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Who We Are

International Special Events Society

ISES Columbus is the local Columbus, Ohio chapter of the International
Special Events Society.

The international organization represents more than
6,000 event professionals in more than a dozen countries, including
producers, caterers, decorators, florists, destination management companies,
rental companies, special effects experts, tent suppliers, audio-visual
technicians, party and convention coordinators, balloon artists, educators,
journalists, hotel sales managers, specialty entertainers, convention center
managers and more…

History: In 1987, the International Special Events Society (ISES) was
founded to provide professional development and education for professionals
in the event industry while working to promote ethical business practices
and conduct. Encouraging teamwork and a vision of the "event as a whole,"
ISES worked to provide a forum for open discussion and professional growth.
With more than 50 chapters worldwide, ISES has grown to 6,000 active members
representing a wide variety of professional disciplines that support event
development, marketing, planning and execution. The peer network ISES
provides helps special events professionals produce outstanding results for
clients while establishing positive working relationships with other event
colleagues.

Mission: Education, advancement and promotion of the special events industry
and its related professionals are primary goals of ISES operations. To
accomplish this, ISES work toward the following:

• Uphold the integrity of the special events profession to the general public through our "Principles of Professional Conduct and Ethics"
• Acquire and disseminate useful business information
• Foster a spirit of cooperation among its members and other special events professionals
• Cultivate high standards of business practices

Locally, ISES Columbus accomplishes this by:

• Providing valuable educational programming at member meetings
• Raising questions regarding ethical business practices and encouraging discussion of such topics
• Encouraging networking and professional competition by working to develop a mentoring program
• Strengthening our chapter locally to improve the network of resources available to local professionals