Our Staff
Romy C. Baesens
Director and Founder
In 1997, Romy Baesens created Global RCBI, an international and multilingual site search and selection firm offering a full range of conference and meeting services. Global RCBI has quickly become the premier conference resource firm globally.
Born in Belgium and raised in Central and East Africa, Romy was brought up in the tourism and hospitality industries. Romy’s hands-on experiences, range from being a flight attendant to a hotel and resort sales & marketing director for such properties as Hilton and the 800 room Grenelefe Golf and Tennis Resort outside Orlando, Florida.
Romy is self-motivated, energetic and an enthusiastic professional with a wide range of international experience. She also speaks five languages fluently.
She has an incredible gift for attention to details, is an expert negotiator, fabulous with budgets and a creative theme program designer, which makes her an excellent planner and coordinator. Her organizational ability and flexibility, coupled with excellent communications skills, make her a smart choice to handle any meeting or convention task.
Romy has extensive experience in producing a wide-range of meetings for large corporate and association clients including corporate meetings, medical and pharmaceutical meetings, training seminars and incentive travel programs.
Romy believes that being multilingual and having traveled all over the world is a true advantage in this global industry and an edge over the competition.
Romy’s emphasis is on customer satisfaction and “E3”: Evermore Exceeding Expectation.
Patti Burch
Event Coordinator
Patti Burch has over 25 years experience in the hospitality industry. She graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelor’s degree in hotel and restaurant management.
Throughout her college years, she worked in catering and for the Florida Division of Tourism. She also attended the American College in Switzerland studying the hotel and restaurant business.
Patti worked at Innisbrook Resort & Spa for 12 years both as Service Manager in Conference Services and a Regional Sales Manager handling the Association market.
Later she transferred to Amelia Island Plantation as the regional sales manager in the Midwest territory for 8 years.
For the past 6 years, Patti has been a Meeting Planner handling a variety of corporate, association and incentive programs.
Patti enjoys all areas of meeting planning particularly assisting with site inspections, negotiating contracts and working events on-site. Her international travel experience is most valuable for all planners. Patti is a quick thinker and can handle many last minute challenges between hotels and her clients. She has worked many meetings as an on-site meeting planner for corporate, association, and incentive programs. Patti has an excellent rapport with her clients and her friendly and professional personality makes Patti a pleasure to do business with.
We are delighted to have Patti join us on our Global RCBI Meeting Team!
Norma Shelton
Bookkeeper
Norma Shelton has over twenty year as a bookkeeper. Born in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to a career Army Father, she lived in various places, which included living aboard in Canal Zone in Panama with her Father, Mother and three sisters. She lived and worked in Nashville, Tennessee for twenty plus years working in the music industry with studios, publishing houses, record and commercial companies.
On to a new adventure, she relocated to Florida in 1991 where she met her wonderful husband, David. They have been together for 17 years.
Always taking on new opportunities and challenges, she ventured into opening her own Independent Bookkeeping company for small businesses in 2002, Shelton Accounting Services, Inc. and has grown to overseeing twenty companies.
Norma is an intricate part of the Global RCBI Team and we are very happy to have her on board. She is apart of what helps us to be a success.
Donna Yahraes
Maverick Travel
Donna operates the full service travel agency and is extremely hands-on and excellent with customer service. Donna has a long and distinguished career in the travel and hospitality industry and is constantly searching for the most cost efficient and effective travel plans for clients.
Gigi George
Event Coordinator
Gigi has over 20 years experience in the travel/destination management area, specializing in Florida. Gigi truly enjoys all aspects of working with groups, is bi-lingual in German, possesses excellent customer service abilities and is a dedicated, conscientious and detail-oriented individual.
Luc Baesens
European Specialist
Based in Austria
www.innsbruck-guide.com
With more than 25 years experience in the Tourism Industry. He is multilingual with an outstanding reputation in the industry, anchored by professionalism, service and integrity.
Alexandra Danninger
Austria Specialist
Based in Austria
www.innsbruck-guide.com
Highly specialized in city and guided tours. She will help you discover Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria and the neighboring countries in your own language. She is a fully authorized guide with a state examination and an “Austria Guide” license which is required to be a guide in Austria.