Val Motley
Principal
valmotley@fpnevents.com
Val Motley is an FPN Events founder with more than 13 years’ experience in event planning and political and nonprofit fundraising for organizations and individuals throughout the United States.
After spending several years on Washington, D.C.’s Capitol Hill and working on a senatorial campaign in Alaska, Val returned to the Pacific Northwest in 1998 to co-found Strategic Events & Fundraising (SE&F) with partner Amy Barnes. In addition to planning events, SE&F raised more than $20 million for political and nonprofit clients. In 2004, Val became a co-founder of FPN Events to provide clients with a wider range of services.
Val has extensive experience with special events, providing set-up, on-site coordination and follow-up for conferences, receptions, dinners, celebrations, galas and other occasions. She specializes in taking events on the road. An expert in transportation logistics, Val’s experience enables her to take an event from inspirational beginning to successful completion. Since 1999, she has coordinated the multifaceted annual Alaska Symphony of Seafood events in Anchorage, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Seattle. In 2005, Val produced the Northwest Independent Power Producers Coalition annual meeting, which included marketing the event, coordinating all venue logistics, managing registration, soliciting and coordinating speakers and providing on-site supervision. Val has also coordinated several events for Premera Blue Cross, including receptions to honor physicians in both eastern and western Washington.
Val successfully coordinated two separate launch events for Alaska Airlines’ “Salmon Thirty Salmon,” a 737 airplane painted in the image of an Alaskan king salmon. She worked with numerous vendors and the host, Alaska Airlines, to ensure that the celebrations ran smoothly and were thoroughly enjoyed by the several thousand guests who attended. Despite the fact that the two events took place within 24 hours of one another – one in Seattle and the other in Anchorage – Val’s commitment and energy never faltered. Both events were deemed highly successful.
Val’s political fundraising resume includes roles as campaign coordinator for a federal campaign in Alaska and finance consultant for several state races in Washington and Alaska. She has worked with Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris since 2002.
Her nonprofit fundraising experience is equally impressive. Val worked with Premera Blue Cross on an event to benefit Seattle University’s College of Nursing; with Odyssey, The Maritime Discovery Center; the AGC Education Foundation; the Northwest Chamber Orchestra and Washington Conservation Voters.
In 2006 Val become a Certified Meeting Professional, having met high standards of proficiency in meeting management as demonstrated by substantial professional experience and superior examination performance. She is an active member of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce and serves on the Alaska Committee, and is a member of the Seattle chapter of Meeting Planners International. Val is a graduate of Virginia’s Lynchburg College with a bachelor of science in business management.
Clients value Val’s dedication, her creativity in addressing project challenges, and her incredible work ethic – as is evidenced by the number of clients who repeatedly seek Val’s expertise. She rates FPN’s success based on victories achieved for the firm’s clients, and Val’s own contribution to such successful outcomes is indisputable.
