Extu’s Kelsey Weeks wins SITE Southeast scholarship for Young Leaders Conference

Extu Program Coordinator Kelsey Weeks earned a SITE Southeast scholarship to attend the SITE Young Leaders Conference during IMEX America in Las Vegas. The award recognizes her work in the Pathways Mentorship Program and highlights how the incentive travel industry is investing in emerging leaders.

Why it matters: - Kelsey Weeks’ scholarship puts a rising Extu employee inside one of the industry’s key networking and learning events. - The win underscores how SITE Southeast’s Pathways Program is helping develop the next generation of incentive travel professionals. - Weeks returns to Extu with new contacts, destination insight and supplier knowledge that can shape future incentive travel programs.

What happened: - Extu Program Coordinator Kelsey Weeks received a scholarship from SITE Southeast’s Pathways Program. - The award covered complimentary registration for the SITE Young Leaders Conference on October 11 and airfare reimbursement. - Weeks attended the conference during IMEX America week in Las Vegas. - Weeks earned the scholarship because of her achievements in SITE Southeast’s Pathways Mentorship Program.

The details: - Weeks joined the Pathways Program during her first year in the incentive travel industry. - SITE Southeast paired Weeks with mentor Carol Owen, owner of Retreats Resources. - Weeks and Owen met regularly over the year to discuss industry challenges, career development and incentive travel planning approaches. - Weeks also joined SITE Southeast’s education and sustainability committees. - The mentorship helped Weeks learn how experienced incentive travel professionals plan and manage programs. - In the fall, Pathways mentees who wanted to attend the SITE Young Leaders Conference presented an overview of their mentorship experience to a panel of judges. - Judges scored the presentations on goal clarity, reflection on achievements, presentation quality and delivery. - Weeks delivered the highest-scoring presentation. - Tiffany Newsome, SITE Southeast’s vice president of young leaders, said Weeks embraced every opportunity, built a strong relationship with her mentor and looked for ways to apply what she was learning.

Between the lines: - SITE Southeast is using the scholarship as a filter for engagement, not just participation. - Weeks’ committee work and mentor relationship appear to have mattered as much as her conference presentation. - Her experience suggests the Pathways Program is designed to translate mentorship into practical industry readiness. - Weeks said the IMEX America meetings showed how destination management companies, hotels and travel partners shape incentive travel decisions through relationships and trust. - Weeks described incentive trip planning as easier when partners connect as people first.

What's next: - Weeks plans to keep building toward an account management role. - That role would give Weeks more responsibility for incentive travel programs, partner selection and sales. - Weeks expects to continue benefiting from her relationship with Carol Owen after the formal mentorship ends at year-end. - Extu sees Weeks’ development as part of a broader investment in future incentive travel leaders.

The bottom line: - Weeks’ scholarship is more than a conference trip; it is a signal that mentorship, networking and hands-on participation can fast-track talent in the incentive travel sector.

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