Julie Estes

Event Chatter by Julie Estes explores all topics related to event planning! It is the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How of the special event industry! Enjoy! Email me: [email protected]

Julie Estes, a new event professional in New York City, received a huge jump-start to her career with a chance encounter at the Event Solutions Idea Factory Conference in August of 2007. Julie took the opportunity to meet the legendary Michael Cerbelli of Total Entertainment at the conference, and with her gutsy personality and motivated attitude, she made a lasting impression on him. Upon return to her hometown Portland Oregon, she followed-up with Michael and received the offer of a lifetime. Michael said if she was able to move to New York in less then eight days, she could have the chance to work with him. Needless to say, Julie was soon on a flight out of Oregon, diving head first into the New York City event planners scene.

Julie currently works alongside Michael at Total Entertainment as his Production Assistant for the Special Events Department. Total Entertainment is an award-winning company in which Julie has contributed to its successful wins awarded by the International Special Events Society (ISES). This years awards included the ISES NY Metro 2008 Big Apple Awards for “Best Entertainment Program/Concept” and “Best Social Event.” At this event Julie was also individually honored with another New York City planner in receiving the ISES NY Metro 2008 Big Apple Awards for “Best ISES NY Metro Collaboration.” In addition, Julie served as Honoree Chair for this ISES NY Metro 2008 Big Apple Awards Gala. Julie’s repertoire includes working on events such as weddings, mitzvahs, concerts, corporate events, even city festivals with 10,000+ attendees! She has the experience of working with stars like David Tutera, Tony Bennett, Natasha Bedingfield, Sean Kingston and Petra Nemcova, to name a few!

Julie earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Oregon State University in June of 2007 and has since continued her education by attending numerous industry conferences. In August of 2007 Julie obtained an Event Management Certificate from The Event Solutions Institute and The University of Nevada as well as a Corporate Planner Certificate from The Event Solution’s Idea Factory. Julie continues to attend industry conferences and is currently working on obtaining her Certified Special Events Professional certification (CSEP).

While in college, Julie held many leadership positions such as President and Vice President of Marketing for Alpha Phi sorority. She currently is a member of the International Special Events Society (ISES) sitting on multiple committees as well as a member of the Ladies of Manhattan organization. Julie prides herself on being the oldest of five children, her strong work ethic, and of being an Oregonian that has ‘made-it’ in the infamous city of New York!