Do you like to save money? I know I do! And likely, all of us do. Do you know that if you recertify your CMP early in the year, you save money? Well, you do! In the previous issue of CMP Today, I mentioned that I am up for recertification this year. Recertifying by April 30 means I will save $50 off my recertification fee.

The Events Industry Council is excited to announce that the Economic Significance Survey is officially available to members and events industry professionals.The study, which looks at the economic impact of face-to-face meetings and business events, was done in partnership with Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics company. The Events Industry Council spearheads this study every four years and our most recent research revealed that the industry accounts for hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue to the U.S. economy and supports 5.9 million jobs – an increase since the last study from 2012. As such, it is important for all event professionals to understand and appreciate the economic value our industry holds.

Mark your calendars! 2018 CMP Conclave will be taking place November 16–18, 2018. People who visit here get a taste of variety — in entertainment, cuisine, the arts, nightlife, the great outdoors — that brings them back time and again. Birmingham was born out of the iron and steel industry. The city is also well-known for its prominent role in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. If diversity were a place, it would be Birmingham. Want to know more about this great city? Check out the video today!

27 March, 2018 11:00 AM EDT 2018 is an exciting year for sustainability in the industry. So often we think of being green as an environmental protection initiative, but there are also great opportunities for the bank account to become a little greener as well. We will explore a donation-first approach to turning "trash into cash," as well as the benefits that donations bring to local community organizations. Click Here to Register.

Please register for the Legacy Document Consultation Webinar Series: Event Specifications Guide on Monday, March 26, 2018 11:00 AM EDT. The Legacy Documents, originally the APEX Best Practices Documents, outline various methods to streamline business processes and create efficiencies. A focus for 2018 will be to release updated versions of document templates used by event professionals. The first document we will be reviewing is the 2018 Event Specifications Guide (ESG). The ESG is the industry’s accepted terminology and format for conveying information about the requirements for an event.

If you've been involved in supporting, creating or managing a sustainable event in 2017, we are inviting you to apply for the 2018 IMEX-EIC Innovation in Sustainability Award. Your application will be judged on innovation in sustainable practices; impact on the environment, community and local economy; legacy, collaboration and commitment to industry education. Applications are due March 1, 2018. The award will be presented at the Gala Dinner at IMEX in Frankfurt on Wednesday, May 16, 2018, alongside an array of industry awards from DI, IAPCO, IAEE, MPI, JMIC, PCMA and SITE.

The Events Industry Council is analyzing current trends related to the extent of room block poaching on our industry. In recent years, meetings and exhibitions have been increasingly affected by room block piracy or poaching. Room block pirates and poachers are businesses that actively seek to recruit or divert event participants, primarily attendees and exhibitors, away from official room blocks and into other hotel bookings, using a range of techniques to approach event participants and gain their business. In response to these issues, in 2014 the Events Industry Council conducted a study and released resources for event professionals to help reduce the likelihood and mitigate the impact of room block poaching. We are now updating the data to assess the current extent of room block poaching, the effectiveness of prevention and mitigation practices, and the degree to which it is also affecting other services in the events industry.

The Virginia Tech Daily News recently announced that as of July 1, 2018, its Department of Hospitality & Tourism Management will be getting a new name: The Howard Feiertag Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management! This is a direct result of an extremely generous contribution to the program by CMP Founder and Events Industry Council Hall of Leaders inductee Howard Feiertag.

Complexity in the event tech space has increased in recent years. At the same time, a variety of new platforms have sprung up to provide planners and buyers a range of services in one place. Why use one provider for your app, and another for your marketing efforts, when you can rely on a single suite of products to use when you want? Cvent pioneered this model, and others have followed suit.

Even though times are changing, live events will always have their place.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a law that regulates the collection, use, storage, disclosure and other processing of "personally identifiable information" or "PII." It was adopted by the European Parliament in April 2016 and takes effect on May 25, 2018. It requires businesses to protect the personal data and privacy of EU citizens and applies to transactions within the EU as well as to transfer of data outside the EU.

Beverly Johnson, CMP, is a proud Washington, D.C. native and has been a part of the American Chemical Society (ACS) since 1982. In the past 36 years, Johnson has watched the ACS carry out its mission with great success, spreading the science of chemistry to the American public. The last quarter of those years have brought something new and exciting to her role at ACS: Sustainable event planning.

U.S. Bank Stadium, located in Minneapolis, was home to Super Bowl LII, which took place on Feb. 4, 2018. The indoor stadium opened in 2016 and is the home of the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL, and hosts a variety of other events. Events Industry Council Sustainability Chair,Lindsay Arell caught up with the two members of U.S. Bank Stadium Operations team, Bradley Vogel, MS, sustainability coordinator, U.S. Bank Stadium and Curtis Schmillen, PE, director of operations, U.S. Bank Stadium, to learn more about their sustainability program and the impact of hosting Super Bowl LII.

As a way of mitigating the environmental impact of events, and part of supporting legacy programs of social and environmental sustainability programs, the Events Industry Council supports the kick-off of the Trillion Tree Campaign — called PlantAhead and organized by Plant-for-the-Planet — on March 9, 2018 at the Grimaldi Forum, Monaco.

Have you been quoted in an article? Do you have some exciting news to share? Contact us at cmptoday@eventscouncil.org, and we can share it with the leading individuals and companies involved in the events industry!