The Incentive for Excellence

Last week we welcomed Brian Griffith to the SITE SoCal Board of Directors. We asked Brian a few “get-to-know-you” questions, see what he had to say below!

Dear SITE SoCal members,

We are at that time of the year when we start looking for new members to join the SITE SoCal board for 2017. As the largest chapter in the SITE community, we are proud of our accomplishments to date and feel fortunate to have the strength and support of such enthusiastic and dedicated members.

We have just entered the chapter in the annual SITE awards for Excellence Awards in the areas of Special Events, Membership and Education. Just as a reminder, we won Chapter of the Year in in 2015 and 2005, and the following awards for excellence: Special Event in 2014, 2013, 2011, 2009, 2006, 2004 & 2002, and Membership in 2012.

I am personally committed to finding ways to recognize our board members for the contributions they make, which include developing leadership skills and education. Being on the board does take time, of course; from experience, however, I believe that the benefits of the opportunities that arise from being part of the chapter leadership team outweigh the time commitment.

It is with much sadness that we learned of the sudden passing of David Nordquist on Friday, March 20. David was a wonderful friend to many of us, a great industry colleague, a staunch long-time SITE SoCal supporter and a devoted and loving father to his daughter, Mahana Grace. Our world will not be the same without him. He will be very much missed by all of us who had the pleasure of knowing him.

Our good friend, David Nordquist, was a gem of a man, and when I say ‘man’ read that as all mankind.

David first appeared in my life as Director of Sales for Tahiti Tourism North America, and his big personality lit the stage. That was over 20 years ago. He had been working for a bank in North Dakota, as I recall or a bank here in LA, but wherever it was, Tahiti and Los Angeles were lucky to meet this avid baseball fan.

It was during his time at Tahiti Tourism that he encountered his first serious health problem. He came through that one and was back on his feet in a few months. He never complained about any of his health problems. His friends and colleagues only saw his smiling face, ready to carry on with the job, and he genuinely loved to help his colleagues in business, and his friends here and in Tahiti.

My journey in the event world has really taken off since I have attended my first SITE meeting. It all started at San Diego State University - Extended Studies program for Meeting & Events in March 2014. I was highly interested in the incentive travel and destination management field of this industry. I have worked with many production companies and coordinators in my past, but I have never learned about incentive travel and destination management.

I decided to take Geraldine Gatehouse’s Incentive Travel course at SDSU, and from then on, I was enthralled. In the intro portion of her class she informed us of associations to better help students, as well as professionals, connect and network in the industry. I went to SITE’s webpage, found the next available meeting to attend, and registered as a student.