I have been in the hospitality industry for over 10 years now, as I had great opportunities to work with the restaurants, hotels, and convention centres of our city! Each and every job I had, I gained loads of new skills and met incredible people along the journey. This year, I joined Canada Health Infoway as an Events Coordinator and each day I wake up excited and eager to use my creativity. I am looking forward to the comeback of in-person events and I am committed to taking part of the reimagining and rebuilding of our industry. Away from my events life, I run Baby Bunny Co., an eCommerce baby boutique where I wear many hats: sales, marketing, sewing, purchasing, web design… every week I fi nd myself learning something new. During my down time, you can fi nd me painting, kick boxing, hanging out with my fl uffy friends, Rasco (border collie x spaniel) and Shye (rag doll cat). I literally fell into this industry 16-plus years ago thanks to two individuals who saw something in me and gave this girl with very little knowledge of the meetings industry a chance. Ten years of DMC life followed and I couldn’t be more grateful for the chance that led me to my current role, where I get to share my love and passion for a destination that fi lls me with much joy. I was blessed with the opportunity to present a keynote on the EVENT 2021 virtual stage. That keynote allowed me to break my silence and speak out on my mental health. It allowed me to grow personally and professionally. My goal is to continue to shed light on the existing stigma within the workplace. Mental illness is not a choice. Kindness is. Let’s actively spread kindness! When I’m not working you can fi nd me outside; hiking mountains, camping, swimming lakes or stand-up paddle- boarding. You will also most defi nitely fi nd me with a book in hand. Nerdy fact: I have an Instagram account dedicated only to books. Emilia Jung-Eun Kim I was supporting an event in NYC just weeks before the pandemic hit, with no clue what would come next. Then, unfortunately, the inevitable happened. I used the time to bond with my daughter, while staying on top of learning about platforms and the virtual world of events. Sometimes in the darkest times you can fi nd the most amazing things you never knew you needed or wanted. That was how I felt when I joined Redstone in March 2021—it was somewhere I could grow and have the opportunity to learn more about this amazing new world of virtual and hybrid events. I never want to stop learning and my next step is to take an event certifi cation (I am not sure which, but open to suggestions from my event friends). Coming out of the pandemic, I am excited to see how, as an industry, we apply all our learnings from the past two years to ensure we are not stagnant and reach new heights with hybrid events, live events and beyond! Our industry was hit hard, but we can use what we learned to thrive and innovate. During the pandemic, more than ever, I leaned on my hobby of cooking to keep me smiling. There is that little part of me that does want to compete on Master Chef Canada. *POSTS HAVE BEEN EDITED FOR CLARITY AND SPACE. Emilia Jung-Eun Kim Events coordinator, Canada Health Infoway, Toronto Shawn Shapiro Shawn Shapiro Marie-Chantal Thibault Event planner, Redstone Agency Inc., Vaughan, Ont. Business development lead, Tremblant Resort, Tremblant, Que. Marie-Chantal Thibault Spring 2022 | Ignitemag.ca | 39
