Today we’d like to introduce you to Dusty Rhodes.
It all started with a $200 phone deposit and a borrowed desk on Newbury Street. There were no special event firms – only a smattering of advertising and PR agencies- and very few women entrepreneurs. The year was 1977 and Dusty Rhodes had a new idea- to use special events as a marketing medium. Fresh from a stint as the only female general manager in professional football (the WFL’s Charlotte Hornets and the New York Stars) Dusty created one of the first companies of its kind in the country – Conventures. Building her core philosophy around the concept of “team work,” she and her Conventures team proceeded to educate New England’s companies and institutions about the potential of special events to achieve business and fund-raising objectives.
The invitation to her first event provided only latitude and longitude for location. Her creation of “Tribute Dinners” for non-profits became an industry standard. Conventures was one of the first to use live and silent auctions as a fund-raising mechanism. Dusty capitalized on the fledging pastime of running in the mid 70s and built the largest women’s running event in the United States – the Tufts Health Plan 10K for Women. The four Tall Ship festivals (Sail Boston 1992, 2000, 2009 and 2017) that Dusty orchestrated rank among the largest public celebrations in New England’s history. Over 40 years and more than 10,000 events later, Dusty has helped Conventures achieve its reputation as New England’s leading special events company through innovation, knowledge of the community and total dedication to excellence.
Dusty is well known for her community spirit and her many contributions to the city of Boston. Among her most significant over the years are her board positions on the Trustees of Reservations, Arts, Boston, GBCVB, MA Amateur Sports Foundation, Boys & Girls Clubs, the Red Auerbach Fund, and the chairmanship of Plymouth 2020, by gubernatorial appointment. She has nurtured and supported women in business throughout her career, having initiated both the Women’s Network at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, and the Pinnacle Awards. She was honored as the first civilian woman recipient of the Distinguished Public Service Medal from the Commandant of the US Coast Guard. In her hometown of Weston, where she brought up her six children, she raised the funds for all of the Weston High School’s baseball dugouts, among other local efforts.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Conventure’s Inc. – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Dusty Rhodes and her exceptional team at Conventures, Boston’s leading communications and events management agency, have been at the center of the city’s biggest and most iconic events over the last four decades. If the project was challenging, complex, involved multiple stakeholders, and needed a strong-willed captain, then likely Conventures was behind it. From city-wide, iconic celebrations for fleets of Tall Ships and Boston’s New Year’s Eve party First Night, to bicentennials and office tower openings, to some of the largest sports expos and road races in the country, Dusty is considered an industry visionary, a civic-minded, entrepreneurial businesswoman, and an open-hearted, generous friend and mentor.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
If industry impact may be judged by the breadth and depth of leadership that seeks one’s counsel, then there is perhaps no more admired businessperson in our city than Dusty Rhodes. Routinely called upon by our mayors, governors, and congressional delegation members, among many others, for advice and support, her orchestration of the biggest civic events, many performed pro bono, have brought enormous attention to Boston and had significant economic benefits. She has also mentored many hundreds of young women (and men) over the years that have gone on to become leaders in their fields.
Contact Info:
- Address: Conventures, Inc.
One Design Center Place
Suite 718 Boston, MA 02210 - Website: www.conventures.com
- Phone: 617-439-7700
- Instagram: instagram.com/conventures
- Facebook: facebook.com/conventures
- Twitter: Twitter.com/conventures
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