The Incentive for Excellence

My journey in the event world has really taken off since I have attended my first SITE meeting. It all started at San Diego State University - Extended Studies program for Meeting & Events in March 2014. I was highly interested in the incentive travel and destination management field of this industry. I have worked with many production companies and coordinators in my past, but I have never learned about incentive travel and destination management.

I decided to take Geraldine Gatehouse’s Incentive Travel course at SDSU, and from then on, I was enthralled. In the intro portion of her class she informed us of associations to better help students, as well as professionals, connect and network in the industry. I went to SITE’s webpage, found the next available meeting to attend, and registered as a student.

SITE SoCal would like to thank Tom Bwarie from Signature Hand Engraving for being a strong ally and sponsor over the years. Tom is dependable and a true expert in his field. Below is his story that we found captivating and we hope you do, too.

Tom Bwarie didn’t know what to do. Almost overnight, his thriving retail business had disintegrated.

It was 2008, the pit of the worst global recession since World War II. For the first time in Bwarie’s 30 years as a business owner, the phone stopped ringing, and sales calls came up empty. A fortune in inventory sat stagnant on the shelves.

“I was so frustrated and depressed,” Bwarie remembers. “It was more than scary.”

And yet in the midst of crisis, Tom Bwarie discovered the opportunity for reinvention. His current company, Signature Hand Engraving, perfectly blends his business acumen, innate generosity, and lifelong passion for art.

Please come to Celebrate the Life and Soul of Tim Brown

We are saddened to announce the passing of Bill Biava, husband to Kathy Biava, both of Universal Odyssey Inc., who died at his home in Newport Beach, CA on April 21 following a two year battle with cancer.