Astute readers of this publication will remember that we introduced Jen Matney as our new meeting planner in the last issue. It turns out that Jen’s husband, Andrew, was transferred out of state for his job, so Jen left us for the considerably colder climes of Colorado. D’oh!

But through some magical stroke of luck and legwork, we found another fantastic meeting planner in a New York minute:  Manda Helmick, who comes to TDCAA by way of Chicago and Manhattan.

Manda moved to the Austin area several weeks ago from Chicago, where she was an event planner for a marketing firm for three years. Before that, she was a meeting planner for MTV Networks in New York City, where she dealt with people from all over the world who were, shall we say, a tough crowd to please. “With them, I could have planned an event at a five-star resort in Miami, and all I heard were complaints,” Manda says. “With TDCAA, it’s a pleasure to accommodate grateful attendees, as opposed to demanding ones.” Grateful attendees of December’s Elected Prosecutor Conference have already seen her in action, as she drove to Galveston on her very first day at work and helped the seminar run ultra-smoothly. (Talk about dedication!)

When she’s not planning or traveling to seminars, Manda is immersed in music—she sings and plays both guitar and piano—and rides horses on her parents’ ranch in Smithville, where she’s staying until she finds more permanent digs in Austin proper. Until that happens, though, she is reveling in the association’s location in the heart of downtown and looking forward to exploring its live music scene.

Welcome, Manda!