SmithBucklin Executive Named to the Crain’s 2019 Notable Women Executives Over 50 List

CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/SmithBucklin70?src=hash” target=”_blank”gt;#SmithBucklin70lt;/agt;–SmithBucklin – the leading association management and services company
that began 70 years ago in Chicago – is pleased to announce that Carol
McGury, executive vice president, Event and Education Services, has been
named to the 2019 Notable Women Executives Over 50 list in Crain’s
Chicago Business magazine.

The prestigious list recognizes women executives who are leading
successful businesses across industries in Chicago (the complete list is here).
“A generation ago, women in the C-suite were a novelty and, before that,
they were few and far between,” Crain’s said in introducing the list.
“(The list) should provide encouragement and inspiration for the next
generation of women moving up.”

“This recognition is so richly deserved – both for Carol and for our
company,” said SmithBucklin President & CEO Matt Sanderson. “For more
than 30 years, Carol has driven success on behalf of our client
organizations, team members, and our company overall. She is a strong
and vital voice within our company and on our management team.”

For 70 years and counting, SmithBucklin has been at the forefront of
helping associations create value for their stakeholders and foster
loyal communities of engaged members. With SmithBucklin at their side,
these nonprofit organizations make a difference in nearly every industry
and field. They expand economic opportunities, educate workforces,
improve and save lives, create and protect jobs, and promote the
exchange of information. This significant impact is largely due to
associations’ ability to bring like-minded people together in
face-to-face meetings and live events.

“Carol continues to build on our solid commitment to provide unique
event experiences and education that help achieve the missions of our
client organizations,” Sanderson said. “Additionally, she is passionate
about mentoring and coaching the next generation of event business
strategists – both in our company and in the meetings and events
community.”

Here’s what her colleagues had to say:

• “Carol is an amazing strategic thinker. I envy the way she can distill
  the essence of a situation or problem quickly and make an excellent
  judgment call about what should be done next. She is calm in the face
  of any crisis. She is tough in business yet fair, and she has an
  excellent sense of humor, which she uses expertly to lighten
  challenging or tense situations,” said Christine Murphy Peck, senior
  director of SmithBucklin Education & Learning Services.
• “Carol is completely committed to delivering value to our clients
  every single day. It is always top of mind and she encourages the rest
  of us to never lose focus on the importance of creating value. When
  our team delivers event experiences that ensure our clients achieve
  their missions and visions as well as excite and inspire event
  participants, we are having impact and making a difference!” said
  Buffy Levy, events director.
• “Carol has a gift for helping people be creative. Any time I am
  struggling with how to address a challenge, I imagine what it would be
  like to discuss it with Carol. Once I think about how she would try to
  address it, I’ve got my solution,” said Alexis Bauer Kolak, education
  director.
• “I feel so lucky to work alongside somebody with such tenacity and
  purpose in all she does to be a leader in our industry. Carol has
  followed her passion and inspires others to do the same. She
  encourages and fosters an environment to take risks, lean in, and go
  after opportunities. As a woman, it is especially inspiring to see the
  path she has carved for herself and others,” said Mary Smith,
  operations director for SmithBucklin Event Services.

McGury joined SmithBucklin in 1988 as an entry-level associate. She
quickly rose in the ranks eventually serving as the executive director
of SHARE and several other technology user communities. She also served
as the strategic account director for PTC (Parametric Technology
Corporation), supporting its global event strategy and expanded North
American Community Event. In 2013, she was promoted to executive vice
president, Event and Education Services, and became a member of
SmithBucklin’s senior management team.

“I am so honored to be recognized among these women leaders in Chicago’s
business community,” McGury said about the Crain’s listing. “I
particularly want to thank my incredible team as well as my colleagues
whose dedication to serving our clients’ needs is extraordinary. I am
proud to serve alongside each of you.”

Carol comes from a family where service to others is paramount – her
father served the Chicago Fire Department for more than 30 years – and
she continues this tradition today. She is the current chair of the PCMA
Foundation, overseeing scholarship awards and industry research for
business event strategists. She also serves as a member of several
industry boards, including the Marriott Hotel Advisory Board and
Destinations International Partner Advisory Council, and she serves as
co-chair of INCON (an international consortium of association and event
management companies). In her personal time, she serves as board
secretary of the Helping Hand Center, a nonprofit serving children and
adults with developmental disabilities in the greater Chicago area.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in communications with a minor in business
from St. Xavier University in Chicago and a master’s degree in public
service administration from DePaul University in Chicago.

About SmithBucklin

SmithBucklin is the association
management and services company more organizations turn to than any
other. Our mission is to achieve the missions of the client
organizations we serve. SmithBucklin serves trade associations,
professional societies, technology communities, charitable
organizations, and corporations. Founded in 1949, SmithBucklin has
offices in Chicago, Washington D.C., Old Lyme, Conn., St. Louis, and San
Ramon, Calif. The company is 100 percent employee-owned. For more
information, please visit www.smithbucklin.com
or call 1-800-539-9740.

Contacts

Jennifer Clark
jclark@smithbucklin.com
Phone:
+1.312.673.5380
Twitter: @SmithBucklinPR
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