Melinda Frank has been organizing her friends and family since the day she could talk. She has a natural ability to organise and lead a team effectively even under immense pressure or looming deadlines. Her love for events and planning started at a young age through birthday parties and family gatheirngs. After finishing High School, she accepted a full scholarship to William’s Business College where she graduated first in the class. Since then, Melinda has continued her education whilst working full time, with qualifications in Hospitality and Hospitality and Hotel/Event Management, Frontline Management, Business Administration and Public Relations. Melinda loves Events and everything about them (even the stress of running around in the last 48 hours to make sure everything is perfect!) Ever since she was young, Melinda had a natural ability to get the job done and thoroughly enjoys working with people. Having worked in both the public and private sector, Melinda has a broad range of experience in hospitality and an even broader range of skill sets. Last year (2011) I planned our wedding from top to bottom, across two continents in less than 3 months after a surprise proposal in April. We did a travel theme, as it suited us considering the 12,500 miles I was flying each way between the countries. The invitations were exact copies of an airline ticket, complete with perforations and rounded corners. I actually worked out how many corners we had punched and it was into the thousands! Every table was a favorite city, complete with wooden planes, our card / gift holder was an old fashioned suitcase and place cards were replaced with custom made ‘passports’. Guests could venture around the reception and have their passports “stamped” at various locations including the parents tables, candy bar, bridal table and the photo booth! Every single guest, young and old mingled with new friends, stamping their passports while they were there. Our wedding case was also 3 tiers of old fashioned suitcases, with custom cake toppers of ourselves on the top, each holding our Countries flag. My goal was for people to recall our wedding as fun and memorable, not just another event. To date, was a success as we are continually told be people who attended the wedding, and those that didn’t who heard about – how enjoyable the night was. Her impressive background now includes more than 10 years experience in marketing, public relations, logistics and event management in Australia. Prior to relocating to the US, Melinda was the Events and Promotions Manager for the NSW Rural Fire Service in Australia, one of the largest Volunteer Emergency Service agencies in the world. Melinda was also a NSW Rural Fire Service Volunteer Fire Fighter for 6 years and enjoys supporting her local community in any way she can. She has also volunteered for other charitable agencies including Lifeline. In 2009, she was honored to receive a personal letter from the NSW Governor, thanking her for her assistance with the Victorian Bushfire Appeal Event. Prior to working for State government, I started my career in Hotels and my very first job in Hospitality was as a member of the Banquets team for events and weddings at the Hilton Hotel, then, as Sales & Marketing Manager of Maclin Lodge. I have never stopped learning and enjoy furthering my education through hands on experience and formal training. I have experience working in Hotels and with Vendors, I can do my own graphic design, I’m extremely computer literate, excellent at all things craft-related and I have the logistical and managerial skills to plan and execute pretty much anything I set my mind to! In Australia, Melinda was recognized as an Industry Mentor for High School Students through her achievements, adaptability and work diversity. When Melinda isn’t working on Events or assisting businesses better manage day-to-day operations, she also runs a successful jewelry line, focusing on limited edition and one-off commissioned pieces, known as Melxpression.
