SPOONER SPOTLIGHT Q2
Heather Haddad and Patrick McGarvey are this quarter’s SPOONER Spotlights! With many passions and skills, Heather and Patrick talk about their experiences with SPOON and life.
ROLE AT SPOON:
My title – Vice President Client Success. I have been with SPOON for 18 years and started as an Account Manager with a strong focus on the Cisco account (at the time, it was Scientific-Atlanta before they were acquired by Cisco). I grew to be an Account Director and managed many other “Program Accounts”. My strength with clients is building strong relationships and adding value beyond the “booth”. That added value stems from the “SPOON Approach” with a focus on creating experiential marketing activities and engagement opportunities to our client’s event programs.
FIRST JOB:
I spent 10 weeks every summer of my teenage years as a camp counselors on a mountain lake in gorgeous North Georgia. It was an unbelievable experience. I learned leadership skills with campers and other counselors, how to speak with adults/parents, logistics, organization, and creativity! The Summer Olympics were hosted Atlanta in 1996 and we were the official international camp that hosted two youth representatives for each country. It was a wonderful learning experience about cultural sensitivities and awareness. I ended my career as a camp counselor in a 6 week travel program taking thirteen 13 year old boys across the country while camping at a dozen national parks and fostered my love for our National Park system. (And who knew it was also preparing me for a family full of sons!)
PERSONAL LIFE:
I’m the proud mom of three amazing, kind, funny, sarcastic, loyal, family centric and athletic sons. Hudson (14 years), Pierce (12) and Lincoln (8) are best friends and love spending time together. My husband Michael is an engineer that does a fantastic job keeping the family running strong while I’m onsite.
ROLE AT SPOON:
As the SPOON Express Coordinator, it is my responsibility to collect information on jobs, prepare orders for shipping, solve client issues, receive orders after shows, and maintain inventory. Maintaining an accurate and current customer inventory database enables the customer to know exactly what they have in stock at any given time. Dealing with our clients’ problems as they emerge is part of our day to day at SPOON Express, but working with my coworkers gives me the support and flexibility that I need to fulfill my role.
FIRST JOB:
As a teenager, my first job was dog-walking. Starting with a family friend’s golden retriever after school, I soon gained experience with animal handling and money management. Initially, managing my income was daunting, but with help, I quickly learned how to effectively save up money to buy the things that I wanted. Overall, this was a great, fun opportunity that helped me learn valuable life lessons and enabled me to spend time with mostly well-behaved dogs.
PERSONAL LIFE:
When I’m not exploring new foods and local restaurants on the weekends, I enjoy walking/hiking through various state parks across New York. Additionally, I enjoy visiting different theme parks and riding new rollercoasters as soon as they are available. When I can take extended time off, I like to go on cruises. This January, I am excited to be going on my fourth cruise.