About Me
I graduated with a B.S. in Business: Hospitality & Tourism Management from Virginia Tech in 2010. (Go Hokies!) A month after graduating, I moved to Charleston and started working off and on with Kiawah Partners for the next 4 years while balancing my ambitions for a career and starting a family.
I began my full-time career with The Kiawah Island Club in 2014 and have had the privilege of learning the company from the inside out. My dedication and loyalty garnered several opportunities within the company and allowed me to work several roles until I reached my current senior management position, Member Services & Marketing Manager.
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I am incredibly grateful for the learning experiences and Kiawah family I've gained during my time there. I am ready for a new challenge—one that allows me to utilize my marketing skills and creativity as well as my operational management experience, company culture advocacy, and quality service leadership.
I firmly believe that most life lessons can be perfectly and poetically summed up with quotes from The Office, The Godfather (Part 1 & 2. Part 3 is an abomination), and...unfortunately...Mean Girls.
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" 'You miss 100 percent of the chances you don't take.'
– Wayne Gretzky
– Michael Scott", The Office (U.S.)
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"A friend should always underestimate your values and an enemy overestimate your faults."
- Don Vito Corleone, The Godfather
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"Please don't include a quote from Mean Girls."
- my husband
Accomplishments & Accolades
Employee Excellence Award Nominee
Quarter 2 (June 2020)
Each quarter, three winners are selected of the 500+ Kiawah Partners company employees. In June 2020, I was selected as a nominee for a special edition of this quarterly award—"Corona Hero"—for my contributions to the company and my colleagues during the Coronavirus pandemic. Unfortunately, I was ineligible to win as I am a senior manager, but it was an honor to be nominated and read the testimonials submitted by my colleagues recognizing my work and determination during the most difficult time many of us had experienced in our professional careers.
CMAA Scholarship Winner
February 2020
Recipient of the 2020 Club Management Association of America (CMAA) World Conference Scholarship. I was named 1 of 5 winners from each state selected to represent my company at the 2020 CMAA World Conference in February 2020 with 3,000+ Club professionals in attendance.
Company Orientation Rebrand
September 2018 - Present
I serve as a co-captain for our employee communications committee where I lead regular meetings and discussions with staff on how to better their work environment. I coordinated our efforts in reinventing company orientation and the subsequent materials (presentation, handouts, itinerary, etc.) My team and I implemented more engaging content and activities like scavenger hunts, personality questionnaires, and games. I created a whole new presentation that included videos of our employees that I scripted and directed. The revamped new employee orientation was so successful that we decided to have all 500+ existing employees who hadn’t gone through the new orientation, experience it for themselves over the course of two weeks.
Technology Onboarding
January 2016-Present
I have ceased the opportunity to onboard several new technologies as well as maintain their upkeep during my time as manager. These programs were initiated to serve our marketing needs, our reservation and service needs, and our operational and employee communication needs.
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➢ Kiawah Island Club’s Mobile App (available to iOS and Android devices) ▪ launched August 2018
➢ Resy for dining reservations at the Club’s fine dining facilities ▪ launched February 2020
➢ Company Employee Communications website – multi-page website for all company managers to access which contains all operations information, marketing and communications, request forms for operational changes and marketing collateral, manger deadlines, Human Resources forms, etc. ▪ launched June 2020
➢ MembersFirst Event Reservation and Booking - Event reservations and marketing module ▪ launched June 2020
➢ MemberText & Textology – Text message program (Text Blasts and one-on-one text platform with 3,500+ Members and 500+ staff) ▪ launched August 2019
➢ RiseVision Digital Signage – 12+ TV displays in employee areas at all facilities that communicate Club happening, major projects, and news pertinent to staff via more fun and engaging content (e.g. videos, staff pictures, contests, etc.) ▪ launched June 2018
➢ Jonas Activity Management – reservation system for all recreational activities and services (Boat Club, Sporting Club, fishing charters, kayak rentals, luxury shuttle service, tennis and squash court booking) ▪ launched August 2016
➢ Instagram accounts:
Kiawah Island Club Instagram, @kiawahgetsyou â–ª launched June 2016
Kiawah Island Club Recruitment Instagram, @workatkic â–ª launched October 2019
Social Media marketing platforms: Hootsuite (2017-2019), HubSpot (2019-2020), Later (2020)
➢ Google Drive and corresponding programs (Google sheets, forms, docs) – along with utilizing forms and sheets for overall Club Communication Plan, I changed how we store and document data from emailed documents to shared templates that update in real-time, and helped multiple departments adopt same system over time ▪ launched March 2016
My Values
Ambassador
Representing Company Values
on and off the clock.
I am an ambassador to the company I work, whether I'm in the office, in the community, or posting to my personal social media channels. It's important to remember that what you say directly and indirectly about your work reflects not only on your own integrity but on the company's. This is something I've taken an initiative in when creating communications to our staff members.
My family has become the (uncredited) face of Kiawah. Whether it's a photo shoot for kids' summer camp, a new clubhouse, a real estate listing—chances are that I've volunteered myself and my family to model as the "Kiawah family." The perks of using your own family: (1) you can be a bit more forthright in giving direction and utilize shameless bribery, and (2) see big savings in your marketing budget. I'm sure if you asked them they'd prefer compensation...or at least recognition.
So thank you, family. (There, are you happy?)
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Pictured: Marsh House clubhouse photo shoot, 2016
Teamwork
Empower others. Empower yourself.
I am an active participant in my company culture and put my heart and soul into my work for the good of the team. Year after year, I have received a rating of 5/5 in commitment to the company, contributing to company culture, being a team player, and utilizing my creativity to benefit my work environment. I have helped coordinate events for international staff that have just arrived in the U.S. and need help getting adjusted and feeling comfortable in their new home away from home. I help organize retreats, games like company Jeopardy, personality quizzes and team building exercises for my own departments and others. I help coworkers move, find roommates, and even help coordinate and participate in company recreation leagues—to foster a more well-rounded work environment for all.
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Pictured: Kiawah Island Club Kickball Team, Fall 2019
Commitment
It's all about the follow through.
What good are ideas and brainstorming sessions if you fall short on the execution? Commitment from beginning to end. As Member Services & Marketing Manager, I am responsible for several aspects of service or event—marketing, logistics, reservations, etc. My role requires me to piece together everything it takes to launch and to make sure that every other department is prepared. But I volunteer to work alongside line-level employees at Club events or attend the launch of a service. It makes me a better manager—both in service and marketing. I can better understand it, get more accurate feedback and results, and know how to make it better the next time. Plus, it's so rewarding to see something you saw from its conception that you helped orchestrate come to fruition and be enjoyed by so many.
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Pictured: July 3rd Extravaganza 2018
Over 3,000 attendees, 150 employees
Creativity
Be memorable and engaging while staying true to your purpose and brand.
The most rewarding and fulfilling aspect of my job, behind elevating and empowering others, is when I am able to utilize my creativity. I love brainstorming sessions, thinking outside the box, and piquing the interest of your clients and staff with something unique. I captained our company communications task force, a group of select employees from every department to help identify weaknesses within the company communications and culture and improve them. So many successful initiatives were developed from that group—TV digital signage of relative staff information in all employee areas, more extensive performance reviews, competitive employee wellness events, etc. The ideas were even presented to the other department heads and then all 500+ employees using creative methods including creating our own "Between Two Ferns" parody announcing the results of a company survey. Putting some extra thought in how we present ideas, products, or services can go a long way in capturing a larger audience while empowering those involved. The same is to be said for how we interact with our employees. Use games and quizzes that get everyone involved to train and measure the success of staff training.
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Pictured: Member Services Retreat - Jeopardy competition, January 2017
Passion
Not for the faint of heart.
I am driven. My goal is to not just exceed the expectations of the customer or my superiors, but to exceed my own. I set the bar high on myself and my work because it's important to me that I feel proud of it.
I want to leave something better than I found it, which is why I take continued education seriously. I have joined professional organizations like the Professional Club Marketing Association (PCMA) and Club Management Association of America (CMAA) and regularly attend workshops and webinars so that I can better learn industry trends and help navigate my organization to a more promising future.
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Pictured: Disney Quality Service Workshop, August 2018
Fun
Because why not?
Holidays can be tough...especially when you're in the hospitality industry. Two months prior to every major holiday, over 1,000 people attempt to secure reservations for holiday events that can only honor less than half of the demand. Reservation openings can be mentally and emotionally draining on your customer-facing team. Why not try to boost morale leading up to the toughest days of the year, and build them up. Baked goods, compliments, and silly pictures can help go a long way. As a bonus, post your efforts and rejuvenated team members to social media. Your clientele knows what you're up against on days like this, and putting faces and names to who they interact with can buy you more pleasant interactions and help keep morale high for both your staff and the customer.
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Pictured: Thanksgiving Reservations Opening Day, September 2018
(Reservations sold out in less than 20 minutes.)
