OHIO — As coronavirus cases continue to surge throughout Ohio, large in-person gatherings are likely one of the last things coming back to our daily lives.

What You Need To Know

  • One Ohio-based event management firm says all planned events were canceled due to coronavirus

  • Meeting Professionals International, a worldwide trade association, said meeting professionals can use this hard time to repurpose their skills

  • Future events will likely be a hybrid of a virtual and a physical yet socially-distanced experience

This year was supposed to be Terria Saunders year of success—a chance to expand her business.

“The revenue goals, the ability to hire, all of that was like, you know, yeah we're getting it, we got our goals set. Let’s go—we’re golden. And then COVID,” she said.

For the last four years, it’s mostly been a one-woman show at her event management firm: Beloved Ones Events.

The company is based in Eastlake, but manages events for nonprofits, small businesses and solo-entrepreneurs statewide.

Saunders said the coronavirus caused cancellations for all of her planned events.

“All of them. Not most. It wasn't just one, I mean literally all of them. I remember being in a meeting with some other colleagues in the industry and they're just like, well... people, they don't want to do it. It's just not—it's not safe. They're unsure," said Saunders.

She calls this hard time a learning opportunity. Saunders said she's a member of Meeting Professionals International or MPI, which she refers to as her saving grace.

“It's really a lot of genuine, authentic opportunity to engage with one another with the veil off, like just completely transparent, completely open. Hey, we're all literally in this together and we're all having issues that are similar because we've been affected in the same way," said Saunders.

MPI is a trade association for people who plan meetings and events. The worldwide group includes anyone from a wedding planner to an administrative assistant.

“We have certainly seen an uptick in people taking our certificate courses for professional development, certainly participating in our webinars, just to gain information whether it be about coronavirus or whether it just be about personal skill set because people have time now," said Melinda Burdette, the director of events for MPI.

Burdette said meeting professionals possess organizational and logistical skills. They are detail-oriented problem-solvers who work well under pressure. Burdette believes those traits can be transferred or repurposed for success in other careers—and right now is a test of flexibility.

“I personally believe that if you're a meeting professional, you can basically do most anything. Certainly in times of crisis is really just just elevating that skill set to the next level," she said.

The need for connection doesn’t vanish even when face-to-face get-togethers aren’t as accessible anymore. Virtual events are now a popular alternative, but there certainly is a learning curve.

“Knowing how to conduct a virtual experience and engage the audience, because it's not just about talking heads—talking Zoom heads. It's about engaging your audience," said Burdette.

“So we kind of had to switch our gears to that and be trained and have conversations and learn about that whole aspect of the industry that was kind of like untapped potential," said Saunders.

Future events will likely be a hybrid of a virtual and a physical yet socially-distanced experience. Burdette is anticipating 2021 to be a year of recovery.

“I think that '21 is going to be a very pivotal year of, you know, vaccine availability and all of those kinds of things as we perfect how to meet together safely. And that's what it's gonna take to alleviate the fear—is to actually conduct safe meetings, and then tell the story about it and be transparent about what worked and what didn't work," she said.