With over a decade of experience in event sales and hospitality, Emily Dietrich has built a career defined by connection, creativity, and community. She spent the last seven years with Niagara Parks as Manager of Business Events, and five years prior with Vintage Hotels in a series of progressive sales roles. Now serving as Director of Event Sales for Stone Eagle Winery, Two Sisters Vineyards, and 11th POST on Queen, she is leading the development of the event sales team and strategy during a time of growth.
A 2013 graduate of Niagara College’s Event Management graduate certificate program, Emily was recognized by Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) as one of its 20 in Their Twenties, and continues to build her career with the same dedication and drive that have fueled her success from the start.
Current role and career path
I’m currently the Director of Event Sales for the Marotta family’s properties in Niagara-on-the-Lake, which include Stone Eagle Winery, Two Sisters Vineyards, and 11th POST on Queen. It’s an exciting time to join the team, as Stone Eagle Winery is opening this year, and this location will have an incredible focus on events with several dedicated function spaces. In this role, I’m leading the development of the event sales team and strategy, with a focus on business events, weddings, and other group experiences.
My path to this role has been shaped by my education and over a decade of experience in event sales and destination-driven hospitality.
I earned my Honours Bachelor’s degree in Business Communications from Brock University, followed by a post-graduate certificate in Event Management from Niagara College.
I then spent five years with Vintage Hotels, holding progressive roles from Social and Wedding Sales Coordinator, to Corporate Sales Coordinator to Wedding Sales Manager and finally to Catering and Tourism Sales Manager. I had the opportunity to sell luxury events across their portfolio of boutique hotels in Southern Ontario, and the diversity of venues and market segments made it a dynamic and foundational chapter in my career.
From there, I joined Niagara Parks, where I spent seven years as Manager of Business Events, with the unique opportunity to sell the most impressive real estate in Niagara Falls for private events. In this time I managed hundreds of business events, including several high-profile events scaling above 1,000 attendees.
During my time at Niagara Parks, I also earned my Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) designation, an internationally recognized credential that signifies expertise in the meetings and events industry.
Influences and inspiration
I came into this career path quite organically. I’ve always had a natural instinct for sales and enjoyed working in hospitality. In university, I spent summers serving and bartending at the Turkey Point Hotel, and during the school year, I worked at a number of busy nightlife spots in Niagara: Brock’s campus bar Isaac’s, The Moose & Goose, Stella’s, Amici’s, and Gord’s Place. Those years of bartending and serving taught me how to read people, stay composed under pressure, work super efficiently, and deliver great service – all skills that have been surprisingly transferable to my career in event management and sales.
Standout NC experience
Niagara College completely set me up for success at the beginning of my career. The program was immersive and hands-on, and included 250 field placement hours over 8 months. Those hours gave me exposure to different sides of the industry, working with festivals, corporate events, fundraisers, and more. Our class had early access to a professional network where we could start forming meaningful connections within the industry.
One of the events I worked on was the Vintage Hotels Wedding Show, a beautifully orchestrated showcase held across Queen’s Landing, Pillar and Post, and Prince of Wales. I helped with setup, registration, and shadowed the Wedding Sales Manager throughout the day. Afterward, I sent her a thank-you note expressing how much I enjoyed the experience and mentioned that I’d love to stay in touch should any opportunities arise. She replied letting me know she was actually hiring for a coordinator and invited me to send over my resume.
Within a couple weeks I had landed the job and started on full time in their sales department. I actually had a couple weeks of overlap where I was still finishing up exams at Niagara College, on-boarding in my new role, and finishing my last bartending shifts. It was a whirlwind, but incredibly energizing. I went on to spend 5 years at Vintage Hotels, being promoted 3 times along the way, and my connection with that Manager grew into a lasting professional relationship and personal friendship.
This early experience gave me a sense of momentum and taught me the value of making genuine connections. It also instilled in me a deep appreciation for the relationships we build in this industry, many of which continue to shape my career to this day.
Memorable moments
One of the most memorable parts of my time at Niagara College was being involved in the Many Hands Project, which was a key component of the Event Management program. Each year, students worked in teams to plan and execute fundraising events in support of a local non-profit. I was part of a group of six classmates, guided by our advisor Christine Blane, and together we planned a trivia night to support Port Cares Reach Out Food Centre in Port Colborne.
We were responsible for every facet of the event, from securing sponsors and selling tickets, to managing logistics and delivering the guest experience. Our trivia night raised $6,500 and our class raised over $20,000 that year. The funds were then used by Niagara College’s Construction program to carry out a renovation at Port Cares. It was such a meaningful example of collaboration and community impact, and we all felt incredibly proud to be part of something bigger than our day-to-day school work.
Words of wisdom
My advice is to stay open to opportunity. Some of the most pivotal moments in my career have come from saying yes: volunteering with industry associations, writing for publications, speaking at events, being interviewed on an industry podcast and being awarded scholarships. These opportunities are all around us all the time, you just have to be open to seeing them and then seize them when it’s the right fit.
You can ask yourself:
Will it give me a chance to learn new things and increase my skill set?
Will it help me prove my skills and give me credibility?
Will it give me exposure to senior people in the industry who can help me in the future?
If you want more opportunities in your work and for your manager to think of you when there’s a new project, be known as someone who finishes projects. Follow through, complete it to the best of your ability, and be ready for the next one so you’re available when opportunity knocks. That kind of reliability builds trust, opens doors, and leads to more meaningful work.
And, my last bit of advice for both students and professionals: everyone needs a physical hobby and a creative one. The physical helps you decompress; the creative keeps your brain sharp. Together, they help you show up as your best self, both at work and outside of it.
