This year, MPI Washington State Chapter (WSC) is celebrating 40 years of bringing event professionals together, and for 36 of those years Julie Merken has been a member of MPI. While not all of 36 of those years have been with the WSC, she’s certainly found her home here in the PNW.  When given a day with no other plans, you’d find Julie paddleboarding out on the water, either on the slough up in Kenmore or in a bay between two islands on the Olympic Peninsula. “There’s nothing like being on the saltwater with the seals, jellyfish, and starfish”, she says.

And while Julie loves to plan events right here in Seattle, outside of the Emerald City her favorite place to plan is in Phoenix, for the weather. She loves that it’s easy to plan an event both indoors and outdoors at any time of the year, without fear of rain or snow. Unless, of course, someone wants to plan something in the Big Easy or Hawaii, which she would never say no to (and who would!)

Like many of us, Julie had never even considered going into hospitality and events, and actually has her degree in Journalism. After college she spent time as an editor for a motorcycle magazine, but when she lost her job she applied for a different editorial position at a small company. While she didn’t get the job she applied for, the person she interviewed with loved her personality so much he recommended her for a completely different position – as an event planner! Julie got her start planning seminars and conferences, and since she had never planned an event before, one of the first things she did was join MPI.

So after 36 years of membership, what is it that Julie continues to gain from being a part of MPI? It’s twofold – the education and the networking. “I feel like there’s always something new to learn, just because things change!...it’s hard at this time, but I hope people still understand the benefits of being involved and making those connections, because you just never know”. Don’t just take her word for it - at Julie’s very first event as a WSC member she sat next to two gentlemen. At the time, she was between jobs. When the first man asked where she worked and found out she was unemployed he turned away from her and ignored her for the rest of the evening. The other gentleman’s response? “Oh good, you have more time to be on my committee!” Sure enough, Julie joined his committee, and after working so closely with him on that committee that man introduced Julie to her next boss, who hired her on as a contractor before bringing her on full time. And who was that man she sat next to? None other than the late, great Jim Cacabelos. So keep in mind the next time you sit down at an event or consider a volunteer position – you never know who you’ll meet!

As you can imagine, in 36 years of membership Julie has held quite a few of those volunteer positions, including some at the global level, but what was her favorite? President! She loved how much she was able to help lead the chapter and meet new people. But, she notes, even if all you have time for is a phone call, that’s helpful. She noted that some volunteers have done something so simple as sending emails to welcome new members, invite guest attendees at events to join, or remind members that they are due for renewal; “even the smallest effort or help is great”.