About the Author

At an early age, Shannon Kilkenny began what would become her career in event planning by gathering her neighborhood friends on a regular basis. Throughout high school and college, she volunteered for committees and headed organizations, allowing her to bring people together for a variety of reasons. Concurrently, she began a writing career with newsletters, articles, copy for marketing material, and later writing and editing guidebooks, user manuals, and how-to books. These two careers have continued in concert for more than 30 years. Her expertise and good humor created successful business relationships with clients in the banking industry, hospitality trade, educational and nonprofit organizations, professional associations, athletic clubs, and the environmental community. Having participated with these diverse groups, Kilkenny is familiar with multiple segments of the business and social world. With the writing and event planning skills strongly embedded and using her multilayered experiences, The Complete Guide to Successful Event Planning was born. Keeping up with the event-planning world, she saw the changes both for the environment and with social networking and decided a revised edition was necessary. Hence, volume two. She is currently teaching event-planning classes, workshops, and seminars, and speaking at industry conferences and conventions. She developed a curriculum for all levels of commitment. She has mentored beginners through their first event and assisted seasoned professionals seeking new heights of proficiency. In her leisure time you will find her in her garden, in her kayak, in the clutches of a good book, or on her iPad. Kilkenny lives by the ocean north of San Francisco.