MEETING AND EVENT PLANNING

By Jackie Sheckler Finch Meetings that run smoothly can get a great deal of business accomplished. Events that go as planned can leave happy memories for participants and guests. But behind every successful meeting and event is a massive amount of preparation and organization. Those efforts sometimes aren’t easily noticeable, but neglect them and you’ll certainly see the difference. Consider these meeting and event planning tips from local experts who are available to help juggle all the tasks necessary to ensure a first-rate gathering.

Choose an event planner “Event planners make for a quick and easy planning process,” says Summer Meleski, event coordinator for Biaggi’s Ristorante Italiano, noting that first-time planners my not be aware of planning pitfalls. “We are here to guide you every step of the way.” Ask ahead of time if attendees have food allergies “Setting up a meal plan or oering choices you know everyone will like and can have is very important,” Meleski says. “Knowing about allergies prior to a function helps ensure guests with allergies get exactly what they need.”

If hosting a meal, decide whether it will be a buet or a sit-down dinner.

“This all depends on what type of atmosphere you are trying to create for your event or meeting,” Meleski advises. “Buet dining is going to give off a moe laid-back kind of feel. A planned-out meal with courses will be more formal.”

Find the best meeting or event location “Be sure that the space is large enough and has some natural light,” says Emily Ruebl, director of Friedman Park Event Center which opened in September 2020. “You don’t want a space that is stark with only fluoescent lights. Windows and a beautiful view can make a big dierence in setting the mood whether you are hosting a meeting or an event.” Schedule breaks during meetings “Let participants know there will be breaks and when the breaks are scheduled. People often need to check in with their office or their fami, or return calls, or stretch their legs, or get a drink,” Ruebl says. “Serving snacks and something to drink at breaks is helpful. Always have water available.” Plan for inclement weather “It is very important to have a back-up plan,” Ruebl cautions. “If it’s an outdoor wedding or a retreat planned for outdoors, be sure there is plenty of indoor space in case of rain or bad weather.”

Supply all technical needs for meetings “Meetings often need rooms that are equipped to handle video meetings, conference calls, and visual presentations for a group. You need all the modern technology available to make a meeting a hit,” Ruebl says. Ask about catering options “Many meeting spaces require that you cater from a select few caterers, and some let you work with any caterer or even bring in your own food,” says Brianna Ramacciotti marketing manager at The Foundry on Main. “Make sure you find the best catering o tions to fit our budget.” Look into meeting space amenities “Coee, water, Wi-Fi, and printing capabilities are essential for meetings,” Ramacciotti advises. “It is always good to have pens and paper placed at sites where people will be sitting. Make it easier on yourself by finding a space that povides complimentary amenities and technology so that you are fully prepared.” Prioritize safety “As an event host, it is your job to ensure the safety of your guests. How secure is the building in which you are meeting? Can anyone just walk in?” Ramacciotti recommends asking about safety precautions such as secure mobile entry, security cameras, cleanliness, lighted parking, and evacuation and emergency plans.

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Travel has never simply been a means to “get away” for Sal Lavallo. In fact, visiting places and countries around the world could be called a career path for him.

When he was just an eighth grader at Holy Redeemer Catholic School, his graduation book remarked that by his class’ 25-year reunion, he would have visited every country in the world.

The now 30-year-old Evansville native works as the head of the Foreign Direct Investment at the Abu Dhabi Investment Office in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. His role entails attracting private sector companies to the country. Through his career, he’s also been an advisor for the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and started a nonprofit that benefited countries around the world.

But one of the facts of Lavallo’s life he’s most known for is his penchant for travel — in fact, just after his 27th birthday, he completed the goal of visiting all 193 established countries of the world (as of 2017; the number of established countries is now at 195). The milestone, reached on Nov. 17, 2017, in Malta, makes him one of the youngest people on record to visit every country. The accomplishment has meant more than just being a traveler. It has helped — and continues to help — shape Lavallo as an individual working in a global profession.

“I use a lot of my experience from traveling around the world in my work now,” he explains. “I feel like I’m able to take the knowledge I learned to talk on social media and inspire other people to think about what travel means and in my professional life to help other countries and help the UAE have economic development.”

Such a journey took more than simply stating he dreamed of traveling. A 16-year-old Lavallo attending Reitz Memorial High School searched for opportunities to broaden his horizons at an early age.

“When I was 16, I started classes at an international board school called the United World College,” he says. “There were students from 90 different countries there, so it made it really easy to go travel to see them when I was younger. I would just pay for the flight and then didn’t have to pay for a hotel and stuff. That made the world really accessible.”

He also is quick to give credit to his family for such a love of broadening his view of the world. His father was born in Italy, and his mother is German. Lavallo easily recalls stories told by his grandparents that revolved around family from Argentina, Italy, Germany, and so on.

“That made the world feel open. I felt like home wasn’t just Indiana,” he says.

The family also fostered an appreciation for traveling.

Uzbekistan, 2019 “I returned to Central Asia, one of my favorite regions, for the wedding of a friend from Abu Dhabi. It's always exciting to visit a place for such an event!” Lavallo says.

— Sal Lavallo

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 2019 “I love how the UAE combines nature with cities,” Lavallo says. “Unfortunately, most people only see the shining lights and fancy things. I’m trying to promote more of our eco-tourism offerings.”

While growing up, Lavallo remembers road trips to 44 states as a family.

“We would do crazy trips, like 30 hours to Montana and 40 hours back, stopping randomly wherever we wanted,” he says.

All of it bundled together to create a “travel bug” in him, latching onto his curiosity and passion for learning about others that followed him as he began his studies at New York University. Diving into economic development, Lavallo found a concentration in critical development and comparing different economies to learn why some are better than others.

As he continued studying, Lavallo also was awarded scholarships through NYU, allowing him to visit Brazil and New Orleans. A grant to research and compare all eastern African economies came next. Through this, Lavallo realized he wanted more “ground experience,” so in 2010, he began what’s known as an nongovernmental organization that he named Trail of Seeds. Through this nonprofit, Lavallo and others traveled to Tanzania, Brazil, Venezuela, and St. Kitts for projects that focused on promoting culturally sustainable development through three activities: introspection workshops, micro-grants, and promotion.

That job was not only a step toward putting his degree to use working in economic development globally, but also expanding his passion of discovering the world through travel. His job with McKinsey saw Lavallo working and/or temporarily living in 15 different countries over three years. If that traveling was not enough, he used personal time to fly to another country for a visit after a project was completed.

All of this came together like puzzle pieces, creating a picture that allowed Lavallo to continue a childhood passion while also working in a field that he found interesting and fulfilling. Each place traveled was put on a list, where Lavallo kept track of how many of the 195 countries he was visiting. And with each new place added, he found himself trekking a path similar to another Evansvillian – John Clouse.

“He was the first person who ever visited every country on the record, and he was from Evansville,” says Lavallo. “He was in the Guinness

Gabon, 2019 “I was traveling with Jessica Nabongo, the first Black woman to visit every country,” Lavallo says. “In the travel community, she’s one of my favorite people because we both are interested in economic development and studied it, so we talk about the world in very specific ways that many other travelers don’t.”

Jebel Hafeet, United Arab Emirates, 2019

Havana, Cuba, 2017 “While in Havana, the song ‘Pure Imagination’ from ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’ kept playing in my mind — the part where Willy Wonka says, ‘If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it’ — because so many people go to Cuba for the Caribbean island tourism, cigars, rum, and classic cars, but they ignore the sad reality of the place,” Lavallo says.

World Record Book for being the most traveled man (at the time).”

Clouse, a lawyer, earned his title of “the most traveled living American” from the Guinness Book of World Records in 1987, after visiting the 304 countries recognized at that time by the Travelers’ Century Club. In 1998, Clouse was still listed in the book, having been to all 192 sovereign countries and all but six of the non-sovereign territories on record at that time with the United Nations. (As one can see, institutions and record keepers differ in what defines a country.) He told the Christian Science Monitor in 1998 that he had crossed the Atlantic Ocean at least 100 times and the Pacific Ocean close to 50 times. Like Clouse, Lavallo wasn’t necessarily out to set world records. Traveling for Lavallo is about knowledge, learning, and connecting. It’s about diving into aspects he finds interesting rather than just passing through. “I’ve always thought it was cool that he didn’t just touch down and leave. He likes to spend two or three weeks, he likes to meet people,” says Lavallo’s father Stephen, an Evansville lawyer. While Guinness allows travelers to count airports as an official visit to a country, Lavallo prefers to spend significant time in each country, as he personally travels for experiences and connections. “My job is about forming relationships,” he says. “So when I’m working and somebody is like, ‘We’re investing in Mauritania,’ and I can go, ‘Oh, I’ve been there,’ it’s a connection. One thing I often say is when I look at a map, I see faces. Every flag I look at, I like to remember what I did in that country.” What’s the trick to being a globetrotter? For Lavallo, he says there is no one way. Sometimes he backpacks, sometimes he stays in hotels, and other times he houses with the guides taking him through a country. He meets families and business people, taxi drivers and cooks. He converses with men his age about marriage and their belief systems (Lavallo is Muslim). He takes the time to try different foods and dance.

Reminiscing on his travels and experiences, how he applies them to working in investments and global markets, Lavallo’s stories naturally revolve around the principle of “you connect on the similarities, but you learn from the differences.”

While it may feel like globe-trotting travel may be completed for him, Lavallo believes the opposite. In May, he spent time in Yemen camping with friends. For his 29th birthday, he took a special trip back to Japan. And he shares that he would love to visit every country once again, because places change, and he changes as a person as well. Each new experience opens the door for him to find a new way to connect.

“I always say it’s such a blessing and a privilege to be able to have seen so much of the world, and to not share that with others would be an injustice,” Lavallo says. “My whole point always was that travel is about learning and connecting and that you don’t have to get on a plane to travel. For me, it’s about encountering the unknown.”

Kosovo, 2018

Angkor Wat, Cambodia, 2016 “This was around the time that I decided to go ahead and finish every country,” Lavallo says. “I was at 150 and debating whether to return to work or stay on the road. We know what I ended up choosing.”