CIC Out in Full Force at IMEX America

CIC had a great showing at IMEX America on Oct. 15-17 in Las Vegas, from very engaged and productive CIC Council and Board meetings to a not-soon-to-be-forgotten CIC Hall of Leaders and Pacesetter Awards Gala, as well as our sponsorship of and exhibit presence at the well-attended IMEX-CIC Inspiration Center on the show floor.

The CIC Council heard from industry game changers Roger Tondeur, CEO of MCI Group; Dave Gabri, president and CEO of Associated Luxury Hotels International; and Reggie Aggarwal, founder and CEO of cVent. Roger lead a discussion on globalization from a meetings and association perspective. Dave shared ideas on delivering member value, and Reggie provided valuable insights on the current and future impact of technologies on the meetings and events industry.

The CIC Hall of Leaders Gala, which kicked off IMEX America 2013 on Sunday night, was well attended by industry power players in town to help honor our industry’s pioneers; both those who have demonstrated innovation and leadership over a lifetime and those who are doing so currently. The celebration, filled with the glitz and glamour befitting the honorees was truly a night to remember.

This year, the first ever Policymaker’s Forum was held at IMEX America. Modeled after the very successful Politicians Forum at IMEX Frankfurt, I had the pleasure of helping to craft and introduce an industry panel on the value of meetings facilitated by Larry Luteran, Hilton Worldwide, with participants Deborah Sexton, PCMA; Paul Van Deventer, MPI; and Rod Cameron, Joint Meetings Industry Council. All panelists spoke to the importance of the meetings industry continuing to tell our story about the value meetings bring to communities, not only for the economic benefit of spending, jobs and taxes, but the critical business outcomes and societal benefits that occur when we meet face to face.

Finally, CIC had a large presence in the IMEX-CIC Inspiration Center, which IMEX has continued to expand and improve since its inception. This year, a number of attendees stopped by CIC's booth to meet staff members and ask great questions about applying for the CMP and recertifying. We were joined in the booth by Roger Rickard, founder of Voices in Advocacy, with whom we have partnered for the Advocacy Hub program. He talked to attendees about the advantages of joining the effort to advance the importance of the meeting and convention industry. CIC staff also led four sessions at the Inspiration Center: "Power Players: Findings from the CMP Census" at the Center's Research Pod, "CMP-HC: A Certification for Healthcare Meeting Professionals" at one of the Center's Campfires, "High Speed Internet Access (HSIA): What You Need to Know When Free is Not an Option" and "APEX: Tools to Save You Time & Money." I am pleased to share that all sessions were well attended and CIC was elated to have the opportunity to share the wealth of programs and knowledge we have available for use by professionals in the industry.

Karen Kotowski, CAE, CMP, is the chief executive officer of the Convention Industry Council.

The Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) is a
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