Client Spotlight: Meet Tracy Riggan from IPC – Association Connecting Electronics Industries

Over the past few  weeks we have been featuring profiles on some of our Experient clients.  Clients who have joined us at e4 in the past or are joining us this year for the first time.  Take a few minutes to get to know some of your industry peers.  Great people you will have a chance to get to know better when you join us at e4.  See you there ~ Teri Tonioli

Tracy Riggan

• Name: Tracy Riggan
• Organization: IPC – Association Connecting Electronics Industries
• Title: Director, Meetings & Events
• Location: Bannockburn, Illinois
• Years with this organization: 6 Tracy will be with IPC a total of eleven years in November.
• Professional background: Right after college, Tracy joined the Peace Corp in Kyrgyzstan where she was an English Language Teacher for two years.  After her time with the Peace Corp, Tracy decided to stay in Kyrgyzstan for a while longer working for the company, Universal Tobacco Kyrgyzstan.  At this company, she was the “catch all” person who basically wore almost every hat in the company from supply manager, customer relations manager, meeting and event planner to the housing / hotel manager (she basically managed the company owned houses where clients would stay during their visits).
• Family life: Tracy and her husband, Ivan, have two beautiful children and three pets.  Their seven year old daughter, Lida, recently won a goldfish at the county fair who she named, Orangie.  Their five year old son, Vitaly, helped to name the family’s two parakeets, Wollie and Birdie.
• Morning Routine: You couldn’t ask for a better wake up call than this!  Tracy and Ivan are fortunate to have their own personal wake up calls of Lida and Vitaly crawling into bed and snuggling with them every morning around 7:45.  And to make the morning even better, Tracy’s mother-in-law makes breakfast and helps to get the kids ready and out the door by 9:00!  While all this is happening, Tracy makes coffee and checks emails while the coffee is brewing (oh, the joys of having an iPhone).
• Biggest professional challenge currently (or ever in the past): There is no overarching “big” challenge, but a lot of little challenges such as getting attendees to to the annual meeting and flexibility in hotel contract to allow for changes based on creation of innovative ideas / changes to the conference.
• Accomplishment they are proud of from this last year: All Access Pass – Created a new package for attendees to feel special and more flexible to participate.
• In a game of Truth or Dare – which do you pick? Dare
• Guilty pleasure: Tracy’s two guilty pleasures are chocolate (she has some everyday) and playing Solitare on her iPhone.
• Favorite thing to do on a Sunday afternoon: Go any where with the kids such as the park or library, just to name a couple.
• If you could have any super power, what would it be and why? This is a toss up between – seeing into the future or reading people’s mind.  If you could see into the future, then you’d be able to make better decisions.  If you could read people’s minds, you would be able to tell kids how to behave.
• Why do you come to e4? I love the creative energy surrounding this event.  The people who attend are there with a purpose.
• What would you like to talk to other clients about at e4? How are other organizations using available tools (registration, social media) in creative new ways without causing too much change / pain for their attendees.  How are other organizations designing successful events by using these new available tools?

Char Shada