The De Armond Team

Marischal De Armond, President

Marischal has over 25 years experience in the special events and conference industry. An Alberta native, and University of Calgary commerce graduate, Marischal has developed a business and marketing background that applies the elements of successful business ventures to the event world. Marischal served as Director of Sales and Marketing, and Director of Business Development for the Victoria Conference Center, where he was instrumental in attaining core service contracts in the Sales and Event Servicing areas and building its brand as a premier conference or event destination. 

He has also played key leadership roles in many events including: 1998 Winter Olympics (Speed Skating – Media Liaison Officer), 1994 Commonwealth Games (Venue chair – UVic Stadium), and was instrumental in developing new events including the Bastion Square Cycling Festival, the Victoria International Triathlon and the Victoria Tall Ships Festival.

Marischal's extensive network and visibility and innovation in the association sector led him to be elected to the National Board of the Canadian Society of Assoication Executives and served as conference chair for their 2003 National Conference and Trade Show.

Laurie De Armond

Laurie is one of the most respected, experienced and knowledgeable conference organizers on Vancouver Island.  She offers clients the unique insights, perspectives and relationships only one gains with constant and proven succes over time.  Laurie brings to your event a vital ingredient for its success: a large network of important community contacts and superior suppliers.  Laurie possesses an unsurpassed track record of satisfied clients and exceptional events.

Laurie worked with the Victoria Conference Center form its inception, serving as Senoir Event Manager, implementing gold client service, supplier relationships and service delivery standards.  During her time with the Conference Center she helped the location generate a reputation for being one of the finest conference destinations in Canada.  Currently, her experience in public relations and valuable organization skills enabled her to serve as Personal Assistant to the prominent and beloved Canadian athlete and Olympic medalist, Silken Laumann.

Roz Eckardt, Event and Project Coordinator

Roz possesses considerable experience in project administration and a strong background in event coordination and community involvement. From 2002 – 2005, she worked in various capacities with the Victoria Dragon Boat Festival. As Race Registrar, she was responsible for coordinating logistics and deadlines for thousands of paddlers from across the world. Year after year, the biggest reward was seeing such a large-scale community event come together so successfully.

As a member of the Canadian Sport Centre Pacific team, Roz coordinated numerous conferences and events. Most notably, she worked to develop the SPort INovation (SPIN) Summit, a highly successful sport technology conference and the first of its kind in Canada.

In her spare time, Roz enjoys both attending and supporting community events, and is always looking for new ideas on how to bring an event or conference to the next level.

Brian Groos, Associate

Brian Groos is an international event accreditation tour de force. He has been involved in the coordination of volunteers and workforces at major international events for over 23 years, including: the G8 Leaders' Summit in Kananaskis, AB, in 2002; the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, UT; the 2000 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia; multiple APEC meetings; and 25 North Atlantic Assembly meetings hosted all across Europe and Canada.