|
|
 |
ADVERTISEMENT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
|
ADVERTISEMENT
Chicago's Newest Gem
Opened in 2007, Chicago's McCormick Place West is the very latest in
meeting space. With over 100,000 square feet of dramatic ballroom, a
lush rooftop garden, and 61 state-of-the-art meeting rooms, it can be
configured any number of ways. It's the country's preeminent meeting
facility, in a city that accepts nothing less. Click
here.
|
 |
Up First
|
|
Event Industry Leaders to Convene Air Travel
Summit
By Dave Kovaleski
A summit to discuss what has been called “the
greatest single strategic threat to the stability of the exhibitions and
events industry”—the U.S. air transportation system—is being
developed by travel and events industry leaders.
The Travel Industry Association and the International Association of
Exhibitions and Events are partnering to develop a conference to talk
about ways to fix the broken air travel system for event organizers and
attendees. The specifics of the summit--including date, location, and
who will attend--have not been hammered out, but it will likely be in
June in Washington, D.C., says Steven Hacker, president and chief
executive officer at IAEE.
“Events depend entirely upon a functioning, convenient, safe air
transportation system,” says Hacker. “If people conclude that they
cannot get to events because of the inconsistency and inconvenience of
air travel, and if people conclude that the air transportation system is
not safe, events are going to be imperiled seriously.”
Read more about the summit.
|
|
|
|
ADVERTISEMENT
Extraordinary Events … Start with Impeccable Planning by
Lettuce Planet
With over 25 Lettuce Entertain You restaurants and the complimentary
services of an event professional, Lettuce Planet is your universal
source for extraordinary Dining Meetings and Special Events. Lettuce
Entertain You restaurants include six Metropolitan Cities including
Chicago, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Washington DC and Scottsdale.
For more information, click
here.
|
|
Solutions
|
|
New On-The-Go Webinar Series From PCMA
The Professional Convention Management Association has
introduced a new series of webinars targeted to busy meeting
professionals. PCMA’s “On-the-Go” Webinar Series is a collection
of 30-minute online educational offerings in three broad categories:
legal, technology, and general information.
The sessions are designed to provide relevant information in a condensed
and convenient format, PCMA officials say. Each session consists of a
30-minute lecture led by a topic expert, and a 15-minute
question-and-answer period. There are eight webinars scheduled for 2008,
including four legal sessions led by Tyra Hilliard, Esq.; two “info”
session led by Nancy Wilson, CMP, principal, Meeting Strategies
Worldwide, Portland, Ore.; and two technology sessions led by James
Spellos, president, Meeting U, a meetings technology company.
Read more about the schedule and topics discussed in the webinar
series.
|
|
|
|
ADVERTISEMENT
Join a group of senior planners in a panel discussion to review industry
best practices you can use to implement your own strategic meetings
management program. The free APEX webinar, organized by MeetingsNet and
the Convention Industry Council, and sponsored by Palace Resorts, will
take place on May 21 at 2 p.m. EDT. Click
here for more.
|
|
Sites and Venues
|
|
ALA to Return to New Orleans
The first association to hold a major convention in New
Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, the American Library Association, will
return to the city for annual meeting in 2011 and 2018.
"When ALA went to New Orleans in 2006, people thought we were crazy,"
said ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels in a press release. "The
coming of the librarians ended up being one of the biggest national news
stories
of the year. We're really looking forward to returning to one of
America's most wonderful and exotic cities."
In June 2006, nearly 17,000 librarians attended the ALA convention, the
first city-wide meeting held in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The
meeting helped encourage other groups to host conventions there,
according to the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors
Bureau. "We are grateful for ALA's commitment to New Orleans and we know
that their trust and confidence in us will be rewarded, as it was in
2006," said Nikki Nicholson, vice president of sales at the bureau.
|
|
|
|
ADVERTISEMENT
Nominate your favorite hotels, resorts, conference centers, and CVBs for
Association Meetings' 2008 Inner Circle Awards, and you'll be
automatically entered to win a special vacation package, courtesy of
Saddlebrook Resort in Tampa, Florida. For more information, click here.
|
|
Perspectives
|
|
Speak Loudly and With an Accent
By Dale Irvin
If you're considering having a meeting in Europe, this
column contains valuable tips. For instance, did you know that people in
Europe speak a totally different language than we do? In fact, they
speak many different languages. I speak neither Italian nor Greek, but I
was able to travel through these two European destinations by
communicating like a typical American. I simply spoke louder and with an
accent. Here, then, is what I learned on my latest travels.
It is often said that Rome was not built in a day and when you visit the
Eternal City, you quickly realize what is meant by that phrase. Rome was
not built in a day because nobody moves that fast over there. I take
that back. The traffic moves very fast. Uncomfortably fast, considering
that they have no lane markers, few rules, and a million motor scooters
roaming all over the roads at top speed.
Read more about the humorous
adventures abroad of Dale Irvin, a columnist for AM's sister
magazine, Financial and Insurance Meetings.
|
|
|
|
ADVERTISEMENT
Earn CEUs when you attend an online course offered by Harrah College of
Hotel Administration-University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Faculty from UNLV
and other experts present regularly scheduled, one-hour classes on
meeting planning logistics, marketing and sales, and risk and legal
issues, among others. Register using the MeetingsNet code MNPenton and
receive a discount. Click here
for a schedule.
|
|
|
|
A New Kind of Convention Center
By Sue Pelletier
Are we ready for virtual meetings?
Dan Parks, president and creative director of Corporate Planners Unlimited,
Inc., is betting that we are. In fact, Parks, along with cohort in
creation Gloria Nelson, CSEP, chief experience officer with Gloria Nelson Event Design,
LLC, spent the past six months and who-knows-how-many dollars and
person-hours of work putting together Virtualis, a sleek,
state-of-the-art convention and experiential learning center in the
virtual world called Second
Life.
I attended the grand opening last week, and I have to admit that,
despite some frustration with technical difficulties on my end, it was
pretty cool. The speaker lineup was not dissimilar to what you’d see
at any Meeting Professionals International or Professional Convention
Management Association meeting, including luminaries like business
author Joe
Pine (who, with his co-author Jim Gilmore, in fact did headline at
PCMA this year); futurist and innovation expert Jim Carroll; meeting industry
conference staples such as adult learning specialist and meetings
consultant Joan Eisenstodt; and industry legal guru John Foster, Esq.
There even were evening receptions with virtual bands and pyrotechnic
displays. I only made it to one concert, but I can only wish the bands
were that good at real-world receptions I’ve been to.
While not everyone is going to want to put in the time it takes to get
oriented and learn how to get around in Second Life (Parks says he has
it down to a 10-minute learning pod, handily located on the convention
center’s rooftop), if you currently are doing webinars or other
Web-based meetings, I’d give Second Life a shot. It’s infinitely
more engaging than your usual Web-Ex meeting (c’mon, admit it, you're
multitasking during those webinars. We all are). The speakers I met at
Virtualis were all really excited about the format, and Parks says
they’re all more than willing to make a return engagement.
The cost of hosting a meeting in Virtualis is minimal—Parks says
he’s doing this for love, not money--and who knows, it might just be a
way to engage your attendees in a whole new way. You may only get 20
people to show up, but if they’re anything like me, they’ll be
intrigued. And intrigued is good.
|
|
|
About this Newsletter
To unsubscribe from this newsletter go to: Unsubscribe
To subscribe to this newsletter, go to: Subscribe
For information on advertising in this newsletter, please contact Rob
Shore at 212.204.4280 or by e-mail
For information on classified advertising in The Product and Services
Center in The Meetings Group's five magazines, contact Cynthia Foristel at (203)
358-4378.
|
|
You are subscribed to this newsletter as #email#
To get this newsletter in a different format (Text or HTML),
or to change your e-mail address, please visit your profile
page to change your delivery preferences.
For questions concerning delivery of this newsletter, please contact our
Customer Service Department at:
Customer Service Department
MeetingsNet
A Penton Media publication
US Toll Free: 866-505-7173
International: 847-763-9504
Email:meetingsnet@pbinews.com
Penton Media | 249 W. 17th Street | New York, NY 10011
Copyright 2008, Penton Media. All rights reserved. This article is
protected by United States copyright and other intellectual property
laws and may not be reproduced, rewritten, distributed, re-disseminated,
transmitted,
displayed, published or broadcast, directly or indirectly, in any medium
without the prior written permission of Penton Media.
|
|
