This week’s post is another guest post written by Rachel Riefberg, in celebration of her 4-year anniversary with DINEvent.
As of this month, I have officially been with DINEvent for 4 years (!!) but my journey with DINEvent started before the 4 year ago mark. In 2015, I was working for an IT-recruiting company in Phoenix in a shared Executive Suites office space. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted to be doing, as I knew I always wanted to work in the Event/Hospitality industry, but I just hadn’t found the right career fit yet. Within those Executive Suites, Amanda had an office as well and I would always see her in the kitchen and common areas. One day I struck up a conversation and asked her what she did. When she explained her company, DINEvent, I lit up! This was EXACTLY the type of company I’d been wanting to work for. I told her my education and internship experience and background, pertaining to the event industry and casually asked if she was hiring. At that time, it was just her and Dawn and she said not now but maybe in the future. After that conversation, I added Amanda on LinkedIn, dropped off a resume to her and introduced myself to Dawn in hopes to keep the door open should there ever be a position. During the next few months, I’d make it a point to pop into their office space whenever possible and continue to ask about DINEvent. I started to become friends with Amanda, and Dawn too, and I was determined to work for this company.
At the beginning of 2016, Amanda approached me and said we could create a position within DINEvent for me, but it wouldn’t be full-time. I trusted my gut and took the part-time role, having faith I could grow this into something more. In February of 2016, I began my first role within DINEvent, which was a sales position. I was doing a mix of inside sales to our current clients at the time as well as outside sales to obtain new clients. I started reaching out to our Associate Partners as well to provide them with the most up to date information about DINEvent.
Additionally, I took over our managing social media accounts, which included creating our Instagram and LinkedIn pages. I even traveled to Cvent Connect in Las Vegas, as well as Louisville and New Orleans for HelmsBriscoe Regional Events, which was the start of many travel opportunities within DINEvent. Fortunately, we became so busy towards the end of this year that I began managing the venue sourcing process for leads as well! By the end of 2016, I was offered a full-time position for 2017. I knew I had made the right decision.
At the end of 2016, I relocated to Washington, D.C. from Phoenix but was able to work remotely (as we all do now). Being able to work pretty much anywhere was yet another reason I knew I made the right decision with this company! Throughout 2017, my role was primarily venue sourcing side-by-side with Dawn. This included bringing on new Dining Partners as well. I was still performing sales duties and still managing the social media accounts. At the end of 2017, we decided we were ready to expand DINEvent Premium, our full-service event and meeting planning services. This meant hiring a new employee. I knew just the right person! Anayis and I had studied abroad together in Barcelona in 2013 and she had been in the event industry since graduating from college in 2014. She was planning to relocate to Los Angeles from Charleston around this time and would be looking for a new job. After a few interviews with our team, Anayis was hired as a full-time employee for 2018!
Since I was living in D.C. at the time and Anayis was living in Los Angeles, the 4 of us all knew we had to get together in person before this new working relationship. We met in Phoenix (DINEvent’s HQ) in February of 2018. We had an amazing week brainstorming the future of the company with some fun team bonding as well.
After that trip to Phoenix, my personal life took me to Colorado, where I continued to work remotely for DINEvent, mostly sourcing leads but still continuing with sales duties as well as marketing and social media, alongside Anayis. We went through some rebranding in 2018 and DINEvent Premium really took off! We had a number of team trips for both business, pleasure and of course, a little of both. We were back in Phoenix two more times, Las Vegas once and San Diego once all together.
This was such a fun year for us as a company and I wasn’t sure how anything could top it, but 2019 did! My personal life had me on yet another move – this time back to Connecticut, where I am from. I traveled quite a bit in the first quarter of 2019 to the HelmsBriscoe Regional Meetings, which included my first international trip since working for DINEvent. I was fortunately enough to travel to Berlin, Germany for the European Regional Meeting and then onto London for some personal fun.
My responsibilities within DINEvent also expanded as I took over some accounting and administrative roles. When I think about how much my role has grown, I know I am so lucky to be with a company that is ever growing and ever changing. Later in 2019, I got to travel internationally again, this time to Frankfurt for a DINEvent Premium on-site support event and then onto Budapest with Anayis for an extended weekend trip!
As we’re at the start of 2020, I am so eager to see how my journey with DINEvent continues. My role now is such a blend of everything: venue sourcing, sales, associate relationships, marketing, social media, accounting and administrative work and even sometimes assistance with DINEvent Premium. I know there is some travel ahead, which I always look forward to! Who knows what city my personal life may take me to next, or maybe I’ll stay put for a while, but no matter where I’m living, I know I’ll be working for DINEvent. Here’s to the next 4 (and beyond) years!
Setting The Table,
Rachel