Washington Link

Washington Link is a division of the company that runs the Reagan Building. Since 1997, Washington Link has been a premier event-planning company in the D.C. area. In a collaborative with Barbara Boggs, wife of lobbyist Tom Boggs, Washington Link President and COO Giles Beeker formed Washington Link.

Beeker has been in the business for 25 years, and Boggs, after owning Washington Ink, one of the first companies to professionalize event planning, thought about retiring. Instead, both thought that event planning would be a logical business extension at the Reagan Building.

According to Beeker, Washington Link leases the retail and office space in the building, operates the parking garage and deals with big conferences and events in the D.C. area.

“There are 23 different rooms and spaces in the Reagan Building alone for special events,” Beeker said. “We have a big convention services team and our large event staff serves a big presence here.”

Over the years, Boggs accomplished many unique-to-D.C. events, including the opening of Union Station, the NATO summit and the inaugural ball of President Bush’s first inauguration. Boggs also planned an arts-community type of ball, with music, film and television stars.

“We also have a long and deep track record of doing events affiliated with political campaigns,” Beeker said. “We are working with people in Denver and Minneapolis to do a number of different receptions for the conventions.”

Some of Washington Link’s clients include the American Society of Association Executives, the NAACP and the Harper Collins publishing group. Upcoming D.C. events planned by Washington Link include the radio, television and news directors’ foundation dinner and a Washington-area women’s foundation event in October.

The typical routine Washington Link goes through when working with a client is to first begin with a brief interview over the phone to get specifics of what exactly they would like to accomplish. Beeker said they always discuss budget and then discuss the type of services they’ll need, or perhaps a fundraising strategy. Then Washington Link schedules a face-to-face meeting.

“Coming into our office allows us to generate some ideas but also doubles as a showcase, since we host many events in our own building,” Beeker said.

According to Beeker, for the past 20 to 30 years, D.C. has had a very sophisticated event-planning market. “There’s a lot of competition, and originality is extremely important,” he said. “A lot of times if the invitation is an address with a label and with metered postage, it doesn’t even get opened.”

Beeker initially chose to get into the hospitality industry, but events and event planning were a logical extension from that, he said.

“You know if you build a skyscraper, it takes years and years before you see the final product,” he said “With event planning, it’s nice to handle something in totality — it’s a very good and successful, enjoyable outcome.”

Beeker also said that sometimes people view event planning as simple and easy. “It’s just a cocktail party or a dinner at home, they think,” he said. “However, working with venues and vendors is extraordinarily complex.”

For more information on Washington Link, visit its website at www.washington-link.com or call 202-872-0393 for more information.