With over 40 years experience in meetings and conventions, we have developed a network of contacts in all areas of the industry. From our base office in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, we are here with one goal in mind - to make your job easier!
Which is closely followed by our second goal ... to make your job just a bit more fun!!!
Scott Shellman
I've been in the hospitality business for over 20 years. My hospitality career started during my college years, as I owned a night club while obtaining my BS in Hospitality Management at the University of Nevada - Las Vegas. After breaking up yet another fight, I decided it was time to spend my time in a testosterone-free atmosphere, and migrated to the cinnamon roll business, with a much calmer clientele!
After opening and operating a couple of cinnamon roll stores, I began my hospitality management career, joining Red Lion Hotels as a Director of Housekeeping, From there I transferred around the Red Lion chain in positions including Beverage Manager, Night Manager, Food & Beverage Manager, and Assistant General Manager.
I left Red Lion to become a General Manager of a hotel in beautiful Mount Vernon, Washington - where our two boys were born! After six years of managing I transferred to Salt Lake City to be closer to the home office, oversaw the construction and management of a new hotel, then later became the VP Operations for The CottonTree Hospitality Group. After arriving home from work one day, my wife asked me if I'd be open to traveling around the country for a year or so. After much contemplation I decided what the heck, and we set off with our kids to discover the United States and find the perfect place to live. Our trip brought us back to my childhood home of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho where we now live.
The past four years of my career have been at The Coeur d'Alene Golf & Spa Resort as a national sales manager. I love working with groups and enjoy creating memorable events through our regional Destination Management Company. There is so much to do in the Inland Northwest that our most difficult task is limiting the number of activities to manageable numbers - a great "problem" to have!!
The trip we took around the U.S. gave me a unique knowledge of various parts of our country, which helps me identify great destinations for our clients.
Wendi Haught, CMP
I have always believed that things happen for a reason - sometimes the tricky part for me has been accepting that I may not always understand the reason ... There have been many times in our careers that Scott and I "nearly" worked together - our careers have criss-crossed in timing, we have shared many common colleagues and for the past four years have been happy to share clients!
Since my first job in 1984 (washing dishes for weddings for a private, local caterer!) I have been entrenched in some aspect of the meetings and events industry. I worked my way through both high school and college doing banquets and student dining - after graduating from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, I joined the team at Red Lion Hotels. The hotel industry afforded me the chance to work in some fantastic places: Santa Barbara, Washington DC, Tri-Cities (WA), Spokane and Coeur d'Alene.
In 1997, I was fortunate to join The Coeur d'Alene Resort in Idaho, where I was surrounded by great colleagues and clients. As the Director of Catering & Conference Services there, I led a team of nine powerhouse professionals who proudly served an average of 500-600 groups and events each year. I left the Resort in 2002 to be part of the grand reopening of the historic Davenport Hotel in Spokane - if you want to know a miracle, see the story of how Walt and Karen Worthy brought this rare 1914 gem of a hotel back to life - amazing! I then rejoined my team at The Coeur d'Alene Resort in 2003.
I believe involvement in our industry is important to education and innovation - I participate in PCMA on the national and chapter level, and was a member of APEX's Group Resumes and Work Order Panel. My memberships also include NACE, Slow Food USA, and INTD. After getting over my test-phobia, I was pleased to earn my CMP in 2006.
This industry has blessed me with the opportunity to work both with and for some absolutely phenomenal people!
