion of the company and new employees, yet we still meet at that same table. Jennafer’s responsibilities include, marketing, proposal writing, contract management, social media, blogging, HR, financial management, technologies, new sales opportunities, existing account management, growth of new business, creative design, and, when needed, event planning. As the company grows and evolves, she is learning to delegate responsibilities to our newest sales team, our new financial managers and its team.  Jennafer asserts, “Trust is an earned thing, and I am grateful to have business partners and a team that I trust implicitly.”

Every day, Jennafer is driven to do more and be more—for herself, her family, her team, her business partners, and overall the industry as a whole. Jennafer truly believes “you get what you give.” So, she feels that it’s important that she shares what she has learned. She wants to learn more every day and empower others to be the best version of themselves that they can be.

Key to build a Great Team

Honesty, transparency and consistency are the keys to building a great team. Jennafer states, “Your team has to be vested in the success of the company otherwise your wins, big or small are meaningless to them personally. We call it “drink our kool-aid”.  And we do not allow drama of ANY kind to seep in – and when working with a team of mostly women, not an easy thing to do.  I think we are very much a work hard, play hard mentality and we give our team the space to be present in their daily personal lives.  They are adults and professionals with a job to do, and we put our trust in their abilities.” She further adds, “We do not micromanage anyone, we are all remote based, by choice and long before the 2019 pandemic. Show up, be present, and be engaged. We respect and understand that people have lives and families and other things going on and want to be the second family.  We strongly believe that your personal family is always first and we are second family.  So long as you are pulling your weight.”  Jennafer and her team empower people to be part of a decision-making process and actively participate, not just wait to be told and this makes a very big difference.

Advice for Dreamers

“Do Not Let Anyone Tell You That You Cannot Do Something.”

As an entrepreneur herself, Jennafer believes, “If you believe in it, are passionate about it and have the drive to see it through, don’t stop.  Do not ever let someone else’s shortcomings or self-doubt become yours.  It’s not yours to own. Just because another person is not willing to take a risk does not mean that it’s not right for you. Self-doubt, whether your own or put on you by someone else, is the hardest thing to drive past. Do your own research, your own sleuthing, and your own soul-searching, and then surround yourself with the right people.  Those that believe in you, your brand, and your capabilities are those you want in your corner.”

Her advice for emerging women entrepreneurs is to be creative, diligent, and true to who you are.  She says, “I truly love what we do and believe in my team and our capabilities to make a difference and provide an elevated level of professionalism to our clients and our industry.” Jennafer believes in the education she and her team gain and give in the industry and outside the industry; it’s theirs to share and educate others on the legitimacy of the hospitality industry – to be successful, we have to elevate each other both as professionals and as women entrepreneurs.

Heading to achieving more Growth

The word “sustain” to Jennafer seems more like stagnant. She always strives for more growth, more brand recognition, and more industry awareness and advocacy. As for the future partnerships, JR Global Events and Events On Call, Jennafer will continue to take risks, develop partnerships, and forge the path for those that truly love what they do, because she considers that there is no reason in this world for women to have to choose between their families and their careers, and she wishes to be the voice for that model.

Website: www.jrglobalevents.com