Alicia Crupi
Event Specialist, Paragon Events
Boynton Beach, Fla.
Describe your job.
Being an event specialist is like being the ringmaster of a beautifully chaotic circus. I balance tightrope-walking budgets, tame vendor eccentricities, take cross-country and international journeys, and time travel between past, present, and future scenarios. It is a role that entails multitasking like a circus juggler while still ensuring perfection to create the best experience for clients and partners. In this whirlwind of beautiful chaos, an event planner turns mayhem into a spectacular show.
What made you choose the meetings and events industry?
Planning events—whether corporate or social—has been a dream of mine since high school. Being a Capricorn—an ambitious, control-oriented perfectionist—I knew I wanted to work in a field that would bring me a sense of pride and fulfillment, and the events industry does just that.
How did you get started, and what got you from there to today?
After completing all the necessary courses to obtain my bachelor’s degree in business marketing at Florida Atlantic University, I constantly thought back to the one elective that genuinely stuck out to me: Introduction to Hospitality & Tourism Management. As intimidating as it was to venture into a career not entirely aligned with my degree, I knew I needed to realize my dream. I accepted an event internship at Paragon Events and was hired as a full-time event coordinator assistant about a month after starting. From there, I allowed my passion, strong work ethic, and determination to fuel me, producing strong work products and relationships with clients. In the four years since that moment, I have held the title of event coordinator, senior event coordinator, and now, event specialist.
How do you keep up with industry trends, changes, and cutting-edge developments?
Conduct research, attend industry conferences and trade shows, experiment with new technologies, and participate in continuous learning.
What essential skills should every industry professional possess?
My personal Top 10 would be passion, organization, creativity, attention to detail, problem-solving, time management, negotiation, flexibility, risk/crisis management, and communication.
What is the philosophy or approach to work that gets you through stressful times?
In any industry, difficulties will always lead to stressful times. As an event specialist, looking at those difficulties as opportunities is essential. Low bandwidth? That means you are trusted enough to take on multiple projects. Challenging vendors? That will teach you how best to work with different personality types. Clients facing attrition? Allow yourself to think outside the box to find solutions you can use to mitigate similar scenarios in the future. Albert Einstein once said, ‘In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.’
What is the best professional advice you ever received, and what advice do you have for others in the industry?
The best professional advice I have ever received came from my current CEO Renee Radabaugh. Renee often encourages our team to ‘know the why.’ Understanding the underlying reason behind something brings a new sense of purpose to the task. It suggests that it’s not enough to merely know what is happening or what needs to be done, but also to comprehend the motivations, intentions, and objectives behind those actions or decisions.
One piece of advice I would give others in the industry also doubles as a Paragon Events tagline: Your work is your signature. This encapsulates dedication to crafting events that are benchmarks of quality and sophistication. Every decision, action, or communication an event lead produces should be handled with extreme thought and care. Your work product reflects who you are as an event professional and, therefore, reflects your company.
Describe your biggest professional success.
That would be achieving the goal set by my 18-year-old self to become a specialist in the events industry. I have gotten the opportunity to build client and vendor relationships, travel around the world while executing events beyond my wildest dreams, and, most importantly, create a life of happiness in a career I love.
Share an anecdote about a meeting or event that did not go as planned (something funny or odd) and how you handled it.
In 2022, I was the event lead for an incentive program that began on a Sunday in Saint Lucia in the Caribbean. With 150 attendees traveling from various states and countries, we certainly did not expect the weekend to consist of 8,000 canceled and 6,000 delayed flights in the United States alone. We stayed up until 2 a.m. speaking with our travel-booking partners. However, due to the departure destinations, airline conditions, and limited flights into Saint Lucia, the next available flights for our affected attendees were not for another day or two. Several attendees could not arrive until Tuesday, missing our welcome reception, group catamaran snorkel to a private beach party, and personal scheduled activities. Once all flights were rebooked, we aimed to ensure these attendees had the best experience possible. We worked with the hotel to extend their stays for the nights they missed, scheduled them a private catamaran snorkel and lunch, rebooked their activities, and even added some extra spa benefits to compensate for their troubles. While they may not have had the exact experience as the attendees who arrived on schedule, they appreciated our relentless efforts to provide them with a memorable trip.
What is the best part of your job?
It is the ability to bring people’s dreams and visions to life and turn their ideas into unforgettable experiences. It’s the satisfaction of seeing smiles, laughter, and happy tears on the faces of clients and guests as they enjoy the event that I have spent days, weeks, or months meticulously crafting. Additionally, the opportunity to continuously unleash my creativity, adapt to challenges, and create unique moments makes event planning an endlessly rewarding profession.
What do you like to do in your free time?
In my free time, I enjoy relaxing at the beach or pool, lazy days spent lounging in my apartment with my boyfriend and dog, trying new food spots, and, of course, planning my next (personal) vacation!
