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Shootin' the breeze with our planners

By Dina Fong, California Department of Education

This article is provided courtesy of PonyXpress, Volume 4, Number 132

Interview with Susan Buntjer, CMP, CGMP

Susan Buntjer, CMP, CGMP is a conference meeting specialist with the Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) where she has worked for five and a half years. She is a veteran meeting planner and has 25 years experience in the field. At RCAC, she currently plans over 80 trainings, multi-day conferences, and board of directors meetings.

Born in North Dakota, Susan currently resides in Sacramento with her husband, Robert Rice, and their two little dogs. She has five siblings scattered over the U.S. from Santa Rosa to Maine. Her husband Robert is a professional speaker and spoke on networking at our January Chapter meeting (see cover article).

How long have you been a meeting planner & how did you get started in the business?

I got started in meeting planning when I took a temporary job at Scripps Clinic & Research Foundation in La Jolla, California in the continuing medical education (CME) department. After Scripps hired me as a permanent employee, I eventually moved into the CME manager position where my team handled all aspects of 12 to 14 large CME conferences annually held in the Western USA and Hawaii. My next position was in Michigan where I became Director of Meetings for the American Society of Agricultural Engineers where my department managed a 1,500 person annual conference and numerous technical conferences throughout North America.

I returned to Sacramento in 1997 to help care for my elderly parents. I was the meeting manager for several membership associations in Sacramento before joining RCAC in 2006.

SGMP member since: 2006

Why did you joined SGMP?

RCAC is a nonprofit that receives federal and state funding so knowing more about planning and managing government meetings is why I joined SGMP.

What committees or activities have you helped with at SGMP, if any?

I am currently on the chapter monthly program committee.

Have you been to a National Conference? If so, how

many and where? Which one has been your favorite and why?

My first SGMP NEC was in 2011 in Norfolk, Virginia so it is my favorite so far!

You received a National Scholarship—what was that like? Why should others apply?

I was thrilled to be a recipient of a national scholarship from SGMP to attend the 2011 NEC. It was easy to apply and the tasks I needed to do as a scholarship recipient were fun and easy and allowed me to be more involved and meet many new people at the NEC. I was the moderator for two educational sessions and I was also required to attend all NEC activities and then write an article – about any topic – after the conference. I would highly encourage other members to apply for a NEC scholarship, especially since first time attendees and those who have not received a scholarship, have a better chance of being selected.

Do you belong to any other professional meeting organizations?

I belong to Meeting Professionals International and am a past president of the Sacramento Sierra Nevada Chapter. I also belong to the Green Meeting Industry Council.

What is one piece of advice you would give to a new meeting planner?

Get actively involved with SGMP and MPI and learn all you can from other members and from the educational offerings each group sponsors. If you do this you will be amazed at where your career can take you.

Best thing about your job:

Working with the wonderful staff at RCAC and feeling like we are making a positive difference for rural communities in the western USA and Hawaii.

Describe yourself in three words: Friendly, helpful, perfectionist.

Hidden Talent: I can sew my own clothes.

Pet Peeves: People who do not plan ahead, which can cause lots of last minute stress for meeting planners.

Thing you like best about Sacramento: It feels like a small town even though it is not.

Favorite restaurants: Rio City Café

Favorite pastimes: Spending time with my husband and my family

Famous person you would like to meet: President Obama

Favorite musicians: The Rolling Stones

If you weren’t a meeting planner, what would you do?

I think meeting planners have the best jobs so there is nothing else I would want to do.

Favorite movies: Star Wars

What do you want to do when you retire?

Travel with my husband

Download PonyXpress, Volume 4, Number 132 here >>

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