A message from the CMP Board Chair, Melody Kebe: Please accept my personal invitation to take advantage of your opportunity to dialog face-to-face with the CMP Board at the CMP Town Hall Meeting. Let’s hear what’s on your mind and how we can best serve you. I look forward to seeing you there. 

WHEN: Monday, March 31, 2014, 2 p.m.-4 p.m. ET

WHERE: Hilton Alexandria Old Town, 1767 King St., Alexandria, VA 22314

RSVP: We have a limited number of seats so please respond with your intention to participate at: events@conventionindustry.org (Subject: CMP Town Hall Meeting). RSVPs will be accepted on a first come/first served basis. 

NOTE: Participants will also earn two (2) continuing education hours toward recertification.

 

 

On February 11, the Convention Industry Council released an update to the study, the Economic Significance of Meetings to the U.S. Economy. Originally released in 2009, new figures show significant increases in meeting participants, tax contribution and job growth from 2009 to 2012. 

During the 2012 calendar year, 1.83 million meetings were held in the U.S., attended by 225 million participants, providing more than $115 billion in contribution to GDP to fuel the economy. Meetings contribution to GDP surpasses that of the air transportation, motion picture, sound recording, performing arts and spectator sport industries.

The data proves organizations continue to value and place a priority on face-to-face meetings, even during a recovering economy. Total economic output of meetings was valued at $770.4 billion dollars in 2012, a staggering figure. Not only were more meetings held – they were attended by more people. 

Meetings increased employment at a time when many industries showed no growth. In 2012, meetings employed nearly 1.8 million people. That translates to 8.3 percent more jobs created by meetings in 2012 than in 2009, nearly double the average employment growth rate during that time.

Meetings also generated $88 billion in federal, state and local taxes to fund and support communities across the country. The majority of meeting participants in 2012 traveled 50 miles or more to attend a meeting – consuming hotel rooms, restaurant meals and transportation services, positively impacting cities and businesses across the country. Meetings really do mean business, and in the coming months you will hear more about what our industry is doing to ensure policymakers, consumers and business leaders truly understand our worth and impact through the Meetings Mean Business campaign. 

As meeting professionals, we need to start speaking in those terms, especially to the mainstream press. We released some of our economic data during the Meetings Mean Business press conference at Convening Leaders in Boston, and industry leaders spoke about the business value of meetings. I thought the press might cover some of that, as well as what was happening during the conferences itself.

The Boston Globe did cover PCMA’s conference. Unfortunately, the headlines and the story were about the wining and dining planners received from suppliers and all the "free stuff" they received. Meeting planners, some with letters after their name, were quoted about skinny jeans and spa treatments, not the education they were receiving during the sessions and how that helped them do a better job, save their companies money, learn new technologies or any one of the real reasons their organizations might have sent them to Boston.

We need to do better. Please take a look at our study, as well as its accompanying inforgraphic and the Meetings Mean Business website and become educated about the real value of our industry ... and start talking about that.

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

 

The Convention Industry Council (CIC) applauds the inaugural class of 54 CMPs who now hold the Certified Meeting Professional – Healthcare (CMP-HC) designation, the industry’s first certification for healthcare meeting professionals. Offered as a beta exam in November and December of 2013, these 54 CMPs passed the exam and demonstrated the specialized knowledge required to manage healthcare meetings. CMP-HC is a subspecialty of the CMP program; only those who have already earned their CMP are eligible to pursue the CMP-HC.

"CIC congratulates the early adopters of the CMP-HC," said CIC’s Chief Executive Officer Karen Kotowski, CAE, CMP. "The early interest and success in the program confirms the need for the subspecialty. We see it as a predictor of growth and advancement in healthcare meetings."

The basis and composition of the exam is based on the CMP-HC Standards, the official body of knowledge for the certification. The CMP-HC Standards describe the skills and competencies needed by healthcare meeting professionals in order to be successful and mark the first-ever job analysis for this important sector of the meetings profession.

The CMP-HC exam – like the CMP – was developed and will be maintained by subject matters experts working in the healthcare meetings arena. 

To be eligible for the certification, meeting professionals must hold a valid and current CMP, have three years (36 months) of experience in healthcare meeting management and have 15 clock hours of professional development specifically related to healthcare meeting management. 

Once these eligibility requirements are met and an application is approved, candidates must complete an examination that is specific to healthcare meeting management, held twice a year (May and November). The next exam will be held in November of 2014. Applications will be accepted for review from May 14 to July 31, 2014.

For more information,  click here.

 

As a long-standing member of the CMP Board, Dr. Melvin Worthington, CMP, represented RCMA with passion and gusto for many years. On the occasion of his retirement from the board, CIC CEO Karen Kotowski offered these words of thanks: 

"The RCMA has been a member of the CIC for many years, and we are proud to have a multi-faith-based organization dedicated to serving such an important segment of the meetings industry among our members. In my capacity as CEO, I have had the opportunity to get to know many industry professionals through their service to CIC. And over the years, some of them have truly distinguished themselves, offering invaluable service to the Council by dedicating their time and expertise year after year. It is my pleasure to recognize one of those members: Dr. Melvin Worthington. 

Many of you in the audience know Melvin Worthington in a number of ways – he’s a devoted family man, a well-respected pastor, an inspirational leader and devoted worker, a highly-regarded meeting professional, an avid golfer, an award-winning farmer and a talented musician. But one characteristic that remains constant throughout his life is his dedication to service. Melvin has spent decades giving back and helping others and has left a admirable legacy along the way, serving nearly five decades in ministry as the executive secretary for the National Association of Free Will Baptists for 23 years and, for more than 20 years, on the Board of Directors of the RCMA, where he also was elected president. Melvin obtained his Certified Meeting Professional designation in 1986, making him one of the first people to hold the certification. Melvin has been an active member of our profession for decades, including as a long-time member of the CMP Board, representing RCMA. Melvin has been a tireless and committed member of the CMP Board, in capacities too numerous to mention including as chair of the Board.

To all of his work on behalf of the CMP program, he brought his quiet wisdom, his humor and his unshakable dedication. His lasting contributions to the CMP program cannot be overstated, and I personally, will miss his advice and counsel, to me personally, as well as to the CMP Board – advice that always held great weight to both. Melvin has a way of cutting through the clutter and telling it like it is. It reminds me of that old EF Hutton ad, when Melvin talks, people listen. Melvin recently retired from the CMP Board of Directors, after many years of service, but if his past is any indication, retirement won’t slow him down. 

While we will miss Melvin at our board meetings, we still look forward to seeing him at Conclave and at other industry events.  

So, until that time, we want him to know how much we value his years of dedication and service and would like to present him with this award. Not as a parting gift, but rather, as a token of our appreciation and gratitude, and one that conveys we look forward to seeing you again." 

 

The Society of Government Meeting Professionals (SGMP) recently announced plans for a new outreach campaign that will communicate the important role government meeting planners have in making government meeting both effective and efficient. In partnership with Eight One Fifty Consulting (8150), SGMP wants this campaign's messaging to reach beyond its internal audiences and accurately reflect the value of government meetings, in contrast to the negative perception that has been dominating media coverage in recent years. According to the press release, 8150 Principal Channing Nuss said, "SGMP members deliver exceptional value for the American taxpayer on a daily basis by helping government function more effectively and by fostering crucial interaction with the public. It is our goal to make sure that SGMP has the right strategies and tools to effectively share their record of success with its key audiences."  Read the full press release here. 

 

Maritz Travel Company, which includes Maritz Travel and Experient, recently announced a plan to expand their global presence by hiring three "global general managers" (GGMs) who will work to build a Maritz Travel Company Global Meetings Network in targeted international markets. 

According to the press release, "Maritz Travel Company has selected three well recognized and demonstrated global industry leaders to further complement its team with their wealth of experience and extensive expertise." Maritz selected three CMPs to lead this charge. They are: 


David Peckinpaugh, president of Maritz Travel Company, is quoted in the press release as saying, "Eduardo, Ben and Ping have a deep understanding of the broad industry and their respective regions, providing us with a unique opportunity to present clients with a more balanced and localized approach. 

For more information on this initiative, and to learn more about these CMPs, please read the press release in its entirety. 

 

Rosaelena Bernaducci, CMP, is now the Manager, Meetings & Event Services at Impact Unlimited.

Tammy L. Bryant, CMP, CTA, is now the Executive Administrative Assistant at Universities Space Research Association (USRA) in Columbia, MD. She was previously with Transamerica/AEGON.

Erik Dane, CMP, CTA, is now the Alumni Events Manager at Davenport University. He was previously the Client Services Manager at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, MI.

Hannah Fani, CMP, CMM, was recently promoted to Associate Director, Conferences at MCI Middle East in Dubai, UAE.

DeAnn Hartman, CMP, is now the Executive Director of the two largest affordable housing management industry associations in Washington State –The Affordable Rural Housing Council (formerly known as the WA State Council for Affordable & Rural Housing) and the Affordable Housing Management Association (AHMA) of WA.

Laura Heavrin, CMP, is now a Senior Meetings & Event Planner for Visions Meetings and Event Management Company, moved from Seattle to Anchorage, AK, for this position.

Suzette C. Hewitt, CMP, is now the Senior Meeting Planner with Institute for International Research in NYC. She was previously the National Meetings Manager with Girl Scouts of the USA.

Sue Jeon, CMP, DMCP, is now General Manager at CSI – Capitol Services, Inc. in Washington, D.C. 

Angela Layton, CMP, CMM, is now the Senior Meeting Planner at the National Association of Stat Boards of Accountancy in Nashville, TN.

Rita M. López, CMP, is now Director of Global Accounts at Omni Hotels & Resorts in New York’s Global Sales Office.

Jason Ring, CMP, is now the Corporate Services Manager for Evercore Partners in New York, NY.

Carmen Smalley, CMP, recently accepted a position with Great Wolf Resorts as their National Sales Manager selling all 12 lodges across the U.S.

Jomy Tan, CMP, is now an adjunct faculty member at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, IL, teaching a "Professional Meeting & Event Management" course this spring term. Jomy is still happily employed at Delta Dental Plans Association.





Make an awesome career move? Let us help you celebrate! Send the details of your latest career triumph to  cmptoday@conventionindustry.org.  And while you're at it, be sure to log into  www.conventionindustry.org and update your official CMP record.