Member Spotlight | Emily Moss & Savannah Schuchardt
Posted by [email protected] on May. 26, 2026 / Subscribe 0
Earlier this spring, the Missouri Valley Regional Conference (MVRC) was held in Bentonville, AR. Among the 200+ attendees were two SMPS St. Louis members who were attending the conference for the first time. Emily Moss and Savannah Schuchardt, who are Senior Pursuit Specialists at Horner & Shifrin, recently interviewed with each other, discussing their experiences, lessons learned and their excitement for 2028, when St. Louis hosts MVRC.
Savannah: The Missouri Valley Regional Conference was just a few weeks ago. Emily, what's your biggest MVRC takeaway, in a sentence or two?
Emily: This was my first SMPS conference, so I didn’t know what I was going to get out of it. I went in with an open mind, to see what I could learn and see how I could apply it to my day-to-day duties. It definitely delivered on the content shared in the sessions we attended.
Savannah: I think going in with an open mind is the way to do it, because you can learn so much more.
Emily: Savannah, what were you hoping to get out of the conference, and did it deliver?
Savannah: I thought that the conference was very well organized. It was a well-oiled machine, the way it flowed, and the way we were given information ahead of time. I felt very prepared for it and very knowledgeable about where I needed to go next and what was happening the whole time. I thought it was done very well, especially since it was planned by SMPS volunteers who have full-time jobs outside this organization.
Emily: They stayed exactly on schedule, almost down to the minute. So that was nice to know what to expect throughout your day.
Savannah: Absolutely!
Savannah: Emily, what stood out most to you about the overall experience? Was there a session or moment that really stuck with you?
Emily: The last session that I attended — Beyond the Proposal, which was presented by Katie Cash of Smartegies — was probably my favorite session throughout the conference. At Horner & Shifrin, we have a pursuit side and a communication side within our marketing group. Katie presented a nice session on the importance of collaboration between those sides. A lot of clients are now doing a kind of pre-proposal audit — they're looking at our firm online, checking out our people, reviewing our project experience, and seeing whether those individuals actually worked on those projects. It’s important to have collaboration between both groups in making sure that content is online, so if our clients do look at it, it's there and they can see the proof that we’ve worked on these projects. Then we double down and have it in our proposal too!
Emily: Savannah, what surprised you about the conference? How relevant was the content to our day-to-day work?
Savannah: I feel like the content was very relevant, and I picked up a lot from it. One of my favorite sessions on the marketing track was Steven Gallo’s Project Storytelling. We work at an engineering firm, so our project write-ups can be very structured and technical. While that is important, Steven spoke about including narrative-driven information and how it is more memorable than facts alone. Changing that mindset in our writing is something we, as marketers, can contribute to the pursuit process in a meaningful way. I thought that was very interesting, and I pulled a lot of takeaways from that session to go into my proposal reviews.
Emily: I agree. I think we can definitely apply what we learned to refining our approaches and project descriptions.
Savannah: Emily, how was the networking experience? Did you make any meaningful connections or have conversations that stuck with you?
Emily: I loved the networking experience. I am part of the St. Louis SMPS chapter, but I live on the Illinois side, so it's sometimes harder for me to attend events or programs. While I was at MVRC, I was really able to reconnect with the St. Louis chapter and form new friendships with people from other chapters. There were several people that I loved hanging out with, and I know those connections will continue outside of MVRC. I loved the happy hour. I liked the dinners after the days of sessions. It was all really enjoyable.
Savannah: I agree. I feel like networking was strongly prioritized at this conference, and we were given plenty of opportunities to do so in comfortable settings.
Emily: Savannah, knowing St. Louis is hosting in 2028, what excites you most about that opportunity?
Savannah: I'm really excited for it to be in St. Louis. It's going to be in our backyard — no hotels for us! But also, to show off what our city offers. I'm not from here, but I'm proud to live here. There are so many things we can tie into our community from the conference, like Bentonville did, which I really enjoyed. I'm excited to see how that is done and just for people to get to know St. Louis and what we love most about the city.
Emily: I liked that about MVRC in Bentonville, too — that it was very tied to the community and culture. I think it'll be great.
Savannah: Emily, who should make it a priority to attend this conference? And if there's anyone hesitant about attending, what advice would you give them?
Emily: I've been in the AEC industry for eight years now, and this was my first SMPS conference. I was still able to learn and apply many of the topics covered in the sessions to our day-to-day work. So I think it ranges from anyone who just joined the industry to someone who hasn't attended a conference before. It's a great opportunity to gain some knowledge.
Savannah: I agree. I fully believe that you never stop learning. Our industry is ever-changing, so it's important to attend these conferences to stay current and relevant, especially with emerging AI trends. I also think this conference is great about making people comfortable — even if you don't know anyone going, the networking opportunities can make you feel really welcomed. There are lots of opportunities to get dinner without being on a certain invite list.
Savannah: Last question — finish this sentence: "If you don't attend the 2028 conference in St. Louis, you'll miss out on…"
Emily: A great opportunity to network, to meet new people. That was one of my favorite things about MVRC — just making new connections and reconnecting with my St. Louis chapter. Same question to you: "If you don't attend the 2028 conference in St. Louis, you'll miss out on…"
Savannah: Being ahead of the game and great memories.
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