Vancouver, BC – November 18th, 2020
Venue West Conference Services is proud to announce that our company was founded 50 years ago today!
Venue West Conference Services was founded on November 18th, 1970 by four brave women, Betty Fata, Mae Yee, Olga Nazarchuk and Lou Cox. They persevered through industry doubts that nobody would need their services as “conference planning” was done by secretaries and junior staff.
After focusing on small local association meetings for the first few years, Venue West changed its focus in 1975 to international congresses after the founders attended the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) and the International Association of Professional Congress Organizers (IAPCO) meetings in Berlin. Soon after these meetings, Venue West became the first IAPCO member in Canada.
Since that day, the founders never looked back and turned Venue West into an internationally recognized Professional Congress Organizer (PCO). Betty would go on to become the President of IAPCO and was instrumental in turning Vancouver into a top meeting destination in the world. As recognition for her achievements, Tourism Vancouver created the Betty Fata Award for Conference Leadership which is awarded to leading members of the industry who had been instrumental in bringing congresses to Vancouver.
After passing away in 2004, Venue West was bought by Betty’s long-time friend, Sue Daugulis, who continues to operate the company as a proud family-owned and operated business in Vancouver. Venue West continues to be involved in the international community and is one of the longest standing members of ICCA and IAPCO.
“Betty and the other founders were a driving force in the conference industry and I am so proud that we have been able to further Betty’s legacy and achieve this milestone for the company.” Sue Daugulis
Over the past 50 years, Venue West has organized over 1,000 conferences and events around the globe. As a PCO, Destination Management and Association Management Company, Venue West provides its clients with all of their logistical requirements to achieve their goals.
We cannot thank our amazing team, suppliers, partners and clients from around the world enough for supporting us throughout these last five decades.While the current global pandemic has changed the landscape of the tourism and event industry, Venue West continues to provide our clients with the exceptional service that we are known for and looks forward to another 50 years to come!
For more information on Venue West and our services, please visit our website at www.venuewest.com.