Jason Balkin is the Associate Director Business Development and Bids at Melbourne Convention Bureau. His extensive history of working in the events services industry includes recognised skills in negotiating, budgeting, business relationship management, event planning and business development.
Jason graduated from the University of Ballarat with a Bachelor of Management, Marketing, and has a Graduate Certificate in Marketing from RMIT. Jason has been at the Melbourne Convention Bureau for four years. Prior to his current role, he was Senior Bid Manager and before that Business Development Manager.
However it is his work in helping this Club, and others, achieve for Melbourne the honour of hosting the Rotary International Convention in 2023 that Jason is receiving this award. Over many months Jason and Hugh Bucknall jointly championed the promotion of Melbourne as the location of the 2023 RI Convention. Hugh, as the key Rotary player and Jason, as the key contact at Melbourne Convention Bureau, gathered around them a hard-working team to develop the Melbourne bid. Nevertheless in the first round Melbourne was knocked out in favour of an alternative city.
When the alternative city’s bid was subsequently cancelled, the Melbourne team was then invited to make a second bid, as was the other short-listed city: London. Strenuous efforts were made to overcome the key obstacles that had impinged on Melbourne’s first attempt – transportation between venues and guaranteed discounted hotel rooms. They formulated an amazing program to impress the delegation of six RI representatives who visited Melbourne late last year to see for themselves how the Convention would be run here. The second bid was successful – particularly due to the ‘above and beyond’ work of Hugh and Jason throughout the process.
Jason continues to give of his personal and professional time, talents and energy in supporting Hugh and others in Rotary. But it is his enthusiasm, energy, vitality and strategic approach that makes him an achiever and it gives me great pleasure to recognise Jason Balkin as a Paul Harris Fellow.
Robert W Fisher
President 2018-19
