WASHINGTON, DC, July 31, 2009 – Jane Berzan, CAE, Ruth Murphy, CMP, Valerie Sumner, and Annette Suriani, CMP, have been named to the ConventionPlanit.com Advisory Council, a group that helps shape the features and content of ConventionPlanit.com, the leading online search directory in the meetings industry.
Each has extensive experience in the meetings industry and brings a unique perspective to the council, which is made up of 17 industry professionals.
Berzan is president of JMB Business Solutions, a company that provides consulting services in marketing, tradeshow development, membership strategy, international development, and more. She is the former senior vice president for the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), where she led a top 100 trade show as well as supplier relations, exhibits, sponsorships, advertising and global development.
Murphy is senior technical advisor for scientific meetings for the U.S. Department of State. She plans numerous meetings around the world and is skilled in international diplomacy and working with U.S. embassies and foreign governments.
Sumner is principal of VRS Meetings & Events Inc., a full-service meeting and event management firm. She was previously president for all divisions of the TCI Companies, and also worked for The Capital Informer, Radisson Hotels, and Americana Hotels.
Suriani is director of meetings with Meetings Management Group (MMG), a division of Association Management Group (AMG), a position she began in July 2009. She was previously director of PACE Meetings and Expositions, a joint tradeshow between the Painting and Decorating Contractors of America and SSPC: The Society for Protective Coatings. She is an expert in the creative side of meeting management, including innovative management structures, marketing strategies, special events, and more.
“Our Advisory Council is the group that originally conceived ConventionPlanit.com and the registration-
