Staff Spotlight: Meredith Clements
Job title: Wish Logistics Manager
Years at Make-A-Wish: A year this month
Work anniversary date: May 24th
What’s a typical day look like for you? A typical day for me consists of planning, planning, and more planning! When working on travel wishes, I am booking flights, making hotel reservations, and planning excursions. I am also working with other chapters on wish assists and coordinating trip details with the chapters to ensure our families have a great time at their final destination. While families are on trips, I make myself available should there be any unexpected issues. For project wishes, I am working with a variety of vendors and scheduling site visits and installations. I also work with our amazing Wish Granters to plan wish celebrations or send-offs. Lastly, I am always communicating with our wish families, so they are up to date on the status of their child’s wish.
Favorite part of your job: Seeing the wish come to life, either when a family has safely returned home from a memorable trip or a project wish is completed. It is a blessing to know we are helping families create lasting memories together throughout their wish experience.
A memorable wish experience: Each wish is so memorable! One of the most memorable wishes for me has to be Ellie’s wish for a horse. Ellie and her parents were so sweet, and I enjoyed getting to meet with them on multiple occasions and getting to know them. Ellis is a little shy, and it was a joy to watch her open up throughout the wish journey. You could tell her passion for horses and her desire to have her own. Ellie and I were able to bond over our love for art, and she even made me a few drawings. We were also both in Girl Scouts and were able to chat about all the fun experiences we had while earning badges, selling, and going to camp. The horse trader we worked with to find Ellie’s horse was amazing and a valuable resource. She kept Ellie at the center of everything and made sure the horse was the perfect fit. Ellie’s family was extremely grateful for everything Make-A-Wish has done for them and hope they can pay it forward to another wish family. The overall wish journey could not have gone any better. Ellie’s wish will always hold a special place in my heart.
Hobbies: Photography, Hiking, Traveling
Something people might not know about you: I earned my Girl Scout Gold Award in 2016. For my project, I partnered with LowerNine, a nonprofit in New Orleans, and refurbished part of their property so staff and volunteers had a nice place to relax after working all day.