Isenberg Honors Conventures Founder Dusty Rhodes with 2026 HTM Lifetime Achievement Award

The Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM) Department at UMass Amherst’s Isenberg School of Management honored Dusty Rhodes, president and founder of Conventures Inc., with the 2026 HTM Lifetime Achievement Award at the department’s annual awards dinner April 13 at the Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport.

The event is the department’s premier celebration of excellence across hospitality and tourism—bringing together alumni, industry leaders, students, faculty, and friends—while also serving as a key fundraiser supporting HTM students through experiential learning, scholarships, and programming.

Rhodes is recognized as a driving force behind some of New England’s most memorable and effective events and marketing campaigns. She founded Conventures in 1977, helping to pioneer the use of special events as a strategic marketing medium at a time when the industry was still emerging. Over a career spanning more than four decades, she has organized more than 5,000 events and helped shape fundraising and event standards used across the industry.

Rhodes is also known for creating signature public events with lasting community impact, including the Boston 10K for Women, which began in 1977, and major waterfront celebrations such as Boston’s tall ship festivals, like Sail Boston.

“Dusty Rhodes is the kind of leader who doesn’t just produce remarkable events—she elevates an entire field,” said HTM Department Chair Melissa Baker, PhD, the Jaime ’76 and Cindy Pereira Faculty Fellow. “Her creativity, commitment to teamwork, and decades of innovation—from setting new standards in nonprofit fundraising to delivering landmark community events—have shaped hospitality and event management across New England. We’re proud to recognize Dusty’s extraordinary influence and the example she sets for the next generation of industry leaders.”

A Career Built on Teamwork—and the Ability to Pivot

For Rhodes, the Lifetime Achievement Award is as much a recognition of her team as it is of her own leadership.

“I am very much honored to be selected for the HTM Lifetime Achievement Award and truly humbled,” she said. “Our success is primarily based on the strong and experienced people who work, or have worked, at Conventures. One is only as good as the team they have built, and it’s our hope that the team represents our clients’ best interests.”

Rhodes also emphasized the reality of the events industry: Planning and problem solving must coexist in real time.

“It’s not easy working in the events business,” she said. “One is always braced with the prospect that something will go wrong, and it almost always does. The event business is 50 percent planning and 50 percent reacting, so how you pivot is how you are judged.”

Creating Moments That Bring Communities Together

Asked which projects best represent the impact she hoped Conventures would have, Rhodes pointed to events that create joy and belonging.

“Some of the most memorable events are those that embrace families and children,” she said. “If we can produce gleeful and awe-inspiring looks in a toddler, we feel fulfilled.”

She cited Sail Boston and First Night as examples of large-scale public events that create shared experiences across generations.

“Sail Boston, with its magnificent ships, brings joy to a family watching from shore,” said Rhodes. “Or on New Year’s Eve, at First Night when a child first witnesses fireworks above them in the sky. Those events which inspire—those are truly our goal.”

How Nonprofit Fundraising Events Have Evolved

Rhodes helped popularize “tribute dinners” and fundraising auctions, and she has seen expectations change as audiences and donors have grown more discerning over the years.

“Nowadays, one must choreograph the presentation very professionally,” she said. “Be timely, be succinct, communicate early and often, don’t be sloppy with guests’ names, and—most importantly—don’t allow speakers to violate the timelines.”

Advice for Students Entering Hospitality and Event Management

Rhodes’ guidance for Isenberg students is candid and practical, especially for those drawn to the glamour that can appear on the surface of high-profile events.

“Learn the back of the house and find out how the building or event space works,” she said. “Find the custodians, the laborers, the building managers, and show them respect and appreciation. They will be your best allies when it comes to staging a production.”

She added: “Special events may look glamorous, but they’re a far cry from that. Be ready to get your hands dirty, work long hours, and be ready for the unexpected and do it all—with a smile on your face.”

Isenberg’s Role in Developing Future Leaders

Rhodes also praised Isenberg’s HTM program for strengthening the talent pipeline.

“The hospitality and tourism management program at the Isenberg School of Management does an exceptional job preparing students for the industry,” she said. “Graduates leave not only well educated but also experienced, motivated, and ready to contribute from day one. We applaud the program for delivering such talent to the tourism industry and wish to continue to support Isenberg in every way that we can.”

• Read more about the other individuals who were honored on April 13.
• ​​​View the 2026 HTM Annual Awards Dinner photo gallery.