SOCRATES CALA
Socrates A. Calá, CMP of the CALPRO Group - a full service Conference and Convention Management & Marketing Company, prior to joining the CALPRO Group, has worked with the Washington, DC and Rochester Riverside Convention Centers and has over 15 years of extensive experience in the hospitality, convention and conference planning industry.
Mr. Calá began his studies of the hospitality industry at the Rochester Institute of Technology. While in college Mr. Calá develop a passion for the hospitality industry as a whole.
Every position he has held has helped him to develop a complete understanding of the industry and earned him managerial roles in several organizations. His early career at the Rochester Riverside Convention center he participated in designing and implementing procedures for several new facilities under the umbrella of The Rochester Riverside Convention Center management team, like High Falls Historic District and the Red Wings Baseball stadium, along with the day to day operations of the convention center and its events. He atributes this experience to affording him the opportunity to become a member of the operations staff at the Washington DC Convention Center. It was here that he was able to stregthen his meeting planning and facility management skills with both national and international clients. With the opening of the new convention center, Mr. Calá became an important part of the transition team, and later, the planning and logistics teams for the grand opening of the state-of-the-art meeting facility. After several months of planning and executing some of the largest shows to take place in the facility, he decided to add his extensive knowledge to his family’s meeting management and marketing company, The CALPRO Group.
Through The CALPRO Group, Mr. Calá has managed, planned, executed and marketed events successfully across the country and internationally, lending his experience to various professional groups and organizations. He has a Bachelors degree in Hotel Resort Management from the Rochester Institute of Technology. His dedication to the Meeting Planning and Hospitality industry has led him to acquire his certification as a Certified Meeting Professional(CMP), and attend and complete the professional training from the Oglebay School of Public Assembly in Facility Management. (IAAM, Wheeling, WV). He also has held several positions within industry associations (Association for Conventions Operations Management, Public Assembly Facility Management School, Hispanic Meeting Planners Association, Washington Convention and Tourism Corporation, etc).
