Memorial University - Conference and Event Services

07/11/2025

Happy Hour on the Hill July 3 was a beautiful shiny day on the Johnson Geo Centre Rock Deck - and it wasn't just the beautiful blazing sun!

Students, staff, friends new and old, family, kids and a few sweet puppy dogs enjoyed the fun and the food and the spruce tip special and OMG the sounds of Sherry Breen and William Corbett!

Looking forward to the next Happy Hour on the Hill - August 28!

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07/10/2025

What a day for the BBQ! Teams from Signal Hill Campus - Memorial University showed up and enjoyed Memorial’s annual summer event on all the levels! So great to see friends from all over Campus!

Congrats and thanks to the stellar organizers who brought together so many moving parts to create a quintessential collegial gathering in the square (but we shall miss the tower of chips that lived at CES for a time!)

Blue skies blazing sun and the shade of great big trees made it perfect!

07/03/2025

06/18/2025

is excited to share the next blog in the Insider Tips series!
https://www.mun.ca/meet/news-articles/planning-a-meeting-or-conference-when-planning-isnt-your-day-job.php
CES Event Coordinator Amy LeGresley has created a sweet, easy to follow guide to event planning for people who are not event planners. If that sounds like you or someone in your office, check it out!

06/17/2025

We love working with our friends over at Memorial University Guest Accommodations! Pop in to Signal Hill Campus - Memorial University on your Tourism Tuesday trip to Signal Hill! The Johnson Geo Centre is out of this world, and is a beautiful place to look out from!

Just 11 minutes from us, Signal Hill is one of St. John's most iconic landmarks - rich in history and full of unforgettable views.

Walk the trails, visit Cabot Tower, and watch the ships roll into the harbor from one of the best viewpoints in the city!

📍 Ready to explore? Plan your visit and

05/27/2025

- St. John's is sparkling today and it's not just the sun! Convocation has begun at the John C Perlin Arts and Culture Centre. From May 27 - 30, thousands of new graduates will walk across the stage to receive their parchment from Memorial University. The exuberance of graduates, family and friends is palpable from the whole community as people step into new chapters of their lives - we are excited for them!

Later this evening the Main Hall of the Emera Innovation Exchange at Signal Hill Campus will receive those who have been conferred Honorary Doctorates for their leadership in cultural, academic and social spheres.

We are honoured to welcome them, and extend congratulations on their contributions being recognized. Recipients include entrepreneur and philanthropist Brendan Paddick; educational leader and volunteer Leslie O’Reilly; scholar, academic and cultural champion Dr. Noreen Golfman; journalist and historian James Furlong; and humanitarian and international Santa Claus Hall of Famer Bruce Templeton. Honorary Doctorate recipients Canadian Paralympic Games athlete and ambassador Katarina Roxon, and French culture, language and education advocate Robert Cormier received their parchments in Corner Brook earlier in May.

05/22/2025

- When Emily Yetman joined Memorial's Conference and Event Services (CES) team at Signal Hill Campus in the fall of 2023, she walked in with her own personal event management strategy that consistently earns her great reviews: understand the client vision, expect the unexpected, and keep going 'til you get there.

It's a strategy for event success that she's earned through education and experience.

A graduate of Memorial's Bachelor of Recreation, school of Human Kinetics and Recreation program, Emily began honing her personal strategy before she graduated through work terms with Memorial Athletics.

After graduating Emily continued her event management studies in Nova Scotia Community College - Advanced Diploma, Event Management, and went on to work in various aspects of the industry. From hotels (sales & marketing), to offsite events, to incentive groups, to private functions, to music festivals to big corporate soirees and cultural nights out for international groups. And along the way she’s contributed time to conference volunteering!

From all of that, Emily learned to plan ahead for every detail and - just as importantly - she’s honed the skill of responding on the spot amid a whole lot of moving parts.

In her world at Conference and Event Services, the order of planning and the chaos of the unpredictable live together - and in perfect harmony! Her approach to everyday, which can get very hectic - is supported by a neat sense of humour where observational meets deadpan. She keeps the CES team smiling.

Emily says her favourite part of her work is those electric moments "I love when the events are happening - working with clients on the floor doing last minute, onsite logistics and finding solutions to the unexpected. That's where the magic comes together."

When she's not working, Emily enjoys travelling, concerts, travelling for concerts (!), hiking and staycations. When it comes to downtime, Emily’s go-to is relaxing with music, the comfy couch, and Blue, her polydactyl cat.

WATCH THIS SPACE to learn more about the amazing people who make up the Conference and Event Services team at Signal Hill Campus, Memorial University.

05/02/2025

- Destination St. John's has done an awesome job with their gorgeous travel guide and a perfectly on-point walker's map.

An on that map - we're very pleased that Signal Hill Campus is showing up large! Both Emera Innovation Exchange and The Johnson Geo Centre are attractions. Come visit!

Thanks DSJ for the good works and making it easier for visitors (and locals!) to find so many wonderful things in YYT.

https://destinationstjohns.com/2025-destination-st-johns-guide-map/

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04/29/2025

- If you're at an event and get to enjoy a meal at Emera Innovation Exchange (EIX) or Johnson Geo Centre, you've experienced Red Oak. Red Oak is the exclusive caterer for Signal Hill Campus. And if you've experienced Red Oak at Signal Hill Campus, you've probably met Angela Finn. She's the Red Oak manager and team lead. Everyone calls her Ange.

Ange helps clients find the perfect foods to complement their event from homestyle cookies, to delicious hors d'oeuvre, to elegant multi-course fine dining meals. Red Oak does it all, and with a focus on sustainability through sourcing local foods as much as possible, policies that aim to reduce their carbon footprint, and procedures to minimize food waste.

Both from the sustainability perspective and for event impact, food matters. Ange says, "At any event, whether it's a meeting or a gala reception or an AGM, everyone looks forward to the food and they pay attention to it. One of my favourite things is working with clients to understand what they really want, then working with chef and the team to come up with ideas that will make the magic happen. It's like putting together the pieces of puzzle."

Ange believes in fostering a positive work environment where the team is happy to come to work, and it shows up when events are happening. She says, "That moment in the event, when the team is on wheels, guests are smiling, there are happy faces everywhere. It feels really good to be part of that."

Ange and Red Oak love working at Signal Hill Campus. She says, "EIX is spacious and airy, and the main conference hall is a gorgeous background overlooking the Battery all seasons of the year. With the ancient rocks and the planets, there's no other space like Johnson Geo Centre. In summer my favourite is the outdoor deck, you're immersed in nature under the open skies. It's a beautiful environment to enjoy good food and drink."

A townie and an outdoors enthusiast, Ange spends her leisure time being outdoors, enjoying family, playing tennis, practicing ju jisu, and trouting when she gets the chance.


Memorial University - Conference and Event Services
Memorial University, Newfoundland and Labrador

03/18/2025

- Remember St. John’s Fashion Week last summer? EIX was transformed to a red carpet runway for designers and models and more. We loved it! So we're excited to share the trailer for Runway on the Rock, coming March 20!

03/07/2025

MEET ADAM SAUNDERS - A man most likely to be found behind the scenes, Adam Saunders’ tenure at Memorial is woven with the development of Signal Hill Campus - Memorial University.

A finance and admin wizard, Adam’s unusual combination of academia, along with his dry sense of humour and mad story-telling skills, positioned him well for the direction he would take. He’s a Memorial University, Newfoundland and Labrador alumnus (BScHons ‘05, MBA ‘09) with a focus on psychology, criminology, and later business.

Born and raised in Grand Falls, Adam joined the Memorial team in 2014 as a Business Consultant to help with the Office of Public Engagement, the Botanical Gardens, the Newfoundland Quarterly, and Signal Hill Campus.

At that time much of what is now the Signal Hill Campus footprint was still The Battery Hotel. Adam played a key role in the ‘Battery Development Project’ and was deeply involved with developing the business model and foundational operational policies.

As the facility progressed through demolition, construction, and renovation, Adam managed accommodations from St. John’s Campus, and welcomed the SHC’s first graduate students in 2015. He was among the first to move into the new Emera Innovation Exchange office space at 100 Signal Hill Road when the building opened in September 2018.

Between the opening, Snowmaggeddon, and then the pandemic years, it was an exciting start for Emera Innovation Exchange and Signal Hill Campus. Adam says, “There was no ‘normal’. We opened a first-of-its-kind facility at a time when St. John’s and the world was experiencing unprecedented times. ‘Innovation’ was our middle name – literally as well as figuratively.”

Things have levelled out since those earliest days, but rarely is there a dull moment. Adam’s position has evolved with the Campus, and now his admin and financial skills maintain order for Conference and Event Services, the Office of Public Engagement, the Newfoundland Quarterly, Operations and he is the go-to for all manner of SHC matters from all quarters.

Outside the office, he’s a full-time family man with wife Tiffany and their son Ben. A music lover with eclectic taste, Adam enjoys listening to music, as well as cooking, and hanging out with the family.

Fun Fact: Usually behind the scenes, but not always! Adam and Tiffany are a feature couple in Johnson Geo Centre wedding promotions!

WATCH THIS SPACE to learn more about the amazing people who make up the Conference and Event Services team at Signal Hill Campus, Memorial University.

02/17/2025

- When you book space at Emera Innovation Exchange (EIX), top-notch tech is part of the package, not an extra. That means you have all the AV basics covered when you work with us on your event with the convenience and cost savings of 'in house' tech.

There are MULTIPLE Large screens throughout the building - five in the three main conference spaces at EIX, one video wall in the iconic staircase, and three in the lower atrium. There are eight smaller seminar rooms to meet the needs of 2-30 people in various set-ups. Everywhere your event could be, there is AV for you at EIX.

Need to interreact with people in the room and online? Hybrid events are not a problem. Conference and Event Services also has you covered for almost any sized event.

The Main Conference Hall has space for up to 400, and the room can be reconfigured if you need a smaller space - with five large screens, pan-tilt-zoom cameras, and the capability to get the 'I am here' experience for everyone attending whether in the room or across the country. The cameras can cast the speaker to one screen and feature the online guests on another, which means there is not a bad seat in the house.

Smaller crew? Bring your laptop to plug-and-play in one of the eight smaller meeting rooms. Simple as 1-2-3. Log onto the MUN guest WiFi, connect an HDMI cable to your laptop, and voila - you're connected and in control.

That's just the basics. If beyond the basics is what you need, CES offers on-site expertise to make your vision reality.

And as always, when you book at EIX you get accessible spaces, convenient Pay-Per-Use Parking, and you're supporting student innovation and entrepreneurship. Also, we are Rainbow Registered, so you know we're welcoming and inclusive. Plus the beauty of Signal Hill; EIX is worth the second look! See more here -
https://www.mun.ca/signalhill/conference-centre/spaces/

WATCH THIS SPACE to learn more about the amazing people, spaces, and services of the Conference and Event Services team at Signal Hill Campus, Memorial University.