Sabrina Shope
Sabrina Shope is a dynamic event and communications professional with more than 15 years of experience delivering high-impact corporate, executive, and large-scale events. She currently serves as a Senior Executive Communications and Events Specialist at Honeywell, where she leads the end-to-end execution of high-visibility programs, including board meetings, CEO engagements, and major conferences. Known for her precision, creativity, and ability to manage complex logistics under pressure, Sabrina has built a reputation for producing polished, memorable experiences that align with strategic business goals.
Sabrina began her career after earning her degree in Public Relations and Communications from Western Carolina University, where she discovered her passion for event planning through hands-on marketing and experiential work. Early in her career, she led a nationwide festival activation program, coordinating logistics, branding, and client engagement across multiple markets—an experience that sparked her love for events. She went on to expand her expertise across social, hospitality, and corporate event spaces, including earning certification as a wedding planner and working in venues where she managed everything from intimate gatherings to large-scale events with thousands of attendees.
Throughout her career, Sabrina has demonstrated a strong ability to adapt, lead, and innovate across diverse event environments. From her time in hospitality and business development to her current role supporting executive-level programming, she has consistently delivered results through strategic planning, relationship management, and flawless execution. Passionate about her craft, Sabrina thrives on creating meaningful experiences, fostering connections, and bringing visions to life—while continuing to grow as a leader in the marketing and events industry.
• Certified Wedding Planner
• The Bridal Society
• Western Carolina University- B.S.
• Delta Zeta Sorority
• The Bridal Society
• Soup Kitchen
• Community Food Distribution
• WCU Relay For Life
What do you attribute your success to?
Honestly, I think I would attribute my success to my failures. I say that because I've had to be deep down a little bit throughout. It wasn't just all handed to me. It was a lot of hard work, and there was a lot of random failures, or job loss, or layoffs, and a lot of just personal life events that happen. But you keep getting back up. Like I said earlier, events is one of those things that you have to constantly adapt, and so I've had to constantly adapt in life as well, figuring out my next steps, or what I wanted to do, or if this worked, or if it didn't work. It has led me to where I am now, where I'm like, okay, should I still be in events if something is wrong? Am I on the right path? But then I find so much joy in it that I'm like, okay, then what's next? What's another version of events that I can do? I'm learning so many different industries within it. So I would say my success is from my failures, because I've had to adapt and pivot, and that is what events is, and it's done well for me so far.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Honestly, you have to find joy in it. Events is a very, you know, it can be a very thankless job. Try not to take yourself too serious on everything, because if you do, then you're gonna stress yourself out. So just find that joy if you can, and go from there. Like, you never work a day if you love it. I mean, some days they're harder than others, but just don't take it so seriously. Things happen, you have to adapt and adjust, and at the end of the day, as long as you're happy, I think that's kind of the most important part.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges in my field is the need to constantly wear multiple hats, manage emotional demands, and pivot quickly when circumstances change. At the same time, there are exciting opportunities to expand into global events, allowing us to work across cultures, travel, and learn new approaches to delivering impactful experiences.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I think when you wear multiple hats, you need to be able to pivot, but also you need to be able to ask for help. In events, sometimes you are doing things by yourself, but you don't always have to do everything by yourself. There are people around you that do want to help. It's teaching, it's giving yourself grace in everything. On the emotional side of it, try to take a breath. If you're getting overwhelmed, then take a step back and figure out what is in your control. That's the only thing that you can manage. If it's out of your control, then you need to pivot to something that you can control. And if you need to go cry about it over a glass of wine after everything's done, then do that. I try to instill in my son that we are very fortunate in what we have, so if we can do random Costco runs and then go just hand out in the community, I think that's really important to do.