Who's Who Women in Business

who's who women in business 27 i t took real bravado to leave the family farm in Souris at 18, move to a country where she didn't speak the language and make the leap into a foreign culture. But premiere event planner Marnie Strath thrived on the challenge, and she came home armed with a resourcefulness that enabled her to confidently adapt to a variety of corporate cultures as she travelled along her career path. All these years later, she is still adapting. "I think that because I have done and been so many things in my career, it gives me a much broader scope when it comes to organizing events," says Strath, 61. She takes care of myriad details, ensuring everything runs smoothly and within the budget, all while achieving the intended goals of each unique event. "In so many cases, people think they can do it internally, but you really do need to have somebody who is more of an expert, who can actually take the budget and cut the costs or raise the additional funds to cover those costs, including the cost of an event planner," she says. Her natural love of networking was a key part of her former job as director of marketing for the Winnipeg Free Press, from which she retired, and the many professional relationships she has nurtured over the years make it possible for her to provide each client with the specific goods and services they need. "I think people trust me, so I have a great database of people I've worked with in the past," she says. Strath is a veritable jack-of-all-trades when it comes to running an event and she can do it all, from financing and ticket sales to décor. She sometimes works into the wee hours, finalizing the program and table seating, preparing signage, picking up auction prizes and so on. "The most important role of an event planner is never losing sight of the big picture and seeing everything as a final product rather than the sum of the parts." Those skills lend themselves to charity golf tournaments, party planning, corporate luncheons and gala dinners for business and/or social milestones. The St. Boniface Hospital Foundation's International Award dinner, which honoured children's champion NBA MVP Steve Nash, is among the high-profile charitable events she's executed. "They were delighted to discover that having me as an event planner was affordable because I was able to help them achieve an improved bottom line by managing their expenses," says Strath. Charity work gives her the satisfaction of knowing her efforts benefit the many fine organizations that are doing such wonderful work on behalf of so many people in the community. Her own work has been recognized with a YM/YWCA Woman of Distinction Award. "I'm a consummate volunteer and I've always been very active in many charitable organizations such as Special Olympics, the Winnipeg Football Club, Field of Dreams for the Goldeyes, and others," she says. "I really enjoy the work and the good feeling knowing that a charity has made a significant amount of money or has increased community awareness because of an event that I've managed." • Prepared for Success { exPerience giVes eVent Planner an edge } By Wendy King Event Planner Marnie Strath PHOTO By DARCy FINLEy

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