Limelight on the Expert
Sandy Biback, our Certified Meeting Planner, is nice enough to fly over from Canada twice a year to instruct our insightful course on Event Planning for Administrative Professionals. She is the CEO of Imagination + Meetings Planners, Inc., all while still finding time to teach, speak and travel the world. To learn more about Ms. Biback please visit her website at www.ImaginationMeetings.com, but in the meantime, we’d like to get to know a little more about her as well.
- When and how did your passion for Event Planning arise?
I began as an office manager for a telecommunications consulting company about 30 years ago. We began brainstorming for new revenue streams and came up with seminars. And that’s where the passion began. I moved from office manager to managing a team of 4, planning about 120 seminars and conferences a year around - As a Business Owner/Event Planner/Wife, how have you been able to find the balance between your professional and personal life?
Tough one–my husband is also a small business owner. I work from a home office so it is very tough for me some days to close that door. My husband and I have a pact–working as little as possible over weekends and if we aren’t working, neither of us touches a computer, even for pleasure. Our kids are grown and out of the house, so that makes it a bit easier. It helps that Stephen is supportive of my career. When the kids were little, he was prepared to stay with them while I traveled. - If you weren’t in the planning and teaching industry, what line of work would you be doing and why?
Oh my goodness–well, I’d love to be photojournalist and travel the world. I love capturing a moment in time–both good and sad–and this would combine with my love of writing. I do amateur photography and have been published in several industry publications. And I love to travel and experience new cultures, languages. In my past life, I was a front-line worker in a teen assessment centre–that was tough. - Tell me one interesting fact about your work
I get to learn something new every single day of my life. When I deal with a new client, in a new field, I get to learn about their industry. –I have more if you want them! - What do you see yourself doing five years from now?
Ah, since I’m getting up there in age, I’ve been thinking about this–a lot. I want to just teach and not do conferences and events any longer. I want to impart my knowledge and bring out knowledge of others in this industry and mentor them — much like I do now, only not fulltime and I don’t want to be implementing conferences/events. And I want to explore my photography a whole lot more.