IFEA Foundation Board Letter

BY ALISON BARINGER, CFEE

THIS IS YOUR YEAR… DO BIG THINGS!

Happy 2022! As you are starting this new year, you probably have visions and dreams of all 2022 is going to bring you. Personal, relational, and financial goals - and aspirations to take your festival, event, or business to new heights.

I encourage each of you to consider making one of these goals to become a better industry leader. This goal hits both your personal and business buckets…and no doubt will help you grow in your career.

When I think about how to be a better industry leader as it relates to the IFEA, I’m reminded of the phrase, “You get what you give.” This saying can be traced to spirituality (karma), the Bible (Luke 6:38, Proverbs 11:24-25), and a 1998 song by the New Radicals. Now, by give, I’m not referring to money (but it can, and I will ask later in the year!), but rather what energies you give to the IFEA as an organization, and what you will get from that investment.

It is sometimes easy to forget about the IFEA; we’re all busy with our own festivals and events, and without the convention the past two years we’ve missed that camaraderie-building time together. Some people may think the convention is the only benefit of the IFEA. I’m embarrassed to say this was my feeling before I jumped all in and became more involved. I paid my membership dues and waited for that one time a year to take classes and network, and to show off my festival’s skills with the Pinnacle Awards.

More than anything else, the COVID pandemic has shifted this thinking for me. Investing my time in participating in an IFEA Covid Task Force in 2020 came back to me threefold. Here I had weekly conversations with other Festival producers who were going through the same things I was and leading their communities through these hard times. We were there for each other for the emotional support we all needed.

If there is ever a call for IFEA members to take part in a future Task Force, make it a goal to invest in yourself as an industry leader and say yes. You will get what you give, I can testify to that.

I have also used this time to become more involved in the Affinity Groups IFEA offers, and to encourage my team to as well. Affinity groups are once-a-month virtual sessions where you get to help decide the content. Each group also has a corresponding Facebook group for immediate contact with your peers. Available to IFEA members are the following Affinity Groups:

• Arts Events

• CEO

• Cities, CVB’s, and Tourism

• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

• Marketing & PR

• Operations

• Parades

• Sponsorship

• Volunteer Programs

I encourage you to invest in yourself as an industry leader and sign up for at least one Affinity Group today.

Ready to REALLY make an investment in yourself? Get your CFEE Certification. The CFEE (Certified Festival & Event Executive) Certification states to other industry leaders and peers that you have made all the efforts to be a top event professional. As a CFEE graduate, you will have taken core education classes in: Non-Sponsorship Revenue, Project Management, Operations/ Risk Management, Marketing & Media Relations, Administration & Management, and Sponsorship/Sponsor Service. You will have published a written article and performed a speaking presentation. You will have the experience necessary to call yourself an industry leader! Did I mention you’ll share a bond with your classmates, making new friends and networking contacts along the way?

Working on your CFEE Certification is definitely a goal worth pursuing to become the best.

So, what if you have already done all these things? Huge congrats! Now it’s time to get creative. What do you want more of? What areas in your professional life are you ready to “level up”? What do you see others doing that you want to be doing? What table do you want to be invited to?

For me in 2022, it’s my personal and professional goal to build and develop connections with my IFEA (and potential IFEA) peers. I learn so much by watching others and truly get excited and inspired when I see other industry professionals doing something cool and new. I also love the “family” feeling festivals and events professionals exude and I want more of it!

As such, I intend to reach out to one industry professional a week, outside the scope of “normal business.” I am still not quite sure what I’m going to say in each of these reaches. I don’t have a specific intent or goal for them, other than to open doors of communication and friendship. Who knows what may come of it? I don’t really need to know…but it is my hope that when we can finally convention again, myself and 52 new friends will take over the Dfest Hospitality Suite, toasting the largest cheers ever!

So, here’s to the new year, to new hopes and goals. Here’s to you becoming the industry leader you were made to become. This is your year…do big things!

www.kaliff.com