MEETINGS SOUTH Magazine Interview with Mitchell Crosby of JMC Charleston

Meetings South editor Ruth Hill needed information on special event venues in Charleston and how they can be used, so she called the pre-eminent destination management company in Charleston—JMC Charleston and ‘dished’ with its owner, Mitchell Crosby.

“Crosby understands the local heritage that is reflected on the table and elsewhere. And he helps his clients experience it when they visit Charleston,” says Hill.

Crosby discussed some of the many venues he uses with Hill. The William Aiken House which accommodates a variety of small to company-wide conferences, receptions and events in six rooms and outdoor spaces, including a ballroom with early 19th century decor. At Lowndes Grove Plantation, Crosby likes to stage blues, brew and barbecue events, with food service from the back of pickups and up lighting on the ancient live oaks.
Meeting Street holds some favorite venues, like the ballrooms of Hibernian Society Hall and South Carolina Society Hall. On Broad Street, The Confederate Home was once home only to descendants of Confederate soldiers; today two ballrooms and a courtyard can be excellent platforms for many occasions.
“The key to venue selection success is determining client objectives for an event. Once we know what the client is trying to achieve, we can recommend the perfect venue for their event,” says Crosby. “We might split up a large group—one group going for a garden tour, one for an architectural tour, and another for sailing on the harbor, then we bring them back together for a presentation, such as that of antique silver with the Charleston Silver Lady, Dawn Evers Corley. If the budget allows, we’ll send them all home with something unexpected, like a silver strawberry fork.”

And for that really exclusive occasion, tea and garden tours at one of Charleston’s historic homes can be memorable. All it takes is access—something Crosby seems to have plenty of.