Like its corporate parent, the Hilton San Francisco Union Square is all in when it comes to giving back.

In yet another somewhat circuitous career path that found its way winding through the meetings industry, meet KiKi L’Italien, who turned her training in journalism into a job in the marketing department of a small Joplin, Mo.-based association, then on to a larger, Washington, D.C.-based association, and now a thought-leader in the world of SEO and social media in the association segment and beyond.

One may not associate “old money” with Silicon Valley, but Saratoga, Calif., has quite the tale to tell in that regard.

The main event at the MPI Northern California chapter’s annual ACE event featured a difficult topic.

Washington, D.C., is logging into the technology sector with a push to draw more tech meetings to the nation’s capital.

After working for Visit Orlando in senior sales positions for more than 11 years, and plying her trade in the Orlando hospitality community before that, Tammi Runzler made a change for the better—the betterment of humankind, that is.

In yet another circuitous career path that found its way winding through the meetings industry, meet KiKi L’Italien, who turned her training in journalism into a job in the marketing department of a small Joplin, Mo.-based association, then on to a larger, Washington, D.C.-based association, and who now is a thought-leader in the association segment and beyond.

You may know David Kliman as a facilitator of major customer advisory boards, an expert on international meetings, a frequent speaker at industry events and/or a leader in organizations such as MPI, but his climb up had modest beginnings.

“I came right out of college and I wanted a job in the travel industry, and I literally walked into the Plaza Hotel in New York and said I wanted to be in international sales, and they said ‘You and everyone else.’” Kliman said. “I got the glamorous job working as a reservations agent—taking telephone and telex reservations.

“A year later I got an international sales job and I was on a jet to Rio,” he added. “I was just a lucky guy at the right time and in the right place.”

Large conference centers traditionally have not been known for their hands-on approach when it comes to F&B, but like many properties in the segment, The National Conference Center and its West Belmont Place events center have amped up their cuisine experience to get a little more cozy with customers after a recent ownership change and major renovation.

Time is money for meeting and event planners.