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Allegheny College is one of the “Top Picks” as an historic and scenic venue for organizations to hold their conferences and meetings, according to a national event-planning group.

Allegheny’s campus joins other historic colleges and universities featured by Unique Venues, a marketing and membership organization that brings together “one-of-a-kind event venues” with meeting planners. The organization represents thousands of non-traditional meeting properties in the United States and Canada. Unique Venues released its list of top meeting venues in November.

“It speaks to our historical significance that Allegheny stands with larger institutions like Yale and Vanderbilt universities” in the top of the “Meeting in the Midst of History” venues in 2019, said Lynn McManness-Harlan, the College’s director of Conference and Event Services.

“This is a great opportunity for Allegheny College to gain national exposure in the meeting and conference industry,” McManness-Harlan said. “It will, hopefully, open the door to a completely different type of clientele and/or steer a group to Allegheny that might otherwise have gone elsewhere in northwest Pennsylvania.”

Other venues listed in the “Top Picks” category include Oxford College of Emory University in Oxford, Georgia; Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee; Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio; Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut; American University Washington College of Law; University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island.

“The combination of the beauty, historic features of campus and the excellent services by all involved during events — from building coordinators, Physical Plant, Parkhurst Dining and St. Moritz Building Services to Conference & Event Services professional and student staff — helps us maintain an exceptional relationship with our customers,” said McManness-Harlan.

McManness-Harlan said she is currently in contact with several potential conferences that are considering Allegheny as a meeting venue.

“The ability to walk through a beautiful, historical campus, with a campus community that provides a friendly and warm welcome, is always what I hear first from potential clientele. The ability to offer a venue with historic significance while providing up-to-date technology lends a distinctive and memorable experience for those who come to our campus,” said McManness-Harlan.