Category: Event Planning News

Event Planner Job Posting: Associate Event Coordinator, Location: Portland, Oregon (May be 50-80% remote after successful 6-month training)

Posted on by Emee Pumarega
A woman event coordinator places a floral arrangement on a long banquet table and smiles while looking at the camera.
Event planner job posting: Come work at EJP Events!

We have an Event Planner Job Posting to share with you! EJP Events LLC is a Portland, Oregon-based event planning company holding the core value that True Hospitality Welcomes Everyone. We work all over the US and internationally, supporting individuals and organizations so they can be excellent hosts of their important milestone events.

Position: Associate Event Coordinator. Posting updated March 28, 2024. One position currently available part-time (20+ hr/wk).

Our Associate Event Coordinator(s) will join a distributed team of three, and be responsible for a broad range of event planning support activities with both office (computer-based) and on-site event work. “Office” work will be flexible, within regular business hours, and work-from-home compatible after a successful 6-month training period. However, the nature of event work is mainly in-person in 2024, so this position cannot be fully remote. On-site event work will require specific mandatory work hours and locations with occasional travel.

Primary tasks will include: maintaining a database of client and vendor information; client and vendor follow-up; maintain/develop vendor relationships; event documentation; transcribing and organizing event notes after client and vendor meetings; internet research; on-site event support and coordination; and errands. Mandatory results-based job requirements include acting as a team player to effectively and proactively move the event planning process forward; collaborate and communicate effectively to reduce time spent on audits and interventions; and overall be a key contributor in client happiness and team success. AECs should expect to be on site at 12-20 events per year, some multi-day and some outside of Portland.

Additional tasks will include: On-site venue monitoring of our Risley Landing Gardens event venue on event days, giving tours of the Gardens, and preparing sales documents to ensure the accuracy of booking information before the client signs.

The AEC is required to attend 1 weekly in-person staff meeting in Portland at minimum, and additional weekly meetings during training until their remote schedule is established. AECs should be expected to be in the office in-person 2-3 times per week.

Pay and benefits: Base hourly rate $16-$20/hr depending on experience, W-2 position (Not a contractor). Paid Time Off is earned starting on day one of employment. Position is eligible for approved overtime. Most weekends and Federal holidays off unless there is an event assignment. A commission program of up to 15% of net sales in addition to the above compensation is available to sales-trained accepted candidates who have completed both sales training and the required 6-month employee training and probationary period. An additional benefit is an Employee Convenience Reimbursement which may be used to offset the cost of individual health care premiums, travel to and from the office/work sites, and to reimburse for the cost of using personal devices such as laptop and mobile phone for work. By law, employees are covered by Workers’ Compensation and unemployment insurance, Oregon Paid Leave, and Oregon Family Leave.

Time requirement: 20+ hours/wk part-time; with opportunity for training and growth to full-time position as well as hourly rate increase and project-based bonuses for the right candidates.

Required Qualities, Skills, & Experience:
• Relationship focused and results-oriented
• Calm and professional under pressure
• Approachable and confident
• Attendance: dependable, reliable and punctual
• Honest and ethical
• Respectful of client, vendor, and company confidentiality
• Highly organized and detail oriented
• Proactive and persistent
• Robust internet research skills
• Professional and concise verbal and written communication skills
• Evening & weekend availability (scheduled in advance)
• Microsoft Office Suite, Google Workspace, email
• High School Diploma or GED
• Minimum 1-5 years of related or applicable work history
• Valid DL & insurable driving record
• Able to walk and stand for long periods of time
• Able to lift and move up to 25 lbs.

Preferred:
• Experience with Honeybook, Asana, and/or Timeline Genius event planning software
• experience in an intensive customer service environment
• bachelor’s degree
• data management experience
• hospitality industry experience
• Spanish proficiency or fluency
• Knowledge of additional software related to event planning, project management, CRM, or creative business management (please list any event planning software types you are proficient in, in your resume or cover letter)

How to Apply to this Event Planner Job Posting: Send a cover email of interest with your resume as a PDF attachment to: emee@ejpevents.com Please put in the Subject line of the email: AEC {Year in which you are applying|} APPLICANT: (your last name) Example: “AEC 2024 Applicant: Pumarega”

Please include a description of your regular weekly availability in your cover email. Examples: “I am available full time M-F 8am – 5pm with availability for weekend and evening work.” Or: “I am available part time M-W-F 9am – 3pm with availability for weekend and evening work with advance notice.”

Women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ candidates are encouraged to apply. Candidates requesting accommodations to the above required skills, qualities, and experience are asked to include a description in their cover letter.

EJP Events is a 100% non-smoking company; smoking or vaping of any kind is prohibited at all office locations and at events. Please read more about EJP Events at our website: https://ejpevents.com/about-us/

Hear ye, we’re planning a Shakespeare festival!

Posted on by Emee Pumarega
Image ID: a Banner showing an illustration of William Shakespeare with text showing the date of the event: July 16-18, 2021.
Planning a Shakespeare Festival? Check out what Westside Shakespeare Festival is doing in 2021!

EJP Events is pleased to announce that we are working with Experience Theatre Project to assist in planning a Shakespeare festival – specifically, their 2021 Westside Shakespeare Festival! We are so excited to be working with this organization, as well as the City of Beaverton, to safely welcome back the return of live events. The City of Beaverton is working closely with the festival through its permitting system and guidance from the City events manager, to ensure all Oregon Health Authority guidelines are followed.

Currently, Westside Shakespeare Festival is running an online fundraiser in support of its performing arts programming in the community. To learn more and donate, please check here. You can also view the fundraiser through the Instagram app at this location.

Planning a Shakespeare festival involves the entire community, including food and vendors! EJP Events is now accepting vendor applications for food cart and table vendors for the event. Please note, all vendors are expected to participate in the theme of 1550s-1650s era, through costumes, offerings, and services. All merchandise should represent something that could have been made or sold in the Shakespearean era. To review the vendor application please click here. If you have questions, please contact the event planner, Emee Pumarega, at emee @ ejpevents . com or phone (503) 284-6756. This is a great way to get back in the festival vendor game, if you had to sit out 2020 like many of us!

Finally, do make sure to attend the festival in July! Free festival attendance will include access to the performances, as well as a wide array of food and merchandise vendors. For an additional ticket fee, one may attend the Queen’s Feast with seating for the Saturday evening stage production, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged). It will be held outdoors, rain or shine starting from Friday 4pm July 16th, through Sunday, 5pm on July 18th, 2021. Full schedule and details are available at experiencetheatre.org.

Virtual and Hybrid Event Showcase at Skyrise

Posted on by Emee Pumarega
a hybrid event attendee listens to a sommelier from a distant tableA virtual and hybrid event attendee listens to a wine sommelier explain wine pairings at a small hybrid event. Additional attendees view remotely and are connected to the event on a big screen. Photo: Tom Cook Photo

 

Virtual and hybrid events have been on the upswing since the 2008 recession, but 2020 pushed them to the forefront. As EJP Events fielded many requests to move events online this year, we employed our existing knowledge and pulled in technical production teams, as well as software platforms like Whova, Eventsquid, and vFairs, in order to create compelling virtual and hybrid event offerings.

a table set for a virtual wine dinnerThis table is set for a virtual at home wine experience, complete with charcuterie box, bottles of wine, notebook, and the computer with which to participate in the event.

 

The challenge, however, was how to relay our vision to new clients. As much as we love to dial in every detail and think critically about the attendee experience (have you ever thought how many physical items an attendee will need to gather in order to be on camera at a virtual wine dinner? We have!), it’s hard to convey that to someone who has never done this before. And it’s not like we could go into our existing clients’ living rooms and take photos of them attending our events during a pandemic, let alone the privacy issues!

 

video camera recording a hybrid event
Livestreaming and video-recording of events has become de rigeur due to the pandemic-created virtual and hybrid event requirements starting in 2020. Photo: Tom Cook

So we put on our creative agency hats, and put together a content shoot (or styled shoot as it’s known in the weddings world). Emee and Katherine spent many hours in the fall brainstorming over Zoom, which best practices would make a virtual event shine; as well as what needs to be done to make your small hybrid event not only fun and memorable, but over-the-top in safety. We even experienced the now-common pandemic phenomenon of having everything scheduled and ready to go for our shoot event, only to have Multnomah County go into a four-week freeze and have to re-schedule the entire event and all its vendors.

We’re happy to note that because of this team and their experience and professionalism, it reinforced our faith in the event process and things went off without a hitch. (Unless you count that Emee forgot her on-camera outfit and had to send someone back for that.) And we now have this wonderful content to share with you, that I hope tells the story of how EJP Events would envision a safe, engaging, delightful, and productive virtual or hybrid event where everything is dialed in, from the food and drink, to the individual sanitized microphones on each attendee. Check it out in the gallery below. Our main ideas are:

  • Tell people what to do. Pre-COVID, people didn’t need a lot of instruction at a networking event or a happy hour. During COVID, however, structure and format is needed. Open networking leads to too-close gathering. Offer each attendee their own seat, table, or area and provide a program of activities. 
  • Speaking of program, make sure to explain the program to everyone through multiple channels: Pre-event communications, on-site signage and directionals, live staff offering directions and guidance, and audible instructions through the use of announcements.
  • If people are attending remotely as well as in-person (a “hybrid event”), ensure that the home viewer is not left out of the action by creating an online, digital broadcast that is just as interesting as the in-person experience. Make sure audio is good, not just of the speaker but of the in-person attendees, to give home viewers the feeling of “being there”. Offer opportunities for the home viewer to be “seen” at the in-person event and interact with the in-person guests. It’s a two-way street!

There are so many more details I could share, so I hope you’ll follow up with us if you have questions. For those of you who believe we’ll be back to normal and there’s no reason to keep perfecting virtual and hybrid events, here are a few headlines and quotes from news around the world:

“Virtual Events, Other “COVID Trends” Likely to Continue to Mid-2021, Meetings and Events Director Says“

“Health expert predicts concerts, sporting events won’t return until ‘fall 2021 at the earliest“;

“Once my family and I are vaccinated, I would change behaviors, except I can’t imagine being in a crowd or attending any crowded events until at least 80 percent of the population is vaccinated.”— Julie Bettinger, associate professor, University of British Columbia“

“David Nash, M.D., who serves as dean emeritus at Jefferson College of Population Health, anticipates that large in-person events could return with enhanced safety measures “deep into 2021 — the last quarter.”

Location: Skyrise / Remote.ly
Catering: Charcuterie Me
Photography: Tom Cook Photo
Planning: EJP Events
Florist: Mix Mod
Dessert: Missionary Chocolates
Rentals: The Party Place
Wine: Domaine Roy + fils
Signage: The Fresh Hues
Plates: Dtocs
Stylist: What’s On Kate’s Plate

Live Events in Oregon, What’s Allowed? September 2020 update

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

We are happily seeing an influx of new inquiries for live events in Oregon to happen as soon as December 2020. Still, COVID-19 is still with us and has not gone away, even though limited event activities are now permitted. As the COVID-19 pandemic wears on much longer than most live event professionals imagined it would, it’s helpful to review the current guidance in order to be updated on the latest of what is allowed at live events in Oregon.

Portland event planning photo of 3 women standing in a ballroom under a chandelier. A view of Lake Oswego Oregon is behind them.
EJP Events visits the Ironlight event venue in Lake Oswego, Oregon. This is an event space that can accommodate many of the new COVID-19 guidelines such as outdoor space, physical distancing, and increased ventilation and hygiene.

As of Friday, September 18, 2020, here is what is permitted in Phase 1 areas with live events in Oregon. This includes Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington Counties that have agreed to progress through phases together since their populations are geographically linked by the City of Portland.

  • Includes limited reopening of personal services like salons and barbers, gyms, and malls, and restaurants and bars open for in-person service until 10pm.
  • Indoor social get-togethers are capped at 10 people with physical distancing.
  • Cultural, civic, and faith gatherings are capped at 50 people with physical distancing for indoors or outdoors.

And here is what’s permitted in Phase 2 areas of Oregon: The vast majority of counties in Oregon are in Phase 2. No counties in Oregon have progressed to Phase 3 since either a reliable treatment or vaccine is required for that phase; and neither has yet been produced.

  • For phase 2 counties the maximum capacity for gatherings is:
    • 50 people indoors
    • 100 people outdoors
  • Statewide, no matter what phase a county is in, the maximum capacity for an indoor social get-together is 10 people indoors.

In addition, organizers of gatherings and live events in Oregon in any phase are required to follow specific General Hygiene, Distance, Occupancy, Cleaning, and Disinfection guidelines outlined here: https://sharedsystems.dhsoha.state.or.us/DHSForms/Served/le2351g.pdf . This includes correct and proper wearing of face masks covering both nose and mouth for all staff and for guests while not seated and eating or drinking; frequent hand washing and proper hand hygiene; frequent sanitation of surfaces with no shared service items such as food servingware; and maintaining distance of 6′ between parties from different households at an event.

Finally, DIFFERENT guidelines and guest count limits apply to gatherings that take place in what the state calls “Sector-Specific” locations. For example, if your event takes place in a restaurant or a bar, versus an event venue, different rules apply. Per OHA:

  • The maximum capacity limits described in this guidance do not apply to gatherings or indoor social get-togethers at a location covered by other sector-specific Oregon Health Authority (OHA) guidance, as those locations have their own maximum capacity limits and other restrictions. Sector-specific locations to which OHA guidance applies includes, but is not limited to venues, restaurants and bars, retail locations, indoor and outdoor entertainment facilities, fitness related organizations, higher education institutions, schools, and child care programs.
  • Updated September 30, 2020: Here we have added a helpful guide from Lewis & Clark Law School’s Small Business Legal Clinic on Guidelines for Opening for Restaurants and Bars. It contains many helpful specifics and a lot of the new details you may be seeing in food service, such as no pre-set tables. This has affected many events that were planning a decorative tabletop. One thing we have seen is to set a mock tabletop for photography only to capture the event vision and the desgin; and then the catering staff brings the same individual items out to each attendee at the time of service.

As you can see, it can be very confusing. A patient and experienced event planner will be your best asset, as they have been keeping up with all of the industry changes and updates since March; and will have you and your guests’ health and safety as their first priority. Please contact us if you are looking for event planning guidance.

Sources:

https://govstatus.egov.com/OR-OHA-Reopening-Framework

https://govstatus.egov.com/OR-OHA-COVID-19#collapseOHAGuidance

COVID-19 is an ongoing and changing situation for live events in Oregon and around the world. The Portland Event Planner blog is meant as commentary only. Please check with your local and state health authorities, as well as the World Health Organization, before making any decisions that would affect you and your guests.

How to Help Rural Oregon During the Wildfires of 2020

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

Wedding planning photo of a wedding couple in front of an A-frame structure in the forest
A couple celebrates at Eagle Fern Park, Clackamas County, in 2018. This area is under Level 3 evacuation as of September 13, 2020. Photo: Jenna Noelle Photography

We are heartbroken as our rural neighbors and community in Clackamas, Marion, Jackson and Klamath counties — and many more other counties in Oregon — battle wildfires and recover from destruction and tragedy. Lives have been lost and livelihoods impacted, and the fires are not out yet. Many are wondering what they can do to help rural Oregon.

As we mentioned in our previous post, taking a moment to give if you can, can be one way to stem the feeling of helplessness that many of us feel. The live events industry was already deeply affected by the COVID pandemic, and having to deal with wildfires on top of everything else can feel overwhelming.

On the giving side, we’ve put together a list of resources that we feel provide a good representation of how to help those affected by the wildfires in Oregon.

We’re grateful for the many people who have checked on us from afar. EJP Events’s home base in Portland, Oregon, while safe from wildfires currently, has been affected with power outages and hazardous air quality. Our staff continues to work from home offices in Multnomah and Clark County. If you need assistance with an event that has been affected by COVID-19 or the Oregon wildfires, please contact us – we’re happy to help.