Laurel Rhoads McCarthy, has been in the hospitality industry for the last 20 years, and is currently been employed by the Krisam Group, a National Sales Organization representing independently owned hotels since 2003.
Prior to Laurel’s employment with Krisam Group, she was with the Sagamore, a resort based in upstate NY, where she was employed for 13 years, and held management positions in both Conference Services and Sales for this hotel.
Laurel received her Bachelor of Science, with a concentration in hospitality management from the University of South Carolina and received her graduate degree from SUNY Plattsburgh, and earned her CMP (Certifi ed Meeting Planner) designation in 1995.
Laurel is currently serving as the MPI-Chicago Area Chapter President and has served on the Board of Directors for this Chapter for the last four years. Laurel enjoys the opportunity to give back to her industry and has found her volunteer work with this association to be extremely rewarding both personally and professionally. MPI (Meeting Professionals International) currently serves a membership of just over 24,000 while the Chicago Chapter remains the largest of 60 chapters with a little over 1300 members.
In her spare time, she loves to travel, and recently had the opportunity to visit New Zealand and Australia.