Date: April 6, 2017 Location: McCormick Place West

Date: April 27, 2017 Location: Hyatt Regency Chicago, Chicago, IL

Date: June 6, 2017 Location: The Odyssey Country Club, Tinley Park, IL

Date: June 19-22, 2017 Location: MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV Non-members purchase a #WEC17 bundle! Get a one-year membership and conference registration. Enter code LVCMBR17 at checkout.

By Rachael Riggs, Tourism Vancouver In my first article, we talked about what to think about before you build your RFP. The five questions to start with were: 1. What is the vision of the program, and what are the goals of the meeting? 2. What innovations do you want to bring to this meeting? 3. Do you really need to consider 10 destinations? 4. Do you send the RFP to both the convention and visitors bureau (CVB)/destination marketing organization (DMO) and the hotel global sales offices? 5. Do you think you are providing too much detail? Let’s take a deep dive into No. 2: meeting innovation.

By Sasha Sook, Summits of Chicago Meeting Professionals International (MPI) members are giving of their time and money to many different organizations. These generous people are inspiring others to give back. MPI is full of passionate people wanting to get involved. I am always interested in ways I can give back so I am interviewing the owner of our company, Louise Silberman, who is involved in so many different organizations to help get myself and hopefully others started.

By Ted Miller, HMCC, CHME, CHSP, CGTP, CGMP, Hilton Professional friends, is that even possible and do they mix? Or in reality is this mentoring? Young or old, new or veteran to the industry, we all can learn from each other. Friendship through mentoring is an important part of our industry.

There are many reasons we are members of MPI. We may have joined to expand our network, stay updated on trends in our industry or broaden our knowledge in our field. Without the dedication of our colleagues, these benefits of our membership could not be achieved. In July, we will have an opportunity to give thanks and celebrate the best in our industry; members who have contributed to professionalism in our field, kept our chapter on its mission and inspired many. We asked Katie Callahan-Giobbi a recent recipient of our Chapter Leader of the Year Award what her recognition meant to her and she replied "MPI-CAC represents the best of who we are, being acknowledged by the chapter is an honor I will always cherish, but mostly, I am thankful for the friends and colleagues I have met along the way." Let’s celebrate our friends and colleagues! Please take a moment to nominate one of your peers to recognize all that they have contributed to our chapter. Let’s thank our nominees for all that they do and celebrate their achievements in July.

Help a colleague, friend or young professional experience the benefits of MPI membership. Share this voucher with a future MPI member, which will waive the $50 application fee. Also, for each new member who uses this referral voucher, you will receive $25 off your next membership renewal. Be sure to add your name and member ID to each voucher prior to giving it to a new member. After all, what are friends for?

Thank you to the NEXT committee members for all their hard work on NEXT!

Interested in showcasing your Chicago area venue to MPI-CAC members and guests? Consider hosting an upcoming event. Want to gain exposure to the Chicago area's leading industry professionals? Consider sponsoring an upcoming event. Looking to make a bigger impact throughout the year? Consider becoming a MPI-CAC Annual Partner.

Due: April 15, 2017

MPI WEC 2017 April 5, 2017