Recently I was chosen as “champion” for a national conference coming to Charlotte in May. What exactly does this esteemed honor mean? It means trying to herd cats; cats from each of our regions…cats in three time zones…cats with many opinions…cats that don’t understand marketing or conference planning. So, as “champion” it is up to me to provide this group with marketing support and conference planning expertise. Yikes!

In the end, I don’t have to know it all or have all of the answers. Instead, I just need to have excellent resources and know how to use them. I have favorite websites, I follow blogs and I network, but sometimes in order to get the answer, I need to broaden my resources.

Thankfully, I have SMPS. In case you don’t know about them, here are the great resources offered by SMPS.

SMPS Charlotte
- SMPS Charlotte Blog: Did you miss one of our events? Interested in a book review? Didn’t make it to a regional or national conference? It has probably been written about on our blog. The more voices we have on the blog, the better the resource will be. All of our members are welcome to submit a blog post. Have you read a great industry related book? Found a great website? Learned something new at a program? Feel free to submit your blog post to our Communications Committee (kristin.worley@woolpert.com)

- SMPS Charlotte Lending Library: The Charlotte library includes webinars, industry related books, and CPSM study materials. The items are available for members to check out. Our Education Committee keeps tabs on the materials and can be contacted (kboone@clarknexsen.com) to borrow a resource.

SMPS National
- MySMPS: SMPS offers great resources. If you haven’t explored around this website, I recommend taking a little bit of time and doing it. Two resources that I couldn’t live without are the Listserv’s and the Marketing Resource Center. The Listserv’s have various settings, so you can control the amount of email you get, but you can throw a question out to the group and receive great ideas. These emails are also saved and searchable! This means you don’t have to try to keep it all organized.

Finally, the Market Resource Center is amazing. Members are asked to submit helpful examples of forms, award submittals, proposals, presentations, etc. and the materials are available for download. I use this all the time. In fact, when I needed some ideas on herding cats for my conference planning, I turned to the MRC and found four great planning forms.

If you have great resources SMPS related or not – share them with me. I am always interested in expanding my resources.

I look forward to seeing you at our events.

Sara Downing, CPSM
Adolfson & Peterson Construction
SMPS Charlotte President

Blair Smith

JE Dunn Construction
Senior Marketing Coordinator

Length of Time in the Industry – 8 years
City you were born in/where you grew up – Born in Atlanta/ raised in Charlotte
Where you live now and how long you’ve lived there – We bought an older house in Sardis Oaks about 5 years ago. Fixing it up is our weekend hobby. 
Where you went to college – UNCC
Favorite restaurant –300 East
Favorite book/or last book read – Lately you are lucky if you get more than one bedtime story out of me. When I have spare time I love reading autobiographies on people with unusual lives – A Million Little Pieces, Scar Tissue, Anne Frank, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings... 
Favorite TV show - Rehab Addict (DIY Network), Nurse Jackie
Favorite movie/or last movie seen – I still catch myself stopping what I’m doing and watching “Hope Floats” every time it comes on TV. Cheesy but true.
Interest or hobbies – I believe in working hard and playing hard. If I’m not at the office I am most likely discussing the fate of the world over a glass of wine, exploring with my husband and two year old daughter, or attempting to create some masterpiece I saw on Pinterest. 
How did you get your career start? I started as a Preconstruction Assistant and decided to pursue a more creative role. I went back to school in the evenings for marketing and now thoroughly enjoy the daily excitement and challenges that come with working in our field!
First Job – Hostess at La Paz, the good old days… 
Personal Hero – My 99 year old Grandfather
Favorite Vacation Spot – I hope to travel the world but LOVE North Carolina beaches… particularly Holden Beach, our ‘home away from home’.

SMPS Charlotte hosted another packed house during a client panel discussing Multi-Family Housing Development in the Charlotte region. Desiree MacSorley, Senior Principal of Design Resource Group spoke from the planning perspective; Fred Bolt, Senior Vice President of Adolfson & Peterson Construction focused on the constructor side; and, Chuck Travis, AIA, LEED AP and Principal of Housing Studio provided the architect’s point of view. Sara Downing, CPSM, SMPS Charlotte President, moderated the discussion. Read more...

West Virginia University’s online Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) program will host an open house in Charlotte on Wednesday, April 17 from 5-8 p.m., and we would love to see you there.

This is the perfect opportunity for you to learn more about the WVU IMC program. Chat with some of our Charlotte-area students and graduates about the program workload and how they fit it into their busy lives. Discuss the online learning environment and admissions process with our administrative team. And talk about discussion board posts and the typical week of class with faculty members.

Here are the details:

What: WVU IMC Charlotte Open House
When: Wednesday, April 17 from 5-8 p.m.
Where: Vida Mexican Kitchen y Cantina – 210 E Trade St.

Appetizers and drink specials will be provided.

Read more about of some of our Charlotte-area students and RSVP for the open house at http://imc.wvu.edu/charlotte.

We hope to see you there and encourage you to bring a friend or share this information with anyone else you feel may be interested in attending.