I just submitted my recertification and saved that $50I told you about last month. Now it is time to start planning professional development and continuing education for the next recertification in five years! I know this might sound crazy, but what can I say, I am a planner! I try to ensure continuous professional development in order to keep up with industry trends and make myself more informed.

Kristen Mulieri, CMP

Nanette Baecher, CMP

Matt DiSalvo, CMP

Global Meetings Industry Day is fast approaching! On April 12, meeting professionals from around the world will come together to celebrate our industry’s value on a global stage. So far, 102 GMID events have been registered by 98 organizations in 21 countries! The goal is to surpass the number of events hosted in 2017. If your organization is hosting a GMID event and you do not see it listed here, please take two minutes to register the event this week. By registering your event, you ensure it’s included in our final tally and will be highlighted in our media materials and outreach. For additional information, or if you will be speaking at an event on April 12, please contact Jenny Waldmann at jwaldmann@apcoworldwide.com. If there is not an event in your area, Meeting Professionals International and Meetings Mean Business will host a virtual event showcasing industry events worldwide. Attendees will be able to connect with industry leaders and peers as they rally, educate and advocate at events hosted by MPI, PCMA, ILEA, NACE, Spin, Site, HSMAI, CEMA, and others during this 12-hour virtual event.

IMEX introduces "She Means Business" as part of IMEX Frankfurt, highlighting the role of women in the events industry. EIC @ IMEX Frankfurt Events Industry Council will be at IMEX. Stop by our stand # G618 to meet the staff, answer your questions about recertication, find out more about producing sustainable events and much more!

Save the date for 2018 CMP Conclave: November 16–18, 2018 in Birmingham, AL. We are planning a great educational program, and Birmingham is planning many special things to enhance your stay. To be in Birmingham is to be in the arms of the South. Where the energy is palpable and a spirited nature is tempered by cosmopolitan charm. It’s to be in a place that’s as modern and contemporary as it is classically southern. And to experience something you won’t soon forget. Watch the video to learn more about this vibrant, diverse city.

Friday, April 13, 2018 11:00 a.m. EDT Register Now Join us for the second Events Industry Council Legacy Document Consultation Webinar. A focus for 2018 will be to release updated versions of document templates, originally developed through the APEX initiative, and used by event professionals.

Tuesday, April 24, 2018 11:00 a.m. EDT Register Now Food waste is a serious concern for our industry, the environment and society. Fortunately, it is an easy challenge to overcome in the journey to make events more sustainable. In this webinar, we'll explore the impact and sources of food waste and how events can help in efforts to reduce food loss and food waste. We'll look at how chefs are tackling the issue with an eye to sustainability, cost reduction and art creation. While wasting less is the primary goal, we also need to prepare for situations where there is excess food left after an event. To address this, we'll look at how we can introduce successful food recovery programs.

Tonight, I am reviewing the final touches of a C-suite executive retreat that is being conducted tomorrow. The beach condo is perfect, everything is in place. The food and beverages handled, the schedules double checked. The professional actors are trained and ready for the situational training exercises that will be conducted. Now it is time for me to put on my influential leader hat. To shift from tactical to influential. From this point on I trust my team to do what needs to be done as I move into authority, expert and leader peer. How does the meeting professional shift gears?

Please help us to assess the impact of room block poaching and effectiveness of prevention and response practices by completing the survey here. The average completion time is only 6 minutes. Please complete the survey by April 3, 2018. In a press release issued 28 February, 2018. USPOULTRY announced the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia awarded $750,000 in damages and attorney’s fees to the Association as a result of its recent challenge to the deceptive advertising practices of the unaffiliated travel agency, Tarzango, LLC. The Court concluded that Tarzango’s use of USPOULTRY’s valid and subsisting IPPE U.S. Trademark Registrations constituted trademark infringement. USPOULTRY is responsible for the organization and execution of the International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE). Each year, exhibitors and attendees are inundated with solicitations from unaffiliated travel agencies, housing agents and other service providers purporting to be endorsed by or otherwise affiliated with trade shows like IPPE. In 2017, Tarzango sent unsolicited emails to IPPE exhibitors and attendees representing that the solicitation was on behalf of IPPE, despite knowledge that Tarzango was in no way affiliated with IPPE or its authorized housing partner, Experient.

Radisson Blu Hotels won the first IMEX-EIC Innovation in Sustainability Award in 2017 with their Water Stewardship initiative. Events Industry Council Sustainability Committee Member, Chance Thompson, connected with Inge Huijbrechts, Global Vice President, Responsible Business for Radisson Hotels, to learn more about their industry changing water initiatives.

Heather McCroskey, CMP is now the Director of Event Sales and Catering at the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum in Nashville, TN. She was recently the Director of Meetings for Parthenon Management Group in Brentwood, TN. The marketing arm for Kent County has named Andie Newcomer, CMP, as its new Director of Events. Most recently, she served as convention services manager, a position she held for more than seven years.

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!