November 13, 2025 • 29 mins
Stories change the way we work, but meetings change what we do next. That belief runs through our conversation with Sarah Braley (aka Sally), managing editor at Northstar Meetings Group and a veteran journalist whose passport and notebook have shaped how planners think about destinations, incentives and experience design. We trace Sally's path from early magazine days to becoming a trusted voice at Meetings & Conventions and Incentive, and we explore how the shift from monthly issues to daily digital reporting transformed the job—and the industry.
Sally breaks down why experience design matters more than ever, offering practical ways to build programs that engage attention, respect budgets and deliver outcomes attendees can use. We dive into inclusive F&B strategies, from allergy-aware registration to vegetarian-first menus that improve quality and reduce waste. She also makes a compelling case for rethinking destination strategy: while mega-conventions draw headlines, most gatherings host under 100 people, and smaller cities like Burlington, Toledo and Knoxville can deliver outsized impact with walkability, character, and value. For incentive travel, bucket list markets such as Australia and New Zealand still shine when authenticity and access are thoughtfully planned.
If you work in PR, you’ll get clear guidance on what makes a pitch land: B2B relevance, access to the planner, strong visuals and a crisp angle that helps readers do their jobs better. And for editors and planners alike, Sally’s on-the-ground role at Northstar events offers a rare view into how content, logistics and attendee experience feed each other.
Through downturns and disruption, one truth remains: when the world shifts, people meet to solve problems. Join us to hear what’s new, what works and what’s next for meetings, conventions and incentives—and how to tell better stories about all three. If this conversation helped you think differently about events, subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a quick review so others can find the show.
You can connect with Sally via email at
Please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe to the Media in Minutes podcast here or anywhere you get your podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/media-in-minutes/id1555710662
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:05):
Welcome to Media in Minutes.
This is your host, Angela Toole.
This podcast features in-depthinterviews with those who report
on the world around us.
They share everything from theirfavorite stories to what
happened behind the lens andgive us a glimpse into their
world.
From our studio here atCommunications Redefined, this
is Media in Minutes.
(00:28):
Today we're talking with SarahBraylee, also known as Sally,
managing editor of North StarMeetings Group, where she spent
the past three decades coveringnearly every facet of the
meetings and events industry.
Sally began her journalismcareer at New Jersey Monthly
before joining Meetings andConventions magazine in the
1990s.
(00:48):
Today she oversees both printand digital content for MNC and
incentives and has become ago-to voice for destination
reporting and industry trends.
In addition to shepherdingeditorial productions, Sally is
a seasoned webcast moderator andcontinues to cover a wide
geographic beat, includingTexas, the Rocky Mountains, the
Pacific Northwest, Australia,and New Zealand.
(01:11):
Over her career, her assignmentshave taken her around the world
from Europe and Africa to remotecorners of the US, always with a
journalist's eye for what makesa destination or trend matter to
meeting professionals.
Hello, Sally.
SPEAKER_01 (01:25):
Hello, Angela.
SPEAKER_00 (01:26):
How are you doing?
SPEAKER_01 (01:28):
I'm well, thank you.
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_00 (01:30):
Yes, thank you.
I am I'm very excited to talkwith you.
You've spent more than 30 yearsin journalism, and you're so
young, you know.
SPEAKER_01 (01:38):
Actually, I'm in journalism, it's like 40 years.
31 at this job.
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (01:45):
In the meetings industry.
So can you take us back to thebeginning?
What drew you to journalism andand how did your path lead you
to where you are today?
SPEAKER_01 (01:53):
Well, you know, I was always a good writer.
Yeah, in high school, I had noproblem with that.
So uh when I got to college, Ithought, oh, I'll do English
because that's what I like.
But I took a a course, ajournalism 101 course in my
freshman year, and I thought, Ilike this better.
(02:13):
So uh I was at the University ofMassachusetts.
I switched my major almost rightaway and um and graduated there
with a degree in journalism, butI had never uh done anything.
You know, I had never worked forthe school paper, I had never
freelanced for something else,so I didn't have any experience
and nobody wanted to hire me.
(02:34):
And so I waitressed like therest of the world and sent out
my uh a whole bunch of uh uhapplications to graduate
schools, and I got into a bunchof them and uh gratefully
Northwestern gave me money anduh some scholarship money and
some loans, and I went there.
(02:54):
Um, it was really a you know, itwas a year program and it was
great, and I got my master's andsomebody in my uh in my class
knew the guy who was the editorof New Jersey Monthly, which was
my first real job, and um and hehired me.
So that's how it started.
SPEAKER_00 (03:13):
Just like a lot of industries, but I feel like
journalism, especially, is whoyou know, you know, and that's
how you that's how you get thejob, right?
And then how well you do aswell.
It's not it's not just you, youknow, but you have to perform
after.
So I don't know if you rememberback that far, but what kinds of
stories were you covering then?
And you know, maybe it's just methat doesn't have the memory.
SPEAKER_01 (03:36):
I started out uh compiling the calendar for for
the magazine, and then uh thatsort of morphed into covering a
lot of arts things, you know, uhgetting to know the um like the
symphony and and varioustheaters and things like that.
But I also traveled around thestate quite a bit and wrote a
(03:57):
bunch of things that had to dowith where to do what, in and I
also did some travel uh pieces.
I went to Hawaii for North forNew Jersey Monthly.
SPEAKER_00 (04:08):
Oh, nice.
SPEAKER_01 (04:10):
I did a bike trip in Virginia through uh the
Shenandoah Valley, and that wasfor the MAG.
And so that was that was justhow I got into uh knowing I
liked writing about travel, butI I didn't really pursue that in
on purpose.
SPEAKER_00 (04:25):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (04:26):
Um you lucked out almost.
I left I lucked out big time.
I left New Jersey Monthly uhafter eight years because it was
I don't know, it just wasn'tdoing it for me anymore.
So I I tried to freelance for awhile and realized I was really
terrible at it.
Uh and I I at the time I leftNew Jersey Monthly, I was the
(04:49):
managing editor.
Okay.
Wow.
And so I already had that undermy belt.
I took a temporary job uh forinterior design mag, um, L ID.
And I did that while somebodywas on uh baby leave.
So I managing edited them forthree months.
(05:09):
Um, they were a Connors book.
You know, there's all theselittle ins and outs of things
like that, of uh, as you weresaying, who you know and who
your book is related to andthings like that.
Um and then, you know, I startedthrowing my resume around, and
the woman who used to be thedining critic for New Jersey
(05:29):
Monthly called me up and said, Iheard of this job that I think
maybe you'd be good for.
I know you're looking for a job.
And so I was already looking attwo other jobs and uh trying to
weigh the benefits of them, andslotted this one in, and and
that was for meetings andconventions.
And I had already heard of adifferent meetings book called
(05:50):
Successful Meetings, which wenow own.
Um and uh I had heard of thatbecause I had used a writer at
New Jersey Monthly, who also wasa writer for successful
meetings, and uh, and so I kindof knew what the the book was
about.
And then I so I went in for myinterview, and the guy said,
Well, you're gonna have totravel six to seven times a
(06:11):
year.
And I my thought was that's aproblem for whom.
SPEAKER_00 (06:15):
Right, that's amazing.
Job perk.
SPEAKER_01 (06:19):
Yeah, exactly.
So I started out as senioreditor and really just kept that
title forever until um, I guessit's about five or six years ago
now I became managing editor.
But the job just morphed so muchthrough the years that it it
never felt like I was doing thesame old, same old job.
SPEAKER_00 (06:35):
So yeah, I would love you to talk about that a
little bit.
So, you know, in that time, howhave things changed?
SPEAKER_01 (06:42):
Our jobs have sort of opened up in a lot of ways as
the magazines got more and moredigital and more and more
immediate.
It was funny, once the internetcame around and we started
writing stuff every day insteadof writing stuff just monthly.
I I used to joke that I didn't Ididn't plan to be a daily
reporter.
(07:03):
Um, but that's what we kind ofturned into.
SPEAKER_00 (07:05):
Every journalist.
Yeah, no matter what.
SPEAKER_01 (07:07):
Suddenly everything was of the moment, everything
was urgent.
And uh and that was really kindof an that was quite a big
change actually for us.
Um, but also the shorteneddeadlines for the magazine as
well.
You know, once upon a time we wefinished the magazine a month
before it went to press.
And so you finished the Octoberissue at the at the beginning of
(07:28):
September.
Uh and now, of course, we finishthe October issue about a week
before it is published and soit's a it was a really big
change.
But um, but we also we just do alot of other things, you know.
Um aside from traveling for themagazine, we also travel to our
(07:48):
own events now.
Uh North Star Meetings Group,which owns um meetings and
conventions.
We have a big catalog now ofevents that we do.
Um, we as editors help find thespeakers and help, you know,
when we're on site, we help withthe planners with what they're
doing.
And it's all related to what wewe write about because we write
(08:11):
about putting on events.
So it's it it just all feedsitself.
SPEAKER_00 (08:15):
Yeah, you're actually getting to experience
it firsthand instead of justthrough those you're
interviewing.
You get to yeah.
So, what does your day-to-dayrole look like as a managing
editor?
SPEAKER_01 (08:26):
Um, day-to-day, uh, anything that someone has
written that's gonna go livesoon, it goes to me so that I
edit it and uh and do the finalpost.
But you know, I'm also workingon stories of my own.
Um, I have something I reallywant to get done before
Thanksgiving.
I hope I can manage to pull thatoff.
Um and uh, you know, it's it'sdealing with that, but also
(08:52):
dealing with some of the stuffthat has to do with managing the
magazine because you know, rightnow we're working on schedules
for next year, so we're tryingto figure out um what that looks
like for us.
In the old days, of course, wehad 12 issues that were once a
month.
And when I first took themanaging editor job here, I was
also managing editor ofsuccessful meetings, and I was
(09:13):
also managing editor ofincentive magazine.
So single month, and we were westill had 12 issues, and uh
there were 12 issues, issues formeetings and conventions and
successful meetings, and thenfour issues for incentive.
So in a given month, you know,I'm doing like 25, 26.
SPEAKER_00 (09:33):
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (09:34):
So and those days were mind-boggling for me, but
it didn't last very long becausewe slammed into the pandemic.
Yes.
Pretty soon after that, we cutback uh the number of issues we
put out.
Um, and at this point, it's umfour issues of meetings and
conventions, and um usuallythere's four issues of incentive
(09:58):
as well.
SPEAKER_00 (09:58):
Okay, and those are the two that you're managing
editor of what other so no NorthStar Meetings Group oversees
other publications as well,right?
Can you tell us a little bitmore about all of them?
SPEAKER_01 (10:12):
Well, under under the interest of North Star
Meetings Group, we have uhMeetings and Incentive Travel,
which is a UK-based uh magazine.
We have Association MeetingsInternational, which is also
UK-based, and the same editorialteam does both of those
magazines.
There's a Meetings andConventions Asia.
(10:33):
There is also Sports Travelmagazine, which uh uh is just
all about putting on events foruh the sports world, whether
it's the Olympics or you know,your local soccer team.
So um, so yeah, so those are themain ones.
Overall, North Star MeetingsGroup is our parent, but the
overall parent company is NorthStar North Star Travel Group.
SPEAKER_00 (10:57):
And so there's also Travel Weekly and a bunch of
travel agent-based um and justthere's a slew of other things
that tell us a little bit morefor those who aren't super
familiar with meetings andconventions and incentives.
Tell us a little bit more aboutboth of those and your audience
and what you look for in storiesfor them.
SPEAKER_01 (11:16):
An incentive is something that you've earned.
Um say you're a salesperson andyou are part of a competition
throughout the year.
See who, you know, to put itbluntly, who sells the most wins
the biggest prize or whatever.
So, and those can be merchandisethings or they can be
travel-based.
Uh, the programs vary quite abit.
So that's essentially whatyou're looking for with um with
(11:39):
Incentive Magazine.
Okay.
With meetings and conventions,we run the gamut.
You know, we cover um we coverlarge conventions down to
meetings for, you know, 20, 50people.
So um our job really is to helpthe planner, the event planner,
the incentive planner, the eventplanner, the meeting planner,
(12:00):
um, to do their jobs better,really.
Um for instance, throughout theyears, I've I've worked with a
guy who is uh our legal expertand I've been editing his
stories since I came on boardhere.
So for 30 years, I've been I'vebeen uh editing his stuff.
And at this point, he couldalmost be a journalist.
I mean a lawyer, an lawyer,because I know what he's gonna
(12:24):
say uh when there's a questionasked.
So so yeah, so um, you know,those are the kinds of things
we're trying to make right forthe people who are reading our
our articles.
I want them to understand thatwe are trying to help them do
their jobs better.
SPEAKER_00 (12:39):
Yes.
What have been some of have youdo you have some favorite
stories?
SPEAKER_01 (12:44):
Oh goodness.
I once wrote about creativity,which was really an interesting
process because of course toreally make a meeting better
these days, you have to tap intoyour own creativity.
And that's one of the trendsthat's been really um pretty hot
in the past, I'd say, six to tenyears, which is um event design
(13:06):
and experience design and tryingto make trying to make the
meeting more than the educationthat you're getting there.
You know, you're trying to makesure that the participants are
happy, engaged, uh learningsomething, uh, that they're
gonna take away somethingthey'll use later.
And it's it's it's really amelding of how to do that.
(13:30):
And that's one of the morefascinating uh ways the meetings
have been going, and we've beenfollowing that trend for a
while.
SPEAKER_00 (13:37):
Yeah, that's quite the feat, too, to do all of
those things well at once.
Yes.
So I can I can see how howvaluable the magazine and the um
expertise from everyone thatwrites for it is for these
planners.
You uh mentioned that you writea little bit.
How often do you, and what doyou tend, do you tend to focus
(13:58):
on something specific?
SPEAKER_01 (14:00):
Uh not necessarily.
Uh, quite often it's what needsto be written.
I mean, there was a pressrelease today that was uh in it
was about the US hotel forecastfor the coming year and for the
end of this year, and thatneeded to be coordinated into a
story that we've already done,but also you turned into news
(14:22):
for today.
So I did that this morning.
We write up the events that wedo, so I have a couple of those
to do.
Uh one that I want to finishbefore Thanksgiving has to do
with Austin, Texas, wherecurrently the convention center
is closed because it's beingabsolutely totally demolished
and rebuilt.
And so I wanted to explore howthe hotel uh community there is
(14:46):
really coping without their bigconvention center.
So um just that kind of thing.
I mean, it's whatever needs tobe done.
SPEAKER_00 (14:54):
So we talked a little bit about this with it,
you know, there specifically inyour role, but with the industry
in general that's gone throughmajor train changes, you know,
digital transformation, COVIDdisruption, as you mentioned,
sustainability shifts.
What stands out to you as themost impactful or maybe even
exciting trend in meetings worldright now?
SPEAKER_01 (15:13):
Well, as I said, it's the design element that is
really big.
Um this year is very weird.
Uh so people are really tryingto deal with budgets, smaller
budgets, but trying to uh tryingto still instill in their events
what they want.
And uh and that that can be veryhard.
(15:35):
So that's a that's an elementthat we we pay very close
attention to.
Um lots of interesting foodtrends because you know, you
have to help people who haveallergies and things like that.
SPEAKER_00 (15:48):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (15:49):
People are understanding now that you can
take a delicious vegetarianoption and make that the main
meal at an event.
Uh, and so that a the vegetarianstuff doesn't run out when the
veget person who's vegetarianactually gets right.
It also gives other people amore healthy option.
(16:10):
Uh want that these days.
SPEAKER_00 (16:14):
So yeah, definitely.
I was gonna say, I always wonderthat on planes if they run out
of, you know, the option thatsome people really need.
Um, hopefully that doesn'thappen.
SPEAKER_01 (16:23):
That's why they ask you beforehand.
And that's why for meetings aswell.
You know, a registration formfor a meeting, every one of them
should ask, what are yourallergens?
Do you have food uhsensitivities?
What do we need to know aboutthat you need to eat?
And how separated from the restof the stuff does your food need
to be?
SPEAKER_00 (16:42):
Yes, and I can imagine that's a lot, especially
when you have a big meeting.
SPEAKER_01 (16:45):
Yeah, yeah, it can be overwhelming.
SPEAKER_00 (16:48):
Yes.
So you've stayed with the samebrand for decades and decades of
change and publishing events,and we talked about some of
that, but what has kept youinspired and motivated to stay
in the same industry at the sameplace?
SPEAKER_01 (17:00):
There's two things actually that have kept me here.
Um three things.
First of all, meetings andconventions has a very good
reputation, and I I don't takethat lightly, and I I I hope
that I have been able to supportthat through the years.
Uh secondly, when the worldchanges, there's going to be a
(17:21):
meeting about it.
So even though you have COVID,even though you had uh the
economic downturn of 08, 09, thethe headlines sound dire.
However, people are stilltalking about it.
People need to meet and figureout what they're gonna do about
(17:41):
it.
There's always going to be ameeting about it.
So even with the ups and downsof the world, because we've, you
know, over 30 years, theindustry has gone up and down
and up and down and up and down.
Right.
But there's always an angle forus.
And it's always a newsy angle.
There's always a moment thatmeetings make a different
(18:01):
difference.
And I I've I've loved that aboutmeetings and conventions because
it's always, always relevant.
Um, I really love that aboutthis.
But the other thing is thetravel.
Yes.
I think to myself, I'm ajournalist.
I could write about anything.
You give me the right source, Ican write about it.
(18:23):
But not everybody's gonna sendme around the world.
SPEAKER_00 (18:27):
Yes.
How often do you travel?
SPEAKER_01 (18:30):
Uh it really is probably six or seven times a
year.
SPEAKER_00 (18:33):
So still so yeah, that's a pretty big benefit for
sure.
Is there is there a destinationthat surprised you um and how
well it worked for meetings orincentives that you may maybe
didn't think it might, um, orone that doesn't, you know,
always make the headlines?
SPEAKER_01 (18:51):
You know, the ones that don't make the headlines,
everybody who's putting togethera meeting thinks, oh, I've got
to go to Boston, I've got to goto Chicago, I've got to go to
Washington, D.C., I've got to goto Denver, I've got to go to
these big hubs where, you know,yes, you have good airlift and
stuff like that.
But the truth of the matter ismost meetings are under 100
people.
And uh the the big things for10,000, 100,000 people, those
(19:15):
conventions are very few and farbetween.
And the bulk of meetings thatare taking place are for like 80
to 100 people.
So uh it's fun to find we'vedone a bunch of uh we've done a
bunch of events this year atsmaller cities that you get
there and you realize, wow, whata lovely place to have a
(19:36):
meeting.
And that runs the gamut.
I mean, we were in Burlington,Vermont this year, and it was
just great.
I mean, I've been to Burlingtonbefore, but I'd never thought
about it from uh from a meetingsangle.
And it was really just lovely.
And we also did uh Toledo, Ohio,and that went really well.
And we just got back from uhKnoxville, Tennessee.
(19:56):
And these are smaller places,smaller destinations that have
their own bits of loveliness uhand and just work really, really
well for a small group who canfeel almost like they're taking
over the town.
So those those have surprised mefor sure.
SPEAKER_00 (20:13):
That is really neat.
How much of your travel or evendestination coverage is broke up
between you know internationaland national?
SPEAKER_01 (20:22):
Most of our stuff is domestic, but uh there's still
plenty of international that wedo.
I'm about to go back toAustralia for the third time for
the magazine.
Um wow.
So yeah, we still cover thesetypes of places because whether
or not you're going to take asmall meeting there, you'll take
(20:42):
an incentive trip there.
Those are bucket list places, sowe'll go and see those um and uh
and cover them.
And you know, we don't really doas much international coverage
as we once did, but we're stillopen to it.
And if something is absolutelyif something is happening
somewhere um outside of thecountry, we'll definitely cover
(21:02):
it.
SPEAKER_00 (21:03):
So is there a place that you haven't been assigned
to go to yet that you would loveto cover?
SPEAKER_01 (21:08):
Yes, I'd love to go to London.
SPEAKER_00 (21:10):
London, I just came back from London, actually.
SPEAKER_01 (21:13):
I've never been.
SPEAKER_00 (21:15):
Oh, it is so neat.
SPEAKER_01 (21:17):
I feel like I've been everywhere else.
You know, I've been to SouthAfrica, I've been I've been to
New Zealand, I've been toAustralia, I've been all over
the United States, you know, allover Europe.
And and the other one, I mean,I've never been to South America
either.
Or oh wow, like Japan or China.
So any of those, I'd do.
SPEAKER_00 (21:35):
That's amazing that you've been more so much more
exotic, even than London.
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
That is great.
Well have anyone listening, ifyou uh have any great news for
those areas, send them to Sarah.
SPEAKER_01 (21:47):
Yeah, but I don't necessarily cover them.
We split those up.
SPEAKER_00 (21:50):
Oh, right.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (21:52):
Somebody else has London and she's not.
Oh, okay.
She's been here as long as Ihave.
So, you know, uh, it's her gig.
SPEAKER_00 (22:00):
What areas do you specifically focus on?
SPEAKER_01 (22:03):
My coverage is uh, well, I have New Zealand and
Australia and and I do have likeTahiti and Fiji and all of that
stuff around there.
Not that I've been there.
Uh for some reason.
Um and uh but I also have I havethe Pacific Northwest, um and
(22:27):
which I love.
I have the Rockies, I have uhColorado, uh Montana, Idaho,
Wyoming, uh, Utah.
I'm just back from Utah.
Uh oh, and I have Texas.
I've had Texas for all 30 years.
SPEAKER_00 (22:43):
Wow.
Well, that's so good to know.
And you know, a lot of ouraudience are PR professionals.
What makes a pitch stand out toyou?
You know, what types of whattypes of information do you want
from them?
And also on the flip side, arethere common, you know, pet
peeves or or things that yousee?
SPEAKER_01 (23:03):
Well, the thing is the the flip side is is the
opposite of of the the rightpitch, which is the right pitch
is knowing who you're talkingto, knowing what our magazine is
doing.
We don't do weddings.
We are we are abusiness-to-business magazine.
We're talking about corporateevents, we're talking about
association events, we'retalking about government events.
(23:25):
We do not do, we don't do muchthat has to do with social and
definitely don't do weddings.
Um so you have to know that.
So the flip side of that iscoming at me with uh with ideas
that have absolutely nothing todo with our audience.
I I I think that studying the uhthe magazine or the website that
(23:47):
you're pitching to is key tounderstanding what's gonna help
us.
Uh and uh and if you ever hearof a really interesting event
that somebody did somethingtotally out of the ordinary at
that just blew the attendees'mind, I want to know about it.
SPEAKER_00 (24:06):
And does it matter if you know before or after?
SPEAKER_01 (24:08):
I'm assuming before is better, but well, we won't
know that it's gonna blow theirminds until it blows up.
SPEAKER_00 (24:14):
Oh, true.
Okay.
That's a good point.
Maybe they think it's gonna blowtheir minds, but no, we tried
this, but it didn't work.
SPEAKER_01 (24:21):
No, that's not sorry.
SPEAKER_00 (24:23):
So and you need some great photography.
What else do you need?
SPEAKER_01 (24:27):
We always want to get to the to the actual event
planner.
Uh figure out how they put theevent together.
That's the big thing.
I mean, if if a PR person who'sat a hotel and something really
interesting happened, if we canget to the meeting planner who
was their client, that's great.
Sometimes we'll look atsomething that that happened at
a hotel that um that the meetingplanner can't isn't allowed to
(24:50):
speak to us.
But um, but it's really best ifwe can figure out how the
negotiations were done to makesure that they could pull off
what they wanted to pull off.
SPEAKER_00 (25:02):
Yeah, absolutely.
That's good advice too.
So what's ahead for you andNorth Star Meetings group, you
know, in the coming year?
Any new projects or or themesyou're excited about?
SPEAKER_01 (25:12):
Um we have a couple of we have a couple of new
events that we're putting onthat I can't necessarily say
what they are yet, but um andthere'll there are some that are
going to be in some really fundestinations.
Like uh we get to actually be inArizona in the winter, which is
(25:33):
uh which is really cool becauseusually for a meeting you find
yourself there in summer becausethat's when there's plenty of
hotel space.
Right.
So we're actually going to bethere for one of our top events,
which is called the IndependentPlanner Education Conference,
and we'll be there in Februaryin Phoenix.
So that's pretty cool.
(25:54):
Um, we have another event calledI'm trying to remember if it's
luxury and I think it's luxuryand wellness, which will be at a
brand new property in uh winecountry in California, which is
nice.
So, but some of those things areall being still worked out and
all.
And really we don't we plan thecontent ahead, but we don't uh
(26:21):
lock it in.
So we're open to the trends oropening open to what's happening
in the world uh before weactually put together the
magazine.
SPEAKER_00 (26:30):
So yeah, that's great.
I mean, that's the best kind ofjournalism, right?
You need to see what happensbefore you have a pre-planned
pre-planning stories and yeah.
Um before we go, I must knowwhat's your do you have a go-to
travel hack or a ritual um whenyou're traveling?
SPEAKER_01 (26:48):
I was thinking about that.
I'm a I'm a rare bird.
I'm one of the people whoactually checks her bags.
I hate carrying a bag on theplane and stuffing it in the
overhead.
That just gives me so muchagita.
And I have a I have a mycarry-on actually fits under the
seat.
I'm not very tall, so I don'treally need to stretch my legs
(27:09):
out that far.
And and but my real thing that Ilove to do is to I unpack it, it
it doesn't matter how long I'mgoing to be in the hotel room, I
unpack because I like to be ableto see what I've got with me and
and make the room mine at thehotel.
I really do love staying at ahotel.
(27:30):
That's you know, we're very,very, very, very lucky that we
stay in a lot of high-endplaces.
And and it's it's really it'sreally a little bit of joy to
sort of make that your own.
SPEAKER_00 (27:44):
Yes.
I love that.
I love that.
So how can our listeners connectwith you or follow your work?
Um, what's the best way?
SPEAKER_01 (27:52):
Well, uh people can email me at Sbrailey
S-B-R-A-L-E-Y at Mcmag.com, likeMic Mag.
And um yeah, North Star MeetingsGroup is at uh
Northstarmeetingsgroup.com, andthat's where most of our
editorial is is on there, evenif it was in the magazine first.
(28:16):
Um and yeah, just look me up onLinkedIn or usually it'll say
Sarah, right?
SPEAKER_00 (28:23):
Even if you go by Sally, we'll find you as Sarah.
Okay, great.
SPEAKER_01 (28:26):
You can find me as Sally, I think, on Facebook and
Instagram, but not so much on uhon LinkedIn.
SPEAKER_00 (28:32):
Okay, well, thank you so much, Sally.
SPEAKER_01 (28:35):
Thank you too, Angela.
Thank you again for having me.
SPEAKER_00 (28:38):
That's all for this episode of Media and Minutes, a
podcast by CommunicationsRedefined.
Take a moment to rate, review,and subscribe to our show.
We'd love to hear what youthink.
You can find more atCommunications
Redefined.comslash podcast.
I'm your host, Angela Toole.
Talk to you next time.
Welcome to Media in Minutes.
This is your host, Angela Toole.
This podcast features in-depthinterviews with those who report
on the world around us.
They share everything from theirfavorite stories to what
happened behind the lens andgive us a glimpse into their
world.
From our studio here atCommunications Redefined, this
is Media in Minutes.
(00:28):
Today we're talking with SarahBraylee, also known as Sally,
managing editor of North StarMeetings Group, where she spent
the past three decades coveringnearly every facet of the
meetings and events industry.
Sally began her journalismcareer at New Jersey Monthly
before joining Meetings andConventions magazine in the
1990s.
(00:48):
Today she oversees both printand digital content for MNC and
incentives and has become ago-to voice for destination
reporting and industry trends.
In addition to shepherdingeditorial productions, Sally is
a seasoned webcast moderator andcontinues to cover a wide
geographic beat, includingTexas, the Rocky Mountains, the
Pacific Northwest, Australia,and New Zealand.
(01:11):
Over her career, her assignmentshave taken her around the world
from Europe and Africa to remotecorners of the US, always with a
journalist's eye for what makesa destination or trend matter to
meeting professionals.
Hello, Sally.
SPEAKER_01 (01:25):
Hello, Angela.
SPEAKER_00 (01:26):
How are you doing?
SPEAKER_01 (01:28):
I'm well, thank you.
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_00 (01:30):
Yes, thank you.
I am I'm very excited to talkwith you.
You've spent more than 30 yearsin journalism, and you're so
young, you know.
SPEAKER_01 (01:38):
Actually, I'm in journalism, it's like 40 years.
31 at this job.
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (01:45):
In the meetings industry.
So can you take us back to thebeginning?
What drew you to journalism andand how did your path lead you
to where you are today?
SPEAKER_01 (01:53):
Well, you know, I was always a good writer.
Yeah, in high school, I had noproblem with that.
So uh when I got to college, Ithought, oh, I'll do English
because that's what I like.
But I took a a course, ajournalism 101 course in my
freshman year, and I thought, Ilike this better.
(02:13):
So uh I was at the University ofMassachusetts.
I switched my major almost rightaway and um and graduated there
with a degree in journalism, butI had never uh done anything.
You know, I had never worked forthe school paper, I had never
freelanced for something else,so I didn't have any experience
and nobody wanted to hire me.
(02:34):
And so I waitressed like therest of the world and sent out
my uh a whole bunch of uh uhapplications to graduate
schools, and I got into a bunchof them and uh gratefully
Northwestern gave me money anduh some scholarship money and
some loans, and I went there.
(02:54):
Um, it was really a you know, itwas a year program and it was
great, and I got my master's andsomebody in my uh in my class
knew the guy who was the editorof New Jersey Monthly, which was
my first real job, and um and hehired me.
So that's how it started.
SPEAKER_00 (03:13):
Just like a lot of industries, but I feel like
journalism, especially, is whoyou know, you know, and that's
how you that's how you get thejob, right?
And then how well you do aswell.
It's not it's not just you, youknow, but you have to perform
after.
So I don't know if you rememberback that far, but what kinds of
stories were you covering then?
And you know, maybe it's just methat doesn't have the memory.
SPEAKER_01 (03:36):
I started out uh compiling the calendar for for
the magazine, and then uh thatsort of morphed into covering a
lot of arts things, you know, uhgetting to know the um like the
symphony and and varioustheaters and things like that.
But I also traveled around thestate quite a bit and wrote a
(03:57):
bunch of things that had to dowith where to do what, in and I
also did some travel uh pieces.
I went to Hawaii for North forNew Jersey Monthly.
SPEAKER_00 (04:08):
Oh, nice.
SPEAKER_01 (04:10):
I did a bike trip in Virginia through uh the
Shenandoah Valley, and that wasfor the MAG.
And so that was that was justhow I got into uh knowing I
liked writing about travel, butI I didn't really pursue that in
on purpose.
SPEAKER_00 (04:25):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (04:26):
Um you lucked out almost.
I left I lucked out big time.
I left New Jersey Monthly uhafter eight years because it was
I don't know, it just wasn'tdoing it for me anymore.
So I I tried to freelance for awhile and realized I was really
terrible at it.
Uh and I I at the time I leftNew Jersey Monthly, I was the
(04:49):
managing editor.
Okay.
Wow.
And so I already had that undermy belt.
I took a temporary job uh forinterior design mag, um, L ID.
And I did that while somebodywas on uh baby leave.
So I managing edited them forthree months.
(05:09):
Um, they were a Connors book.
You know, there's all theselittle ins and outs of things
like that, of uh, as you weresaying, who you know and who
your book is related to andthings like that.
Um and then, you know, I startedthrowing my resume around, and
the woman who used to be thedining critic for New Jersey
(05:29):
Monthly called me up and said, Iheard of this job that I think
maybe you'd be good for.
I know you're looking for a job.
And so I was already looking attwo other jobs and uh trying to
weigh the benefits of them, andslotted this one in, and and
that was for meetings andconventions.
And I had already heard of adifferent meetings book called
(05:50):
Successful Meetings, which wenow own.
Um and uh I had heard of thatbecause I had used a writer at
New Jersey Monthly, who also wasa writer for successful
meetings, and uh, and so I kindof knew what the the book was
about.
And then I so I went in for myinterview, and the guy said,
Well, you're gonna have totravel six to seven times a
(06:11):
year.
And I my thought was that's aproblem for whom.
SPEAKER_00 (06:15):
Right, that's amazing.
Job perk.
SPEAKER_01 (06:19):
Yeah, exactly.
So I started out as senioreditor and really just kept that
title forever until um, I guessit's about five or six years ago
now I became managing editor.
But the job just morphed so muchthrough the years that it it
never felt like I was doing thesame old, same old job.
SPEAKER_00 (06:35):
So yeah, I would love you to talk about that a
little bit.
So, you know, in that time, howhave things changed?
SPEAKER_01 (06:42):
Our jobs have sort of opened up in a lot of ways as
the magazines got more and moredigital and more and more
immediate.
It was funny, once the internetcame around and we started
writing stuff every day insteadof writing stuff just monthly.
I I used to joke that I didn't Ididn't plan to be a daily
reporter.
(07:03):
Um, but that's what we kind ofturned into.
SPEAKER_00 (07:05):
Every journalist.
Yeah, no matter what.
SPEAKER_01 (07:07):
Suddenly everything was of the moment, everything
was urgent.
And uh and that was really kindof an that was quite a big
change actually for us.
Um, but also the shorteneddeadlines for the magazine as
well.
You know, once upon a time we wefinished the magazine a month
before it went to press.
And so you finished the Octoberissue at the at the beginning of
(07:28):
September.
Uh and now, of course, we finishthe October issue about a week
before it is published and soit's a it was a really big
change.
But um, but we also we just do alot of other things, you know.
Um aside from traveling for themagazine, we also travel to our
(07:48):
own events now.
Uh North Star Meetings Group,which owns um meetings and
conventions.
We have a big catalog now ofevents that we do.
Um, we as editors help find thespeakers and help, you know,
when we're on site, we help withthe planners with what they're
doing.
And it's all related to what wewe write about because we write
(08:11):
about putting on events.
So it's it it just all feedsitself.
SPEAKER_00 (08:15):
Yeah, you're actually getting to experience
it firsthand instead of justthrough those you're
interviewing.
You get to yeah.
So, what does your day-to-dayrole look like as a managing
editor?
SPEAKER_01 (08:26):
Um, day-to-day, uh, anything that someone has
written that's gonna go livesoon, it goes to me so that I
edit it and uh and do the finalpost.
But you know, I'm also workingon stories of my own.
Um, I have something I reallywant to get done before
Thanksgiving.
I hope I can manage to pull thatoff.
Um and uh, you know, it's it'sdealing with that, but also
(08:52):
dealing with some of the stuffthat has to do with managing the
magazine because you know, rightnow we're working on schedules
for next year, so we're tryingto figure out um what that looks
like for us.
In the old days, of course, wehad 12 issues that were once a
month.
And when I first took themanaging editor job here, I was
also managing editor ofsuccessful meetings, and I was
(09:13):
also managing editor ofincentive magazine.
So single month, and we were westill had 12 issues, and uh
there were 12 issues, issues formeetings and conventions and
successful meetings, and thenfour issues for incentive.
So in a given month, you know,I'm doing like 25, 26.
SPEAKER_00 (09:33):
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (09:34):
So and those days were mind-boggling for me, but
it didn't last very long becausewe slammed into the pandemic.
Yes.
Pretty soon after that, we cutback uh the number of issues we
put out.
Um, and at this point, it's umfour issues of meetings and
conventions, and um usuallythere's four issues of incentive
(09:58):
as well.
SPEAKER_00 (09:58):
Okay, and those are the two that you're managing
editor of what other so no NorthStar Meetings Group oversees
other publications as well,right?
Can you tell us a little bitmore about all of them?
SPEAKER_01 (10:12):
Well, under under the interest of North Star
Meetings Group, we have uhMeetings and Incentive Travel,
which is a UK-based uh magazine.
We have Association MeetingsInternational, which is also
UK-based, and the same editorialteam does both of those
magazines.
There's a Meetings andConventions Asia.
(10:33):
There is also Sports Travelmagazine, which uh uh is just
all about putting on events foruh the sports world, whether
it's the Olympics or you know,your local soccer team.
So um, so yeah, so those are themain ones.
Overall, North Star MeetingsGroup is our parent, but the
overall parent company is NorthStar North Star Travel Group.
SPEAKER_00 (10:57):
And so there's also Travel Weekly and a bunch of
travel agent-based um and justthere's a slew of other things
that tell us a little bit morefor those who aren't super
familiar with meetings andconventions and incentives.
Tell us a little bit more aboutboth of those and your audience
and what you look for in storiesfor them.
SPEAKER_01 (11:16):
An incentive is something that you've earned.
Um say you're a salesperson andyou are part of a competition
throughout the year.
See who, you know, to put itbluntly, who sells the most wins
the biggest prize or whatever.
So, and those can be merchandisethings or they can be
travel-based.
Uh, the programs vary quite abit.
So that's essentially whatyou're looking for with um with
(11:39):
Incentive Magazine.
Okay.
With meetings and conventions,we run the gamut.
You know, we cover um we coverlarge conventions down to
meetings for, you know, 20, 50people.
So um our job really is to helpthe planner, the event planner,
the incentive planner, the eventplanner, the meeting planner,
(12:00):
um, to do their jobs better,really.
Um for instance, throughout theyears, I've I've worked with a
guy who is uh our legal expertand I've been editing his
stories since I came on boardhere.
So for 30 years, I've been I'vebeen uh editing his stuff.
And at this point, he couldalmost be a journalist.
I mean a lawyer, an lawyer,because I know what he's gonna
(12:24):
say uh when there's a questionasked.
So so yeah, so um, you know,those are the kinds of things
we're trying to make right forthe people who are reading our
our articles.
I want them to understand thatwe are trying to help them do
their jobs better.
SPEAKER_00 (12:39):
Yes.
What have been some of have youdo you have some favorite
stories?
SPEAKER_01 (12:44):
Oh goodness.
I once wrote about creativity,which was really an interesting
process because of course toreally make a meeting better
these days, you have to tap intoyour own creativity.
And that's one of the trendsthat's been really um pretty hot
in the past, I'd say, six to tenyears, which is um event design
(13:06):
and experience design and tryingto make trying to make the
meeting more than the educationthat you're getting there.
You know, you're trying to makesure that the participants are
happy, engaged, uh learningsomething, uh, that they're
gonna take away somethingthey'll use later.
And it's it's it's really amelding of how to do that.
(13:30):
And that's one of the morefascinating uh ways the meetings
have been going, and we've beenfollowing that trend for a
while.
SPEAKER_00 (13:37):
Yeah, that's quite the feat, too, to do all of
those things well at once.
Yes.
So I can I can see how howvaluable the magazine and the um
expertise from everyone thatwrites for it is for these
planners.
You uh mentioned that you writea little bit.
How often do you, and what doyou tend, do you tend to focus
(13:58):
on something specific?
SPEAKER_01 (14:00):
Uh not necessarily.
Uh, quite often it's what needsto be written.
I mean, there was a pressrelease today that was uh in it
was about the US hotel forecastfor the coming year and for the
end of this year, and thatneeded to be coordinated into a
story that we've already done,but also you turned into news
(14:22):
for today.
So I did that this morning.
We write up the events that wedo, so I have a couple of those
to do.
Uh one that I want to finishbefore Thanksgiving has to do
with Austin, Texas, wherecurrently the convention center
is closed because it's beingabsolutely totally demolished
and rebuilt.
And so I wanted to explore howthe hotel uh community there is
(14:46):
really coping without their bigconvention center.
So um just that kind of thing.
I mean, it's whatever needs tobe done.
SPEAKER_00 (14:54):
So we talked a little bit about this with it,
you know, there specifically inyour role, but with the industry
in general that's gone throughmajor train changes, you know,
digital transformation, COVIDdisruption, as you mentioned,
sustainability shifts.
What stands out to you as themost impactful or maybe even
exciting trend in meetings worldright now?
SPEAKER_01 (15:13):
Well, as I said, it's the design element that is
really big.
Um this year is very weird.
Uh so people are really tryingto deal with budgets, smaller
budgets, but trying to uh tryingto still instill in their events
what they want.
And uh and that that can be veryhard.
(15:35):
So that's a that's an elementthat we we pay very close
attention to.
Um lots of interesting foodtrends because you know, you
have to help people who haveallergies and things like that.
SPEAKER_00 (15:48):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (15:49):
People are understanding now that you can
take a delicious vegetarianoption and make that the main
meal at an event.
Uh, and so that a the vegetarianstuff doesn't run out when the
veget person who's vegetarianactually gets right.
It also gives other people amore healthy option.
(16:10):
Uh want that these days.
SPEAKER_00 (16:14):
So yeah, definitely.
I was gonna say, I always wonderthat on planes if they run out
of, you know, the option thatsome people really need.
Um, hopefully that doesn'thappen.
SPEAKER_01 (16:23):
That's why they ask you beforehand.
And that's why for meetings aswell.
You know, a registration formfor a meeting, every one of them
should ask, what are yourallergens?
Do you have food uhsensitivities?
What do we need to know aboutthat you need to eat?
And how separated from the restof the stuff does your food need
to be?
SPEAKER_00 (16:42):
Yes, and I can imagine that's a lot, especially
when you have a big meeting.
SPEAKER_01 (16:45):
Yeah, yeah, it can be overwhelming.
SPEAKER_00 (16:48):
Yes.
So you've stayed with the samebrand for decades and decades of
change and publishing events,and we talked about some of
that, but what has kept youinspired and motivated to stay
in the same industry at the sameplace?
SPEAKER_01 (17:00):
There's two things actually that have kept me here.
Um three things.
First of all, meetings andconventions has a very good
reputation, and I I don't takethat lightly, and I I I hope
that I have been able to supportthat through the years.
Uh secondly, when the worldchanges, there's going to be a
(17:21):
meeting about it.
So even though you have COVID,even though you had uh the
economic downturn of 08, 09, thethe headlines sound dire.
However, people are stilltalking about it.
People need to meet and figureout what they're gonna do about
(17:41):
it.
There's always going to be ameeting about it.
So even with the ups and downsof the world, because we've, you
know, over 30 years, theindustry has gone up and down
and up and down and up and down.
Right.
But there's always an angle forus.
And it's always a newsy angle.
There's always a moment thatmeetings make a different
(18:01):
difference.
And I I've I've loved that aboutmeetings and conventions because
it's always, always relevant.
Um, I really love that aboutthis.
But the other thing is thetravel.
Yes.
I think to myself, I'm ajournalist.
I could write about anything.
You give me the right source, Ican write about it.
(18:23):
But not everybody's gonna sendme around the world.
SPEAKER_00 (18:27):
Yes.
How often do you travel?
SPEAKER_01 (18:30):
Uh it really is probably six or seven times a
year.
SPEAKER_00 (18:33):
So still so yeah, that's a pretty big benefit for
sure.
Is there is there a destinationthat surprised you um and how
well it worked for meetings orincentives that you may maybe
didn't think it might, um, orone that doesn't, you know,
always make the headlines?
SPEAKER_01 (18:51):
You know, the ones that don't make the headlines,
everybody who's putting togethera meeting thinks, oh, I've got
to go to Boston, I've got to goto Chicago, I've got to go to
Washington, D.C., I've got to goto Denver, I've got to go to
these big hubs where, you know,yes, you have good airlift and
stuff like that.
But the truth of the matter ismost meetings are under 100
people.
And uh the the big things for10,000, 100,000 people, those
(19:15):
conventions are very few and farbetween.
And the bulk of meetings thatare taking place are for like 80
to 100 people.
So uh it's fun to find we'vedone a bunch of uh we've done a
bunch of events this year atsmaller cities that you get
there and you realize, wow, whata lovely place to have a
(19:36):
meeting.
And that runs the gamut.
I mean, we were in Burlington,Vermont this year, and it was
just great.
I mean, I've been to Burlingtonbefore, but I'd never thought
about it from uh from a meetingsangle.
And it was really just lovely.
And we also did uh Toledo, Ohio,and that went really well.
And we just got back from uhKnoxville, Tennessee.
(19:56):
And these are smaller places,smaller destinations that have
their own bits of loveliness uhand and just work really, really
well for a small group who canfeel almost like they're taking
over the town.
So those those have surprised mefor sure.
SPEAKER_00 (20:13):
That is really neat.
How much of your travel or evendestination coverage is broke up
between you know internationaland national?
SPEAKER_01 (20:22):
Most of our stuff is domestic, but uh there's still
plenty of international that wedo.
I'm about to go back toAustralia for the third time for
the magazine.
Um wow.
So yeah, we still cover thesetypes of places because whether
or not you're going to take asmall meeting there, you'll take
(20:42):
an incentive trip there.
Those are bucket list places, sowe'll go and see those um and uh
and cover them.
And you know, we don't really doas much international coverage
as we once did, but we're stillopen to it.
And if something is absolutelyif something is happening
somewhere um outside of thecountry, we'll definitely cover
(21:02):
it.
SPEAKER_00 (21:03):
So is there a place that you haven't been assigned
to go to yet that you would loveto cover?
SPEAKER_01 (21:08):
Yes, I'd love to go to London.
SPEAKER_00 (21:10):
London, I just came back from London, actually.
SPEAKER_01 (21:13):
I've never been.
SPEAKER_00 (21:15):
Oh, it is so neat.
SPEAKER_01 (21:17):
I feel like I've been everywhere else.
You know, I've been to SouthAfrica, I've been I've been to
New Zealand, I've been toAustralia, I've been all over
the United States, you know, allover Europe.
And and the other one, I mean,I've never been to South America
either.
Or oh wow, like Japan or China.
So any of those, I'd do.
SPEAKER_00 (21:35):
That's amazing that you've been more so much more
exotic, even than London.
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
That is great.
Well have anyone listening, ifyou uh have any great news for
those areas, send them to Sarah.
SPEAKER_01 (21:47):
Yeah, but I don't necessarily cover them.
We split those up.
SPEAKER_00 (21:50):
Oh, right.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (21:52):
Somebody else has London and she's not.
Oh, okay.
She's been here as long as Ihave.
So, you know, uh, it's her gig.
SPEAKER_00 (22:00):
What areas do you specifically focus on?
SPEAKER_01 (22:03):
My coverage is uh, well, I have New Zealand and
Australia and and I do have likeTahiti and Fiji and all of that
stuff around there.
Not that I've been there.
Uh for some reason.
Um and uh but I also have I havethe Pacific Northwest, um and
(22:27):
which I love.
I have the Rockies, I have uhColorado, uh Montana, Idaho,
Wyoming, uh, Utah.
I'm just back from Utah.
Uh oh, and I have Texas.
I've had Texas for all 30 years.
SPEAKER_00 (22:43):
Wow.
Well, that's so good to know.
And you know, a lot of ouraudience are PR professionals.
What makes a pitch stand out toyou?
You know, what types of whattypes of information do you want
from them?
And also on the flip side, arethere common, you know, pet
peeves or or things that yousee?
SPEAKER_01 (23:03):
Well, the thing is the the flip side is is the
opposite of of the the rightpitch, which is the right pitch
is knowing who you're talkingto, knowing what our magazine is
doing.
We don't do weddings.
We are we are abusiness-to-business magazine.
We're talking about corporateevents, we're talking about
association events, we'retalking about government events.
(23:25):
We do not do, we don't do muchthat has to do with social and
definitely don't do weddings.
Um so you have to know that.
So the flip side of that iscoming at me with uh with ideas
that have absolutely nothing todo with our audience.
I I I think that studying the uhthe magazine or the website that
(23:47):
you're pitching to is key tounderstanding what's gonna help
us.
Uh and uh and if you ever hearof a really interesting event
that somebody did somethingtotally out of the ordinary at
that just blew the attendees'mind, I want to know about it.
SPEAKER_00 (24:06):
And does it matter if you know before or after?
SPEAKER_01 (24:08):
I'm assuming before is better, but well, we won't
know that it's gonna blow theirminds until it blows up.
SPEAKER_00 (24:14):
Oh, true.
Okay.
That's a good point.
Maybe they think it's gonna blowtheir minds, but no, we tried
this, but it didn't work.
SPEAKER_01 (24:21):
No, that's not sorry.
SPEAKER_00 (24:23):
So and you need some great photography.
What else do you need?
SPEAKER_01 (24:27):
We always want to get to the to the actual event
planner.
Uh figure out how they put theevent together.
That's the big thing.
I mean, if if a PR person who'sat a hotel and something really
interesting happened, if we canget to the meeting planner who
was their client, that's great.
Sometimes we'll look atsomething that that happened at
a hotel that um that the meetingplanner can't isn't allowed to
(24:50):
speak to us.
But um, but it's really best ifwe can figure out how the
negotiations were done to makesure that they could pull off
what they wanted to pull off.
SPEAKER_00 (25:02):
Yeah, absolutely.
That's good advice too.
So what's ahead for you andNorth Star Meetings group, you
know, in the coming year?
Any new projects or or themesyou're excited about?
SPEAKER_01 (25:12):
Um we have a couple of we have a couple of new
events that we're putting onthat I can't necessarily say
what they are yet, but um andthere'll there are some that are
going to be in some really fundestinations.
Like uh we get to actually be inArizona in the winter, which is
(25:33):
uh which is really cool becauseusually for a meeting you find
yourself there in summer becausethat's when there's plenty of
hotel space.
Right.
So we're actually going to bethere for one of our top events,
which is called the IndependentPlanner Education Conference,
and we'll be there in Februaryin Phoenix.
So that's pretty cool.
(25:54):
Um, we have another event calledI'm trying to remember if it's
luxury and I think it's luxuryand wellness, which will be at a
brand new property in uh winecountry in California, which is
nice.
So, but some of those things areall being still worked out and
all.
And really we don't we plan thecontent ahead, but we don't uh
(26:21):
lock it in.
So we're open to the trends oropening open to what's happening
in the world uh before weactually put together the
magazine.
SPEAKER_00 (26:30):
So yeah, that's great.
I mean, that's the best kind ofjournalism, right?
You need to see what happensbefore you have a pre-planned
pre-planning stories and yeah.
Um before we go, I must knowwhat's your do you have a go-to
travel hack or a ritual um whenyou're traveling?
SPEAKER_01 (26:48):
I was thinking about that.
I'm a I'm a rare bird.
I'm one of the people whoactually checks her bags.
I hate carrying a bag on theplane and stuffing it in the
overhead.
That just gives me so muchagita.
And I have a I have a mycarry-on actually fits under the
seat.
I'm not very tall, so I don'treally need to stretch my legs
(27:09):
out that far.
And and but my real thing that Ilove to do is to I unpack it, it
it doesn't matter how long I'mgoing to be in the hotel room, I
unpack because I like to be ableto see what I've got with me and
and make the room mine at thehotel.
I really do love staying at ahotel.
(27:30):
That's you know, we're very,very, very, very lucky that we
stay in a lot of high-endplaces.
And and it's it's really it'sreally a little bit of joy to
sort of make that your own.
SPEAKER_00 (27:44):
Yes.
I love that.
I love that.
So how can our listeners connectwith you or follow your work?
Um, what's the best way?
SPEAKER_01 (27:52):
Well, uh people can email me at Sbrailey
S-B-R-A-L-E-Y at Mcmag.com, likeMic Mag.
And um yeah, North Star MeetingsGroup is at uh
Northstarmeetingsgroup.com, andthat's where most of our
editorial is is on there, evenif it was in the magazine first.
(28:16):
Um and yeah, just look me up onLinkedIn or usually it'll say
Sarah, right?
SPEAKER_00 (28:23):
Even if you go by Sally, we'll find you as Sarah.
Okay, great.
SPEAKER_01 (28:26):
You can find me as Sally, I think, on Facebook and
Instagram, but not so much on uhon LinkedIn.
SPEAKER_00 (28:32):
Okay, well, thank you so much, Sally.
SPEAKER_01 (28:35):
Thank you too, Angela.
Thank you again for having me.
SPEAKER_00 (28:38):
That's all for this episode of Media and Minutes, a
podcast by CommunicationsRedefined.
Take a moment to rate, review,and subscribe to our show.
We'd love to hear what youthink.
You can find more atCommunications
Redefined.comslash podcast.
I'm your host, Angela Toole.
Talk to you next time.
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