I spoke with Alison Bossert of Final Bow Productions, a celebration-of-life event company, on the challenges and joys of organizing end-of-life events. Her comments show that all types of event planning can be rewarding while opening my eyes to yet another career path for planners.

The Personal Stories Project, co-founded by Charles Chan Massey, promotes activism, advocacy and support for the LGBT community and its allies. This is accomplished through sharing the personal, and often heart-wrenching, stories about the journey of coming out and other aspects of life across the LGBT and ally communities.

Meet Jess Tyler, vice president of events for Marijuana Business Daily (MJBizDaily). She was hired to lead the company’s live-event effort, which includes three anchor programs: MJBizConNEXT, MJBizConINTL and MJBizCon. Meetings Today spoke with Tyler for more details on what goes into planning a large-scale marijuana industry event, including any special considerations.

While Cvent is the leading industry data and RFP platform for planners and suppliers, it is also a major producer of meetings. According to Rachel Andrews, director of meetings and events at Cvent, planning for the event tech giant is a source of constant change, whether stitching together its annual Cvent CONNECT conference, integrating staffs and resources after one of its many acquisitions or any number of other internal or client events.

While women have an outsized representation in the hospitality industry—especially in the role of meeting planners—the number of females in upper management and c-suite roles continues to lag behind those of men. Charlotte St. Martin, president of The Broadway League, is a hotel, CVB and meetings industry veteran who took a hammer to the glass ceiling years ago.

This summer I spent a week in the Mediterranean with 1,700 of my “closest friends” cruising some amazing ports. At the beginning of this trip, a blank wall and 30,000 wine corks—all stained in different shades of reds and whites—became one of the most incredible custom-made step and repeats I've seen. Meet Scott James Gundersen, the mastermind behind our impressive work of art.

I can’t remember when Kristin McGrath and I first met. I do know we bonded over a passion for excellent meetings and issues outside the industry. Kristin has continued to be, for me and I’m sure many others, a trusted sounding board about work and life. We all need to remember that mentoring can also be reversed—that is, someone younger is a great mentor for those of us who are a bit older!

Joan Eisenstodt interviews a number of family members who have made careers out of the hospitality industry.

Being the female leader of a travel company featuring an all-woman team of six travel counselors, London-based Crossing Travel CEO Sangeeta Sadarangani is quite aware of the challenges women face when traveling for business.

Anchoring the theme on IMEX America’s Smart Monday will be Julius Solaris, speaker, author and editor of Event Manager Blog, delivering a keynote on “Legacy: The Power of Events.” “The theme is the impact of legacy,” Solaris said. “It’s elevating the whole event to a bigger purpose, a bigger impact. It’s about the greater good and making an impact—making change.”