~ Linda Tillman, founder of rEVENTS Academy, and regional and rural tourism advocate
rEVENTS Academy was developed from learnings gained from 17 years of working with regional event committees in our regional tourism development consultancy, Tilma Group. We found many event committees need significant support but couldn’t afford to hire one-on-one help from an expert.
Aware that events are powerful drivers of visitation to regional destinations, and that their long-term viability needs to be supported, we created rEVENTS Academy to affordably upskill regional event organisers so they can run their events efficiently and effectively.
Our tools, resources and training aim to address the key issues faced by event and festival organisers, based on a framework of ‘Ten Key Steps to Successful & Sustainable Event Management’ – a top-to-toe holistic approach to event management, tailored to solve the challenges your committee is currently facing.
“Linda really gets it, the rural community thing. She is articulate and inspiring in the most humble and relatable way.
Linda brings so much curiosity, passion and genuine care to her work, a wealth of knowledge and innate ability to not only see potential, but to motivate others to manifest that into reality.”
Qualifications:
B. Bus. Tourism, Southern Cross University
Global Sustainable Tourism Council Certification
Well known in the Australian events industry, Linda loves nothing more than to see regional events thrive.
Linda has been involved in the tourism industry for over 20 years and is a long-time advocate for efficient event management. Linda’s can-do, practical approach makes her is well-placed to guide events to long-term, sustainable success.
Linda Tillman is also Managing Director of regional tourism development consultancy, Tilma Group, and a past Director on the Board of Australian Regional Tourism.
West Fest
Berrima Heritage Festival
Phillip Island Wellness Festival
CelticFest
Taste Riverina
National Horse Festvial
Regen Youth Festival
Griffith La Festa
Felton Food Festival
Jackie Howe Festival of the Golden Shears
National Rural Women’s Conference
Linda has also developed innumerable event strategies for regions - looking at the bigger picture of how all the events in a region can together better provide economic and social benefits to the community.
Australian Festivals Industry Conference (2022, 2021)
Australian Regional Tourism Convention (2022, 2020, 2018)
LGNSW Tourism Conference (2020, 2018)
The Business of Events (2020)
Australian Events Symposium (2017)
Two years pro bono supporting the University of Technology Sydney Masters in Event Management Students
Linda regularly volunteers at local events that align with personal interests such as her son’s mountain biking club’s events such as Oceania Downhill Championships, and Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers
Linda is one of those people that wakes up at sparrows and seizes the day. When she isn’t managing her businesses, you will find Linda in the gym doing an insane number of burpees, or pounding trails with her trusty dog, Spur.
Events, travel, and adventure have shaped Cathy's life.
In June 2016, she embraced an exciting new chapter as she shook, rattled, and rolled from Brisbane to the regional town of Parkes. Her mission? To steer one of Australia's most unique events, the Parkes Elvis Festival, into a fantastic future as its Festival Director.
For five incredible years, Cathy led the way in this regional event success story, achieving ‘Hall of Fame’ status at the NSW Tourism Awards, and promoted to the role of Visitor Economy and Major Events Specialist.
Now, Cathy has decided to channel her passion into a new endeavour: helping grow and develop regional events all across Australia.
With a remarkable 30 years of event experience under her belt, she brings a wealth of knowledge to the table. Having worked on more than 50 events across three continents, Cathy's hands-on expertise makes her a valuable asset for event managers seeking logical and practical advice in event planning and management.
Throughout her career, Cathy has been part of some truly remarkable moments. She contributed her talents to prestigious events such as
the Sydney 2000 Olympics
the ICC Cricket World Cups in Australia, South Africa, and the Caribbean
the 2003 IRB Rugby World Cup, and
the inaugural ICC World Twenty20.
These experiences have shaped her into the seasoned professional she is today.
However, Cathy's accomplishments don't stop at large-scale events. She has a strong background in regional events as well.
During her tenure as Marketing and Events Manager for The Entrance Town Centre Management, she orchestrated a wide range of exciting events, including school holiday entertainment, New Year's Eve celebrations, Australia Day festivities, and unforgettable Christmas celebrations. In just four years, Cathy's dedication and expertise helped grow attendance figures for one of their major annual events from 8,000 to a staggering 35,000.
Cathy Treasure's journey has been one filled with passion, adventure, and a deep love for the event industry. With her extensive experience and unwavering dedication, she continues to make a positive impact on events both big and small, bringing joy to attendees and creating unforgettable experiences along the way.
With a background in strategic tourism development, a strong social conscience, a love of people, plants, animals and life, Kushla supports the Academy in the background.
In particular, she is an advocate for how we can be more sustainable, and help event organisers make sustainable choices.
rEVENTS Academy reduces where possible emissions from our offices and online activities, and offsets remaining emissions using Greenfleet.
We encourage and enable event organisers to make their events more sustainable, and also to engage their audiences in making sustainable choices.
Free articles
“Events are important drivers of tourism.
3/4 of event attendees would not have gone to a destination if not for an event.
For 1/2 of first-time visitors to a destination, and 2/3 of repeat visitors, an event is the main reason for visiting.”
“When our Council asked our committee to be part of the program, I was a little skeptical thinking, ‘We know what we are doing,’ but accepted their offer. How wrong I was!
While we had a successful event, the things Linda took us through made us realize we were not only missing out on the opportunity but lacking real direction for our event’s long-term future. There are many things we took from the program which not only helped with this year’s event but has also given us a head start to next year.
We found Linda to be very accommodating and easily understood through the online sessions and it was more of a discussion with purpose than a teacher-student scenario.
We recommend this program to any event committee regardless of what stage your event is are at, but we would especially recommend it for new events at the start of planning. Because of the personal nature of the program, it allows for moulding to your event and isn’t just a general cut and paste your name into templates.”
