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Select Meeting Sites, Inc. finds the best hotels and resorts for meetings and negotiates contracts at no cost. The hotel pays us.
Mission Statement
To provide superior site selection assistance through product knowledge, industry relationships, expert negotiations and friendly service.
Company History
Barbara Thavis started Select Meeting Sites on July 1, 1993 using the company name Select Hotels & Resorts Inc. Initially the company offered hotel representation services to hotels and site selection services to meeting planners. In 1996, we discontinued offering our services to hotels to focus exclusively on servicing our planner partners. To better reflect our mission, we changed our name to Select Meeting Sites, Inc.
We have chosen to keep the company small and give personalized service to our customers. Barbara Thavis' sister Maureen is our vice president and their mother Therese Monckton is our chief financial officer. We conduct the business out of an office in downtown Elmhurst, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago). We have created an atmosphere of professionalism touched with humor, caring, and dedication.
Biographies
Select Meeting Site's founder, Barbara Thavis, CMP, has traveled extensively during the last twenty years conducting site inspections of all major cities and resort destinations.
Having successfully completed the Certified Meeting Professional exam, Barbara was awarded the CMP designation in August of 1994 and was re-certified in August of 1999.
Prior to forming Select Meeting Sites, Inc., Barbara served as Director of Sales & Marketing for a national hotel representation firm where she managed a six-member sales team.
Barbara is a past Board member for Meeting Professionals International - Chicago Area Chapter, and has served as chair and committee member for several MPI committees. She attends their conferences and seminars several times a year to keep current in the hospitality field.
Barbara has also served as Director of Special Events for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. She is a graduate of the University of Illinois, Urbana, where she received her Bachelor of Science degree.
On June 5, 1999, Barbara Monckton married Daniel Thavis at Old St. Patrick's Church in Chicago. On December 21, 2001 they were blessed with their first child, Mary Therese Thavis. On August 9, 2004 Michael James Thavis was born.
Maureen Beck has been with Select since it's inception. A graduate of University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, Maureen was a Spanish major and Italian minor. Maureen traveled extensively until she and her husband had children. While Maureen was a stay-at-home Mom, she owned a balloon delivery and balloon decoration business and also clowned for parties and events.
Maureen procures clients and works on their site selection and contract negotiation. An active member of Meeting Professionals Inc. (MPI), she attends many conferences and educational events and has served on MPI committees.
Maureen goes on familiarization trips (fams) and conducts numerous site inspections to keep track of new developments at various destinations. Maureen's motto is "Exceed the clients' expectations and try to make it fun".
Therese Monckton graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Mundelein College in 1947. In the following eleven years, Therese went on to have seven children, which are the highlight of her life. She currently has 18 grandchildren.
Therese conducts all the accounting functions for Select Meeting Sites. Her nickname in the office is Bruno when she goes after past due hotels for payment. Therese also answers the phone and keeps the database current.
Customers
ABN Amro Bank (parent of La Salle Bank)
Abbott Diagnostics
American Academy of Environmental Medicine
American Academy of Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Bar Association
American Bar Retirement Association.
American Hospital Association
Amerihost Management
American Theological Librarian Association
Anixter Inc.
Association of Incentive Marketing
Association Management Systems
Association Solutions, Ltd.
Automotive Damage Appraisers Association
Avon
Beltone
Bessenbacher Company
Bowling Proprietor's Association of America
Country Companies Insurance
DMC Network
Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska
Dominican Leadership Conference
Farin & Associates
Financial Managers Society
Food Industry Association Executives
FranklinCovey Corporation
Gang Research Evaluation Project
Gas Research Institute
Graydon America
Healthcare Strategy Institute Inc.
Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement
Incentive Manufacturers Association
Institute for Investment Management Consultants
Institute of Food Technologists
Institute of Real Estate Management
International Coating Science & Technology
International Wheat & Gluten Association
Jefferson Smurfit Corporation
Joint Review Committee on Education
The Jolly Seniors
Komatsu Mining Systems
Kysor Westron
LaSalle Bank
The Lipoplasty Society, Inc.
Login Brothers Books
Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Motorola
National Appliance Service Asso.
National Association of Credit Managers
National Association of Video Distributors
National Bulk Vendors
National Candy Brokers Assn
National Insurance Crime Bureau
National Council of Juvenile & Family Court Judges
National Judicial College
National Spa & Pool Institute
NACM - Chicago Midwest
NACM - Heartland
Pharmacia & Upjohn
Price Waterhouse
Purina Mills
Refrigeration Service Engineers
The Rockford Institute
Sharedata
Sigma Chi Fraternity
Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters
Smocking Arts Guild of America
Society of Actuaries
Square D
Steel Founders Society
Tau Kappa Epsilon
Teknekron Infoswitch
Transamerica Corporation
Vector Securities Int'l
University of Minnesota
WK Kellogg Foundation
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