Widely regarded as the Queen Mother of Sponsorship Sales, noted sponsorship expert, business leader, and author Sylvia Allen will be returning to Michigan this month to speak as part of Michigan Festival & Events Associations (MFEA) 2014 Spring Educational Seminar.

Allen will kick off the educational seminar at the EOB Conference Center (2100 Pontiac Lake Rd., Bldg 41 West) in Waterford at 9 a.m. on Thursday, March 27,, and will appear at 9 a.m. the following day at the Grand Haven & Spring Lake Holiday Inn (940 W. Savidge) in Spring Lake.

During her keynote engagement, Allen will review the fundamental steps to sponsorship success and selling in a volatile economy. She will also discuss how to identify a sponsors needs, determine how those needs can be met through a festival or event, and subsequently help them to manage the process. She will also offer a one-hour Q&A session over lunch, starting at 12 noon.

Sylvia Allen is back by popular demand, says Sue Bila, CFEE, Executive Director of MFEA. Our event planners look forward to Sylvias return for her dynamic presentations on sponsorship. This seminar is no different.

A recognized thought leader in the worlds of integrated marketing and sponsorship sales, and founder of Holmdel, N. J.-based Allen Consulting, Allen has been providing services to both for-profit and non-profit organizations for close to 40 years. Some of her clients have included the PNC Bank Arts Center, New Yorks San Gennaro Festival, and Alaskas Iditarod. In one year alone, she produced more than 100 events and raised more than $1 million worth of sponsorships for clients.

Allen has received global praise for performing the pivotal role of helping to revitalize many downtown communities through her award-winning and proven event marketing and PR services, sponsorship sales, and the coordination of popular events, which have all helped put many of these communities on the map.

Not solely a dedicated and sought-after professional speaker and corporate sponsorship and fundraising expert, Allen is also an internationally recognized author, having written A Womans Guide to Sales Success and How to Be Successful in Sponsorship Sales, as well as countless articles on sponsorship sales and marketing. Her books and DVDs are purchased daily from those around the world.

The recipient of over 50 awards, including a New Jersey State Governors Jefferson Award for Ambassador, Top 50 Women in Business, and the Girl Scouts Woman of Distinction Award, Allen is also an inductee of the International Festival and Events Associations Hall of Fame, a very prestigious honor.

Allen is also the founder of Sylvias Children, a non-profit she founded in 2003 with a mission of improving the lives of over 1,000 children in Uganda, one third of which are orphans. Through her organization, she has helped transform countless lives through the implementation of a clean well, teacher and orphan housing, a library, a sewing facility, a 6,000-square-foot medical clinic, and more. For this, she has had the distinction of being featured in such publications as the Huffington Post, Vogue, Elle, Cosmopolitan, among many others.

Allen is frequently invited by those around the world to present seminars regarding sponsorship sales, most recently having attended the Asia Forum in Singapore, and the China Festivals and Events Conference in Shanghai.