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Month: June 2020

Meet the Board: Chris Harmon – Treasurer

Tell us about your business or the work you do.

I am a Videographer and I also own a Production and Entertainment company with Harmland Visions and High School Hype!

How long have you been a NACE member? On the board? 5 years a member, 4 years 

What is your personal motto? I am the kind of person you can only truly love when I’m dead and gone… Meaning that I have to raise the bar so high and leave an impact so heavy on this earth, that generations after me will mimic the Chris Harmon model.

What is your guilty pleasure? Popping Bottles in the club…. always making bad financial decisions 

Which actor or actress would play you in the movie about your life? Omari Hardwick

What does true leadership mean to you? Leadership is being able to lead a team and not having anyone do anything that you wouldn’t do. Constantly demanding greatness and nothing less.  Realizing that you don’t have to be a leader because someone said so, but you do it because that’s just who you are.  

What is in the trunk of your car right now? A whole bunch of bull…. naw just kidding… but it’s a lot of trash and broken pieces of something.  I don’t even think the spare tire is screwed in right.

Meet the Board: Rebecca Wright, CPCE – Vice President

Tell us about your business or the work you do.

I am the regional Director of Private Dining for the Truluck’s Restaurant Group. I plan and execute private events that range in size from 8-300 people at our Dallas area locations and am proud to have been happily employed at Truluck’s since 1999. It truly is a dream job. I keep showing up to do work that I love and they keep paying me (which I also love) – what more could I ask? I do not own Truluck’s but they treat me like I do!

How long have you been a NACE member? On the board?  

I have been a member of NACE for 10 years (since 2010) and have served on the board in various capacities for 6 years. I served as the Treasurer and most recently as the Awards Chair where my duties are to submit our chapter’s body of work for national award recognition.I am proud that our chapter has won “Chapter of the Year” while I have served in this role. 

What is your personal motto?

Two-Twelve It! That is a quick way to remind me to give it my all. This comes from a concept book by Sam Parker called 212 Degrees. It essentially says that at 211 degrees water is very hot but at 212 degrees water boils. With boiling water you get steam. With steam you can power an engine and with an engine you can move mountains. The difference between 211 and 212 is only 1 degree. However, 1 single degree makes ALL of the difference. Can I commit to giving it 212 degrees? You bet I can!

What is your guilty pleasure?

Macaroni and cheese from EatZi’s and sleeping late.

Which actor or actress would play you in the movie about your life?

Because she is one of my all-time favorites, I pick Meryl Streep! If it has to be someone a little closer to my actual age, I pick Debra Messing.

What does true leadership mean to you?

True leadership is leading by example and having an ego-less approach. A true leader cultivates and develops future leaders by providing the appropriate support to allow each to learn and succeed in their own way.

What is in the trunk of your car right now?

A set of Tiffany champagne flutes and my nephew’s stroller. Yeah, I’m that kind of aunt!

A Message from the DFW NACE President

Dear DFW NACE Family,

At some point in my DFW NACE presidency, I’m going to have the opportunity to send out the traditional and, dare I say, fluffy message that you’re used to seeing from past presidents. It definitely wasn’t my last newsletter, where I focused on Covid-19 and the effects it was having on our event industry. And it certainly isn’t going to be this one either.

There’s no denying that 2020 has been tough. For all of us. And for some members of our community, it hasn’t just been a rough year. It’s simply a life that has been made more difficult because of the color of their skin. Regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum, I think (or dare I say, hope) that we can all agree that our country has a long way to go when it comes to racial equality, fairness, and sometimes just plain decency. It’s a shame that there has to be another trending hashtag in order for the world at large to see what those of us in the black community have known for a long time. Things aren’t equal.

But here’s what I do know…

The Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter of NACE can be a safe space. A place where we can avoid naively saying things like, “I don’t see color” as a way to show solidarity and togetherness, but instead can embrace and celebrate our differences, including race. While it may be well intentioned to think that being blind to color is a good thing, let’s not fool ourselves into thinking our backgrounds and experiences are the same. Our chapter is more diverse than it’s ever been. Ever. And the only way we keep it that way is by fostering a welcoming, inclusive environment. Not just with Instagram messages and Facebook posts.

I want to encourage you to take a look around you. At your friend group. At your children’s friend group. At your network. At your workplace. Surrounding yourself with people who don’t look like you, who don’t worship where you worship, and maybe don’t even love who you love makes us all better. And pretending like we’re all the same, well… that’s so 2019.

I’ll be attending this webinar tomorrow to continue the conversation, “Healing Wounds & Bridging Gaps: An Honest Conversation About Race & Allyship in the Wedding Industry.” I hope you’ll join me.

Kimberly Rhodes
Owner & Event Planner at Hitched Events
DFW NACE President