Rick Turner has spent the past Twelve years working in various roles within the Hospitality, Culinary and Special Events industries. He is currently the Director of Business Development for Event Source, the region’s premier special events rental company. His role at Event Source allows him to market the company in Pennsylvania and Michigan, all the while providing event professionals with the best products and services available. In addition, he is co-founder and executive producer of Event Expo, a regional showcase of the products, services and ideas related to the special events industry. His work with Event Expo has garnered a number of awards and accolades from industry associations and media outlets. He has recently taken on a role as Partner in Cleveland’s newest culinary venture, “Emerging Chefs”. This concept produces culinary themed events, provides social media and marketing efforts for Chefs, and acts as a virtual agency for those in the culinary and event industries. Rick is very involved with a number of civic and industry associations including ISES and is currently serving an unprecedented second consecutive two-year term as President of the Cleveland Chapter of HSMAI. His passion for the industry is best represented by his involvement with the SEARCH Foundation. Rick is the current Public Relations Chair for SEARCH, and works to make the industry aware of how SEARCH strives to “Assist Event Professionals in Crisis”. These organizations have provided Rick with a number of high-profile speaking engagements all over the country where he works to educate and empower other industry professionals. Rick is a 1998 graduate of the Pennsylvania Institute of Culinary Arts and continuously acts as an ambassador for the culinary, special events, and hospitality industries in Northeastern Ohio.