Ship Liaisons – More than just a pretty face
Updated 2.12.2013
Presenters: Patricia Lock, TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® Director
Roberta Kacenjar (click here for the presentation)
Captain John Beebe-Center, Privateer Lynx
Session Description: A good ship liaison officer can make a big difference – with your festival’s success and your ship’s visit. They can be the cogs in the wheel of your waterfront programming. And they help with communications. Training is important. Managing their expectations is important. While they are part of your volunteer force, they also need to be part of your event staff. Roberta Kacenjar shares her experiences from many tall ship festivals, breaking down good SLO programs versus great SLO programs, training tips, and recruitment suggestions.
Biography of Speakers:
Patricia Lock
Patti Lock
Patti has worked the marketing side of special events for over 30 years, and has focused on tall ships and maritime festivals for the last 15. She has worked extensively with many tall ship organizations such as Niagara, Pride of Baltimore II, S/V Denis Sullivan, and Unicorn for port appearances in the Great Lakes, developing ports and their festivals along the way. A former sports agent and concert producer, Patti has extensive festival and series production experience, having worked many of the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® events since 1998 in various capacities. She has been TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® Director for Tall Ships America since 2009.
Roberta Kacenjar
Roberta Kacenjar
Roberta’s “day job” is leading the Contracts team for Avtron Aerospace, a Cleveland based manufacturer of ground support test equipment. Over the past 20 years, she has volunteered for many special events including the Cleveland National Air Show, the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards, the Cleveland Indians, the Food Show and many others. She has been a Ship Liaison Officer for tall ship events since 2006 and the Lead Ship Liaison Officer for Cleveland, Chicago, Green Bay, Newport, and Savannah. For fun, you’ll find her playing soccer, spectating at one of
Cleveland’s major sporting venues, or enjoying time with her nephews.
Captain John Beebe-Center
