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Communication Insights: The Fountains Wedding and Conference Center

COMM 495: Spring 2023 Internship

Makenna Dziemburski

Salisbury University
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When I first started my college career at Salisbury University in the fall of 2019, I did not

have the slightest idea of what subject I could be passionate about enough to study it for four

years. I was convinced that nothing would excite me and I would have to decide on a major that

just felt okay. This all changed when I discovered what a Communications major was and what

that entailed. Becoming a Communications major has given me such a broad range of benefits

and skills that I never thought I could get out of just four years of school. After I changed my

major to communications with a track in public relations, I also became interested and marketing

and discovered that the to two go hand-in-hand. During the spring semester of 2022, I was given

the opportunity to do my practicum with the Facilities Reservation and Conference Planning

Office at Salisbury University, which is when I realized I had a passion for event planning.

During my time at my practicum, all of the pieces from my college career up to that point

seemed to fall into place.

Throughout peoples’ lives, there are certain events that take place that are eagerly

anticipated and hold significant importance. These events may be birthdays, weddings,

anniversaries, and so much more. These types of events are where cherished and unforgettable

memories are made. When I think about what makes me excited for the future and what makes

me nostalgic about the past, like many others, I think about celebrations for milestones during

my life and the lives of the people around me. I have always been one to get overly excited and

want to help plan for events, whether it was something as small as a backyard birthday party or

as big as a bridal shower. I was reminded of this love for executing events for other people

throughout my college experience and it is what drew me to my internship at The Fountains.

When looking for an internship, I already knew that I wanted to do something in the field of

event planning. When looking over the list of options for the COMM 495 class, I immediately
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noticed The Fountains and sent them an email. Malisa Triantis, the owner of the venue and the

Director of Sales, emailed me back and said she would love to have me as her intern for the

semester. Looking back, I had no idea how much I would cherish this experience. During my

time as an intern at The Fountains, I have seen first-hand how to deal with a set-back with

absolute patience and grace.

My first day at my internship was not exactly what I thought it would be, but looking

back now at the end of my experience, I was given a unique opportunity to see that unfortunate

things do happen to businesses, and the way it is dealt with is what matters most. When arriving

at The Fountains for the first time, I noticed that it did not look like it originally had looked when

I visited a few months before. This is when my advisor, Malisa Triantis, informed me that over

the holiday season, there had been a pipe that busted when no one was present at the venue and it

ended up doing a great deal of damage. All of the rooms that were once filled with stunning

decor and were ready for any type of reception, including the Grand Ballroom, were no longer

able to be utilized. Therefore, no events were able to be held at the venue for months to come.

Malisa and I talked through what we could do about my internship, and decided I would be a part

of the journey of getting The Fountains back to the beautiful venue that it was before. I feel that

it is hard to put into words how grateful I am that Malisa and her husband Gus allowed me to be

a part of this experience. Not only did it teach me incredible life lessons, it also gave me new

people to look up to. Though Malisa and Gus were facing a terrible hardship, there was never a

time that they were not optimistic or got angry about anything that was going on around them

with their business. They focused on what needed to be done in order to get the venue ready for

events again, and gave me many tasks that I was able to grow from. By doing these tasks, I have
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come to understand that the field of event planning requires effective interpersonal

communication, incredible teamwork skills, and a lot of dedication.

Something that we were still able to do with clients was have tours and meetings about

any events that will happen after all of the remodeling is done, and these tours and meetings are a

big part of what made me realize how critical teamwork is, especially when trying to sell a venue

to clients. To start this process, a client calls and we fill out a call report that gives detail on what

kind of event they would like to have, when the event is, how many more people will be there,

and a few more things. We then schedule a date that the client can come in and further discuss

the event. At these meetings we walk the client around on a tour of the venue, and after that we

sit down and give the client an invoice that is put together based on all of the information that we

have gathered so far. The invoice includes an idea of how much the event will be, what kind of

food and beverage package there will be, any room rentals, and other services that are provided

such as cake-cutting. This helps give an image to the client of how much everything is when it is

put all together. There is also a section of the invoice that shows the price of a deposit and breaks

down monthly payments that will be made leading up to the date of the event.

It is a fact that interpersonal communication skills are essential when it comes to client

tours and meetings. Clients can quickly become very overwhelmed when being given a tour and

a lot of information at once for an event that is of great importance to them. We also saw this

happen when clients saw that the venue was being remodeled. Though it will not stay like that

forever, it can be hard for clients to get the image of the venue being torn apart out of their heads.

It was critical that we explained what the venue would look like after the remodeling by

describing details such as what colors would be used and changes of things like light fixtures and

drapes. Clients also can get overwhelmed when sitting down and seeing the invoice for the first
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time. There is a lot of information and prices on one page. These meetings have to get rid of any

confusion for the customer and leave them feeling clear-headed instead of flustered. It is crucial

to ask the clients if they have any questions, and explain everything even if they do not ask. This

way, questions can be answered that the client did not even know they had.

During a meeting, there was a couple that was very worried about the set-up process and

feeling rushed on their wedding day because they did not think they would have time to set

everything up. We simply had to explain that they would be able to come to the venue tow hours

prior, and they would have a team of people from The Fountains who would help them set

everything up exactly how they wanted it. It was apparent that the couple already felt less

overwhelmed, and something like that could have helped them make a decision that day. It

seems quite simple, but communicating every service that can be given is vital when trying to

sell the venue.

Something else that is necessary when giving a client tour and meeting is teamwork. A

specific example of a time during a meeting that I saw the importance of teamwork was one day

when Malisa was out sick, so instead of the two of us doing a meeting, it was me and Gus. We

were definitely a bit nervous, especially because this client was having a very large event that

would be great to have at The Fountains. However, we both got over our nerves and worked

together to really sell the venue, which can be a challenge when a remodeling is happening. We

worked together during the tour to answer any tough questions, got the client excited about the

potential event by feeding off each other’s energy, and left the client feeling very happy with

how the tour and the meeting went. A few days later, Malisa received an email from the clients

saying that they wanted to book the venue, and they also added that they loved the team who

gave them the tour. This is a moment from my internship that will definitely stick with me for a
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long time. Not only was this the first time I successfully sold the venue to a client, but I also was

reflecting on how we knew that we did a good job by working as a team and that was recognized

by the clients. Knowing that I had an effective role in getting The Fountains events for the future

is definitely what I am most proud of during my time doing my internship. It was a very

rewarding feeling.

During my internship, I was able to see first-hand how dedicated a person must be to

have a job in this field, and I believe it is a reason some people stray away from deciding to

pursue a career in event planning. Work has to be done during the week to plan all of the events

and make sure everything is organized for so many different clients, and on top of that, all of the

events happen on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. It is definitely not at all like a typical 9-5 job.

I decided to get insight from my advisor, so I asked Malisa how she balances her personal life

with having a career in a field that takes up a lot of her time and requires to focus a lot on the

lives of other people. She explained that it is definitely not for everyone considering working

during the weekends is a big part of the job, but now that she has been doing it for so long, she

has figured out how to have time to herself and time with her family during the week. Her family

is also a huge help when it comes to events and a big reason why the venue is so amazing. They

all work together to plan events and all come together on the weekends to make the events

happen.

Going into this internship, I myself was a bit hesitant about wanting a job in event

planning after I graduated from college because of this idea of not being able to balance my job

and my personal life. However, after my internship, I feel more secure in my decision that this is

something that I want to do after I finish school. It may be a lot of hard work and hard hours, but

I feel that being able to put together and successfully showcase events that are so important to
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peoples’ lives would give such a rewarding feeling that makes everything worth it. The stress of

putting all of the details together and executing them successfully could definitely be immense,

but seeing the result and the joy of the clients would make it all worth it.

Something that I was very surprised by during my time at my internship had to do with

the amount of time it takes to remodel a place, especially for a venue that holds events. I knew

that it would not be a fast process at all, but when I actually got to see all of the small details that

went into everything, I was truly amazed.

First, there are a lot of rules that have to be followed that I never would have considered.

For example, there has to be a specific amount of exit signs in the beginning incase of an

emergency, and there even has to be a certain amount of water fountains to ensure that the guests

stay hydrated. There were so many small details that make the process quite complicated.

One of the first things that we began looking at when it came to remodeling was the

carpet. This decision required much more thought than I could have ever imagined it would, and

for very good reason! The carpet in the Grand Ballroom before was a brown color with a pattern

on it that was very neutral so it worked well with any colors a client would have for an event. It

also was not obvious that there was every something on it such as a spill because of the color and

the pattern. This is something that had to be considered for the new carpet, but instead of going

with the same option as the old carpet, we picked out something very different. This was also

quite a long process. It seemed like we looked through and received hundreds of samples before

we saw a product and came to a final decision.

Along with the carpets, the wallpapers in most of the rooms are going to be replaced. We

had a meeting with a woman named Leslie, and I really had a lot of fun during it. Leslie brought

so many books filled with samples of wallpaper of all different colors, designs, and textures. I
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could not believe how many wallpapers there were to choose from and what had to be

considered. For instance, the wallpaper in the Grand Ballroom has to match the color of the

drapes that will be going in there. Malisa and I decided to go through all of the books to pick out

of favorite one, but we did it at different times and decided not to tell each other. In the end, we

both picked the same exact wallpaper as our favorite. No final decisions were made, but it was

such a fun experience. I did not know much about interior design before this internship at all, but

I learned more about it then I ever thought I would and I can genuinely say it is something I can

see myself being interested in as a hobby.

Another experience that I thought was great to see first hand was when a renderer came

in and looked at all of the rooms in the building. The renderer wrote down and sketched out all of

the details about each room, from the large chandeliers hanging from the ceiling to the small

outlets in the walls. He also had to get an idea of what color the walls are going to be and what

the carpet was going to look like. The renderer then takes this information and puts it into the

computer, which then creates a virtual yet very realistic image of what the room is going to look

like when all of the new additions are made. When this is finished, clients will be able to go on

the website for The Fountains and see these virtual rooms, and they will be able to tour the

rooms virtually. There will also be large posters of the images printed out for clients to look at

when they come in for meetings. This will be a significant help when it comes to giving clients a

picture of what their event would look like considering all we can do now is explain it to them.

The renderer so far was able to send a photo of what the ballroom would look like with the

carpet that we put together and although it was a small step, it was fulfilling to see something I

helped pick out come to life.

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Even though a lot of construction has not happened yet and I have not been able to see

some of our ideas come to life, I know I will be back to visit The Fountains to see its beautiful

new look. It is amazing to think that some of my opinions and help with decisions helped make

the remodeling process happen and will be a part of The Fountains for years to come.

I was also able to do grow in other subjects such as sales and marketing. Sales is

something that I never could see myself enjoying, but now that I have gotten the opportunity to

talk to clients and actually be successfully in selling something to them, I know it is something

that I am interested in. I was also given the opportunity to start a new Instagram page for the

Fountains, and it has been very beneficial for me to practice my marketing skills and post my

work. In this day in age, marketing is so important when advertising events or a business. As I

mentioned before, marketing is also my minor so I am appreciative that I was also able to hands-

on work for not only my major but also my minor.

Although I was not able to execute any events and my internship process did not go

exactly as I planned or expected, I learned more than I ever could have imagined. I feel that I

would be extremely prepared for an event solely based off of what I learned from all of the tours

and meetings that we had, all of the paperwork that I learned about and filled out, and all of the

advice and lessons I got from Malisa. I also know that Malisa is someone I will stay in contact

with after college and someone that I will have as a mentor and role model to look up to in my

future endeavors.

Something that people do not consider about events when they are attending one is the

people being the event that put together all of the moving parts and actually make the events

possible. I definitely look at event planning differently than I did before, and I have so much
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respect for event planners. No events would be possible without the important communication

skills that event planners have, and the patience, dedication, and teamwork that they possess.

As my time at Salisbury University comes to an end, this internship will be one of the

most memorable experience that I take with me. Not all schools give students the opportunity to

take a class that helps them find an internship and get real-life experience, and it is a privilege to

be able to be able to practice something that I feel passionate about while at school. I could not

be more thankful that The Fountains is where I was able to do it.