Event Manager

When it comes to getting things done, nothing makes it happen faster and better than teamwork. Shane McConnochie and Anna Servino couldn’t agree more. The women form a dynamic duo at Liverpool City Council as the brains behind its biggest festivals and events.

Servino is the festival and events officer and has been in the business for about five years. Her background was in welfare and recruitment, but she joined the council to help out with events for the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Servino, 30, believes she and McConnochie work together as a pretty effective team.

“It’s probably the best team that I have ever worked with. I have worked with lots of other people in events but we really do complement each other.”
Senior festival and events officer McConnochie has had a long association with event organising. She is a former events co-ordinator for the Australian Film Commission and has worked in the events industry for more than 12 years.
McConnochie, 51, says attention to detail, good planning and quick thinking are all traits that good event managers need.

“I like to see things run smoothly and be well-organised,” she says.
McConnochie believes communication is the essence of any successful working relationship. The partnership between the two women works well because each of them has different strengths.

Servino is good at the creative side and loves to see the outcome of the events, and McConnochie is an excellent project manager. While there is some crossover in their roles, the women say they rely on each other to play their part on a project.

“Anna does a lot of research and I do a lot of project planning and we work out our timing together — we have a way of flowing in and out with each other. It’s a great partnership,” McConnochie says.

“Checking where we are both at, and having a lot of faith and trust in each other, is important.”

Servino says a good event manager should be efficient, well-organised and creative, and know what the audience wants.

McConnochie and Servino are busy planning Liverpool City Council’s annual music festival, Bent Jazz. It has a “swing to Latin” theme and takes place on Sunday, September 25, at popular picnic area, Chipping Norton Lakes.

* For festival information contact Liverpool Council, 1300 362 170, http://www.liverpool.nsw.gov.au/

How to be … an event manager
Formal qualifications aren’t needed to gain work as an events co-ordinator but will boost your chances. TAFE NSW offers a diploma and an advanced diploma in event management. For more details, 131601