HATFIELD - A concierge with a creative mind submitted the winning theme for the International Concierge and Errand Association's summer conference.
Deborah Stanek Reast suggested "Capital Connections" for the Aug. 4 to 7 conference in Washington, D.C., to capitalize on the government location and the necessity for concierges to network with many people. "The concierge is nothing without her connections," said Stanek Reast, the owner of Yours, Mine and Hours in Hatfield. "You need a network and a large group of contacts. "If you have a group of people, then you've got some business and some prospective clients." Stanek Reast, of Hatfield, started her business in March 2003 to take control of her work schedule.
"I have a mom and an aunt who are getting older so I was already doing some of these things," she said. "I knew there was a market out there for help." She invested $5,000 for a computer, a fax machine and office equipment. Her client list includes Public Affairs Strategies of Whitpain, Veris Associates Inc. of Lower Gwynedd, a Lansdale motivational and career training executive and a two-person Lansdale legal firm. She also does errands and food shopping for three Montgomery County senior citizens and "modified house sitting" for other clients.
The executive director and vice president of the ICEA and the association board liked Stanek Reast's theme because it dovetailed with their program for the conference. "We need to focus on making connections within the industry to serve our clients," said ICEA executive director Carla Mandell, the owner of Spirit Concierge of Philadelphia. "We're focusing on our members."
Past themes for the conferences have played off the location and team-building themes.
The first ICEA conference was held near the Grand Canyon in Phoenix, Ariz., two years ago. The theme was called "The Grand Vision." Last year, the theme for the conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, was "Bridge to the Future." The Canadian city is famous for its bridges, Mandell said. Stanek Reast's theme was one of 15 submissions, according to Chanel Briscoe, the president of the mid-Atlantic chapter of ICEA. "It was catchy and very true to what we're trying to do in the industry," said Briscoe, the owner of Heart of Gold Concierge and Errand Service of Greenbelt, Md. "It fit what we were trying to accomplish." The mid-Atlantic chapter has 21 members and the ICEA has 289 members in 14 countries.
For information about Yours, Mine and Hours, go to www.yoursmineandhours.com.
©The Times Herald 2005
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