A Letter from the Chair, Matt DiSalvo, CMP

Hello,

Here is my third installment to CMP Today. It’s like my own little group therapy session with all of you. LOL.  

So, a little business first. You may have heard that the CMP Conclave will be at the MGM National Harbor, Maryland, this November. A big shout out to MGM for their continued support of the CMP. It is most appreciated. I sincerely look forward to seeing you all there and to what MGM has in store for us. 

Also, to keep you up to date, your CMP Commission is finalizing the work plan in support of the CIC Strategic Plan. We are developing both task forces and subcommittees that will research and develop recommendations to CIC. This will create volunteer opportunities from within the CMP community in several distinct knowledge centers and I sincerely encourage your participation. We are always stronger and more relevant when we stand together. Your expertise will make a difference. You can fill out this form for CIC if you are interested in a volunteer role.   

To continue the volunteer theme, within the next several months you will see an announcement for nominations to the CMP Governance Commission. Please consider nominating a fellow CMP colleague or self-nomination. It is vital to the continued success of the CMP that we, as stakeholders, are involved and engaged in our designation and it’s immense value to the industry. Please think about it and read through the nomination papers when they are posted.  

Lastly, this is my self-indulgent babbling. I’ve been thinking recently about the future of our industry and what is next on the horizon for the CMP. This past Friday, one of my clients along with myself volunteered again as judges (yes, she bullied me into it the first time but now I guilt her) for the state finals of MA DECA. If you’re not familiar with MA DECA, it is the State Career Development Conference filled with competition and leadership activities. Roughly 2,700 high school students participated this year. While there are many different categories, some individual and some team based, I was fortunate enough to be one of two judges placed in the Hospitality and Tourism Professional Sales Presentation Skills category. It was a role play scenario where the student represented a DMC, and I was the planner being pitched to regarding an upcoming program. Wow, quite a few of these kids are ROCK STARS. There were other judging categories going on in the same room, which was great because I could eavesdrop while waiting for my next student. It was so enlightening and enriching to see these young men and woman present like true professionals.  

Folks, if this is our future, we are in good hands. Bravo! So I ask, what are we doing to foster engagement from this generation? To plagiarize, is this the "new frontier"? Well at the very least, it is the next frontier.

One of the areas that the Commission will be working on is Career Landscape. What is the career path for a future CMP, and a current CMP? So, what do we do next? There are some fantastic college programs but are we missing an opportunity with this generation? Do we create opportunities for these young minds? Can we engage them into a future with our industry? How do we do this? Where to we start? When do we start?

I’ll be posing these questions to my colleagues, please do the same and I would appreciate knowing what you hear. My best to all of you. Thanks for listening.

Yours in Service,

Matt DiSalvo, CMP