I had a strong interest in the hospitality industry ever since graduating high school back in 2004, to which the following year I went on to pursue my Certificate IV – Hospitality Supervision course at Loftus TAFE. I began working in local restaurants and before I knew it I was offered the opportunity to join the Hilton Hotel (Sydney) in their event operations team. Assisting with a variety of conferences and gala dinners made my interests further develop towards the event industry and I went on to complete a Diploma in Event Management in 2006.

While studying full-time and working two jobs, I also volunteered at every opportunity that I could get that involved events. From charity fundraisers to assisting in exhibitions to office administration and registration roles, my knowledge of the event industry was beginning to grow. It was so advantageous to be involved in the volunteering process, and it was also a great way to build relationships with contacts in the industry. Some of the organisations I volunteered with also provided me with contract work in early 2007.

I [soon] received a full-time role with Event Planners Australia, an organisation based in many different states around Australia, that taught me the processes involved in association conferencing. Seeing an event grow over a year or more from start to finish was very rewarding and it was an absolute privilege to join such a well established team of event planners.





The GFC in 2009 caused me to take my future career elsewhere, and that is when I found Merivale, a company that continues to flourish with a variety of bars, restaurants and function venues within the Sydney CBD. Venue management is still keeping me on my toes, with short lead bookings and numerous enquiries on a regular basis, however, as the role continues to grow and change - as does the event industry – Merivale really does offer the best of everything and I couldn’t feel more blessed with where this role has taken me so far.

Being my second year with the company now and the youngest member of the meetings and events team, I now look after five venues within the group and I can’t wait to see what the future holds in the events industry! From catering to security to schedules and entertainment, the planning role really does encompass everything.

The more you stretch yourself, the more I believe you can grow.

SUPERVISOR’S COMMENT: Jenna joined the Merivale team at a time of great change. I had just taken on the role as the department head and the team was evolving in many ways, not least of which was the opening of ivy and the opportunities that this offered to our team. Jenna’s first job was as an administrative assistant for the team and after a short time, the role changed to an event planning and sales role for the small hotels in the Merivale group. This is a demanding job with a variety of clients – from corporate to buck’s nights and can be up to 12 or so events to manage each week. Jenna always displays a positive attitude and gets in there and sorts things out – that’s why she is a Young Gun!

– Kathy Savill, Merivale group meetings and events manager

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