Name: Bryan Burgin
Title: Director of conferences, public relations, and marketing, USC College of Education
Background: Columbia native; bachelor's degree in hotel, restaurant and tourism administration, USC, 1986; director of food and beverages with hotels in Charleston and Beaufort, 1987-1988; director of food service, Columbia Riverbanks Zoo and Garden, 1988-89; special projects coordinator, USC Housing, 1989-90; associate director for conferences, USC Office of Continuing Education, 1990-2000; joined USC College of Education in 2000.

Describe your job. The majority of my position entails conceiving, administering, and producing national and state conferences held all over the country. Some of the conferences are for the College of Education and some of them are contract work for other state agencies and state associations. An overview of our office is on the Web at www.ed.sc.edu/conferences. I also administer the public relations and marketing efforts of the college.

How many conferences do you work on every year? Between 10 and 15.

What is entailed in putting on a conference? We first have to make sure the idea for the conference is viable and then negotiate contracts with sites to make it feasible. We also have to put into place a comprehensive marketing plan and then administer the conference once the people arrive. Successful conferences are based on good coordination and planning, and good contract negotiations up front.

What advice would you give to someone who has to work with a conference planner if he or she has no background in doing that? Don't talk to anybody, including the hotels, before you talk to the planner. That will help you avoid getting things mixed up that will be difficult to get straightened out later.

Is there anything that the general public doesn't know about putting on a conference or that they might take for granted? They have no idea how many details and legalities there are in the background. We're finding more people on campus and in state government are realizing that conference planners are essential and are turning to us for assistance.

Can anyone on campus call on you for help? Yes, anyone on campus and in the general public because we assist outside groups, too. We work with each client individually based upon the amount of service he or she wants. Some people need only a limited service and they pay a small fee and others have us handle the event from start to finish, which costs more.

Are conferences just about exchanging information? You've got the exchange of information and also the networking and the professional development aspects of it. Conferences are important in the academic arena, because faculty need to present at national conferences as part of their tenure and promotion review.

What skills are important for a conference planner? Multi-tasking, because you've got to be able to work simultaneously on so many different things, plus a high level of organization and business savvy.

What is the best part of the job? The traveling. I'm on the road at least once every three weeks. It's also very rewarding to work with so many different people across campus.

How do you unwind? I enjoy working out in the gym and also working in my flower and rose gardens.

9/06