Jan Merkley is the President and owner of JEM Events. She has coordinated, researched, and helped plan special events, conferences, and fund-raisers for the past 8 years. She brings a love of people, a passion for art and design, and an excitement for event planning to each event she orchestrates.

She is extremely creative and a master of logistics and fine details. Her experience with the intricacies of event planning and her relationship with vendors will ensure that each event is a success.

"I love to work closely with my clients to make each event truly unique and special. As an event coordinator, my job is to provide the tools needed to ensure your event's success. To us, details matter and we will leave no stone unturned to ensure your complete satisfaction and enjoyment."

Our company is based on the belief that our customers' needs are of the utmost importance and our team is committed to meeting those needs. We would welcome the opportunity to earn your trust and deliver you the best service in the industry.

                                           

“I was most impressed by the high caliber of organization with which the expo was executed! I was impressed that Jan got in touch with me to recruit Niles Media as an attending business, for starters. And every step of the way, communication was both clear and timely. At the event, the staff was also incredibly helpful as I found my table. One gentleman also hopped right on my inquiry about electricity, and helped me duct tape my extension cord to the floor, allowing me to show the slide show I had prepared. There was no "ummm" or "Let me see if we can do that." It was immediately "We can do that. Let me help you. I was very relieved, and also very impressed! THANK YOU for all the hard work that went into putting this event together”

Hilary Niles

Niles Media

“My congratulations to you and to all who planned and carried out this wonderful event. I have been involved with many projects and programs throughout my lifetime, on a national, state, and local level, but I have never seen one that paid better attention to details, kept a better focus, or showed a better follow-through than this."

George Lovejoy

Lovejoy Real Estate

“First of all, we thought you did an AMAZING JOB for the first Barrington Expo ever! You got so much participation from our community - I was so proud to see so many businesses there! All the activities were amazing and wonderfully run. The silent auction prizes and the dessert tasting were great ways to get traffic from the community in. I thought that the live auction was a good idea too....the gym and cafeteria were beautiful once all the businesses set up and the displays/auction items were out. And I saw signs out everywhere too. No one else could have pulled it off as well. Thank you, thank you for all your hard work - and your team's too!"

Susan Settele

Milestone Finance

"Our non-profit organization (BreastCancerStories.org) has hired Jan to help manage two of our large fund-raising events ... a comedy event and an Expo ... and she did an excellent job with both. She is detail oriented, so easy to work with, and has a solid understanding of what goes into the planning and execution of events of this magnitude. I would highly recommend her for anyone seeking assistance with their event planning."

Wendy McCoole

BreastCancerStories.org

Testimonials

"I was recently married, and not having the event at a resort or other full-service venue I was both skeptical and nervous about putting my trust in anyone else to set up the tables, decorations, and make sure all of the vendors arrived as planned.  Several months before the wedding my fiancée, Brittany, and I met with Jan and her husband, Brandon, to discuss the event, the vendors, the numerous decorations that my fiancée had made, and our vision for the event itself.  Jan and Brandon were incredibly professional and certainly well prepared, with plenty of helpful ideas and questions that my fiancée and I had not considered.  They kept in touch throughout the following months leading up to the wedding, and were excellent about taking phone calls and were very quick responding to e-mails.  Several days before the event they stopped by to pick up many of the numerous boxes of decorations to bring to the park for the reception.

I employed the help of my groomsmen to assist with set-up on the morning of the wedding and when we arrived with the remaining decorations, beverages, and other items for the event, it was clear that Jan and Brandon had everything under control.  Their professional demeanor and ability to keep on top of every little change that Brittany and I had made sealed my faith in them long before the event; and when I walked into the tent that morning and saw how much they had accomplished in the few short minutes since the tent rental company had finished setting up I was beyond impressed.  To whomever reads this recommendation, I suggest you look no further, end your search, and put your trust in Jan and Brandon to confidently ensure your event comes together as planned, without a detail lost, or a step missed."

-Brittany and Dan