Patrick Drake is a graduate from New Mexico State University with about five years of experience with the City of Phoenix. He joined the City in 2018 as a sales manager at the Phoenix Convention Center & Venues before serving as interim venue manager. In July, Patrick was named the Phoenix Convention Center & Venues director of sales. He is a Certified Meeting Professional, has recently completed a 2-year Venue Management School program and has earned his Certified Venue Professional certification.
Q: What do you enjoy most about your role at the Phoenix Convention Center?
The thing I enjoy most about working at the Phoenix Convention Center is working with and building relationships with our clients, especially the repeat clients. It’s a little like having a best friend for that event that I get to visit with once a year or once every other year. The meeting planner community is like having an extended family across the country. So, when they have their events here, it’s like welcoming them home for a family reunion and then they get to go back to their daily lives. Then the next one comes, and we get to do the same thing. That’s the thing I enjoy most in the sales role.
Q: What is a favorite memory you have of your time at the Phoenix Convention Center?
My favorite memory is actually my first day. Showing up here and getting immersed in this big building and walking through it and seeing everything Phoenix Convention Center & Venues encompasses both from the convention center standpoint and the theatrical venues, it was incredible. The last building I worked at was a small fraction of the size of this venue. I remember just being starstruck of the immensity that is the PCC. There is a part of me that is still in awe. I still can’t believe I’m doing what I’m doing. I still feel the same spark, the same energy as I did my first day. Every time we have a new event and I see their build-out and how they use our space, it’s that first day spark all over again.
Q: What is a skill you’ve had to sharpen in your role at the Phoenix Convention Center?
I came from a much smaller building and town, before I was at the PCC. I had been a very big fish in a small pond and coming here I had to learn to find my voice again, to speak up and be confident. I’ve participated in a lot of professional development and certifications in the industry to continue to build my qualifications. And through all of that learning and development, I’ve reacclimated to the size of my tank.
Q: Do you have any restaurant or coffee shop recommendations near the PCC?
There’s a coffee shop near the Phoenix Convention Center called Cartel. I get the Nitro Cold Brew, and their pastries are my favorite. The best pastry they have is their homemade poptarts, they don’t always have them but when they do, I will go every day until I get sick of them. For lunch, I love Harumi Sushi, they have fantastic lunch specials.
Q: What’s your favorite feature of the PCC?
The people that we work with. Being a City-owned and operated convention center and venues, I believe there are so many resources that the employees have for professional development. Having those resources can lead to a highly engaged workforce that cares about the product and service that we are offering. Working for the City, we have a lot of really tenured employees and that speaks to the environment the City creates.