The first month of each New Year always motivates me to take a good look at the year we have just completed, as well as to look forward to the future. In 2014, there were many advancements and enhancement to the CMP Program, and we all should be proud of the many volunteers who helped make this happen. Let me just recap some of our 2014 accomplishments and take this opportunity to thank Ms. Melody Kebe, CMP, CGMP, for her leadership as 2014 CMP Board Chair:

• The first subspecialty of the CMP Program – the CMP Healthcare (CMP-HC) was launched.
• The CIC Manual 9th Edition was published in both hard copy and e-book format thereby facilitating easier access to this publication for global CMP candidates and those who prefer an e-book format.
• The 2014 CMP Conclave in New Orleans was the largest Conclave on record with more than 400 attendees.
• The CMP Board was restructured by the CIC Board to ensure that the CMP governing body will be structured appropriately to reflect its charge as a certification governing entity. We will now be known as The CMP Governance Commission.

In 2015, CIC answered CMP and CMP candidate requests to allow for online application submissions, and we are proud to report that it is now possible to use the online portal to:

• Submit your recertification application. For all of you who are up for recertification in 2015, please submit your application in the beginning of the year to take advantage of the financial discount for early submission. And for those of you who were supposed to recertify in 2014, you still have until the end of the year to submit your recertification application and to change your "lapsed" status back to active status.
• Submit a CMP-HC application.
• Submit the CMP application. This is important for all of you to know when speaking with and encouraging CMP candidates. With this new application process, those applying to sit for the CMP will no longer be tied to specific application, registration or scheduling deadlines. Education activities and employment experience can be tracked as they are accumulated and once the prerequisites are met, the application can be submitted for approval.

Sincere thanks to the CIC staff for working hard to get the online portal application process available for all of us! Whether recertifying or applying for a designation, the opportunity to submit the application online will be an invaluable asset for present CMPs, future CMPs and CMP–HC candidates.

I would like to start 2015 off with a question for all of you:

 

CMPs were out in full force at PCMA Convening Leaders this month. PCMA and Visit Nashville hosted their annual breakfast celebrating CMPs and providing their usual excellent event with Nashville entertainers providing an early morning country treat.

In addition, CIC along with Visit Spokane and AMC Institute hosted a reception on Monday evening for those not inclined to get up early. We gave away some great prizes. Polly Pancoe, CMP, President of Hotel Reservation Management, Inc. based in Chicago, won a free registration to this year’s CMP Conclave and another lucky CMP won a Beats by Dr. Dre Bluetooth Wireless Speaker, donated by AMC Institute. Several CMPs also walked away with bottles of wonderful Washington State wines donated by Visit Spokane.

CIC staff also provided two educational sessions on the CMP. CMP Certification Coordinator, Belinda H. Thompson, presented "CMP Information Session" during the nearby ESPA 2015 Conference and Certification Director Gayle Dahlman presented on the panel "CMP Healthcare is Here: What’s It Mean for You?" A special thank you to all of the CMPs who were able to attend those events while in Chicago. 

Please join us in congratulating all of the CMPs who were honored during PCMA’s Convening Leaders for their achievements and excellence in our field : 

CMPs in the Class of 2015 "20 in their Twenties" 
Ashley H. Akright, CMP, Assistant Director of Catering, Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center
Kristine Koonts, CMP, Executive Events Manager, Vancouver Convention Centre
Jennifer Kuchenbecker, CMP, Director of Conferences & Events, International Providers of AIDS Care
Janet Partlow, CMP, Senior Meetings Manager, J. Spargo & Associates, Inc.
Jessica L. Smith, MTA, CMP, Senior Meetings Planner, American Bar Association

Distinguished Member of the Year Award
Joy Womack, CMP, Director, Event Management, Experient

Distinguished Meeting Professional of the Year Award
Carolyn Pund, CMP, CMM, Senior Manager, Global Strategic Meetings Management, Cisco Systems, Inc.

Outstanding Service to a Chapter Award
Belinda Keota, CMP, CEM, Meeting Manager, Produce Marketing Association

In addition, the Meetings Mean Business Coalition, of which CIC is a member, received PCMA’s Chairman’s Award during the Monday General Session for its work on advocating on behalf of the industry. And as you celebrate and congratulate your colleagues and friends on their achievements, we also encourage you to consider channeling some of that enthusiasm that into action! Plan to host an event during the first ever North American Meetings Industry Day on April 16, 2015! Check out our website for additional information and to register. 

 

Fifty-seven meeting professionals in the healthcare industry have already earned their CMP-HC, proving their knowledge of this very specialized field. Consider joining this elite group of meeting professionals by sitting for the CMP-HC, a certification program developed by and for those managing healthcare-related meetings. Launched in 2014, this new subspecialty of the CMP is offered twice a year at testing centers throughout the world. The next exam will be administered May 7-16, 2015. 

Eligibility

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. 

Please visit the CMP-HC section of the CIC website for more information.

 

The Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX) promotes development and implementation of industry-wide accepted practices to create and enhance efficiency throughout the meetings, conventions and exhibitions industry. The Committee has successfully evolved into a data-driven strategic body with standards as the overarching charge.  The introduction of a workgroup model has created the opportunity to engage a wider body of knowledge beyond the committee and expand capacity significantly.

The purpose of the committee is to pursue the strategic goal of promoting standards and best practices through three main objectives: 

1. Issue Scanning-Select current issues and trends that broadly effect the industry as a whole. 
2. Workgroups- APEX workgroups create content, and cultivate industry expertise and knowledge on current industry issues and topics. We look to the Council to help identify industry issues as well as assist in disseminating the workgroups research and promoting the availability of presentations on various industry topics. 
   
3. Short Content –Industry wide accepted practices tools and information.  The output from the workgroups and the overall committee, such as whitepapers, resource tools and education, is maintained on the APEX website for easy access. In addition, the content is formatted to be delivered on many levels through presentations at global industry events, articles, videos, web and podcasts.
   

Responsibilities

• Advocate and promote the value of standards and best practices in the industry.
• Challenge existing accepted practices in order to remain relevant.
• Gather and share knowledge and insight on industry trends and issues. 
• Form and lead APEX Workgroups and Task Forces to develop new best practices and standards.
• Maintain existing APEX resources and insure their ongoing relevance and accessibility.
  Including the APEX Industry Glossary – the glossary of the meetings, conventions and exhibitions industry that is a one of the recommended study texts for the CMP exam.
• Strengthen the global relevance for APEX resources.
  

Workgroups
Room Block Poaching Workgroup
Room block performance is a perennial issue in the meetings industry. APEX has defined Room Block Poaching as the threat from 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 March of 2014, the Workgroup created a survey to gather information on the scope of this issue, which further proved the scope of this issue and need for resources to combat it. CIC held a Poaching Summit in early December that brought together members of the workgroup and other stakeholders to create definitions and develop a toolkit as a resource for planners, as well as education pieces.   

APEX is preparing to release its white paper, which provides an overview of the issues, implications for planners, exhibitors, hotels, housing bureaus/wholesalers and guidance on how to handle the issue. This white paper will be part of an online toolkit to help planners seeking more information and assistance navigating these issues. The workgroup is chaired by Michael Dominguez, MGM Resorts International and MaryAnne Bobrow, Bobrow Associates, Inc. 

eRFP Efficiencies Workgroup 
Finding and securing the location and facility for a meeting is one of the biggest challenges for meeting planners. In turn, responding or facilitating the responses to request for proposals is one of the biggest challenges for the supply community, namely hotels. Therefore, the main outcome for this workgroup is to create the opportunity for greater efficiencies by exploring and recommending specific practices and strategies for all parties.  

Proposed deliverables may cover several overlapping categories including but not limited to: 1) Education, 2) Process, and 3) Systems. The Workgroup conducted a research project on "Understanding the Drivers Behind Mass eRFP Distribution in the MICE Industry." This Workgroup is chaired by Christine Shimasaki, Destination Marketing Association International.  

High Speed Internet Access and Event Bandwidth Workgroup 
The HSIA and Event Bandwidth Workgroup continues to develop and promote content that raises awareness of the importance of high speed Internet access at meetings and events. This Workgroup is focused on practical knowledge, tools and resources that aid all sectors of the industry in understanding this topic. The Workgroup has developed a presentation focused on how quickly technology changes and understanding capacity, which they have been presenting at various industry conferences. Currently the Workgroup is addressing adding bandwidth to the APEX RFP workbook on the CIC website, as well as a HSIA checklist for Bandwidth Infrastructure Support. The current chair of this workgroup is John Rissi, PSAV. 

APEX/ASTM Sustainable Meetings Standards 
All of the APEX/ASTM Standards are complete and cover the full range of the event planning process and footprint. The ASTM Subcommittee E60.02 on Hospitality is actively reviewing and revising the standards to promote adoption. 

CIC has partnered with Avila Government Services, Inc. and their online tool for sustainable meetings. The SMPP® tools help a planner navigate the APEX/ASTM standards through easy-to-use scoring forms and checklists, which work hand in hand with and reference back to the standards. 

APEX Legacy Workgroup (NEW IN 2015)
It is imperative that we respect and protect the vast amount of work that remains the core of APEX Standards. Glossary, legacy tools, best practices, and content deserve ongoing review to determine relevance. The Workgroup will focus on what needs to be updated, eliminated, archived and emphasized, as well as examining gaps for what needs to be created. This group will be co-chaired by Carol Norfleet and Gary Murakami.

APEX Global Workgroup (NEW IN 2015)
The APEX Standards and practices should be global in scope. This workgroup will be comprised of global meetings industry influencers to advise the committee by identifying urgent industry issues from a global perspective, generating APEX Standards related content and recognizing external sources for content that are of importance to the international meetings community. This workgroup will be chaired by Miguel Neves and Junior Tauvaa. 


 

 

Sustainable Planning – Don’ts and Dos – 
Look to the standards on: Transparency

Don’t keep your sustainability policies to yourself. Planners have an obligation to be open and honest about their sustainability policies and communicate them to those involved. This is required by the standards.

Do make sure that you are as transparent as possible. Openly share your sustainability policies with all those concerned and demonstrate your transparency to stakeholders. The sustainability standards explain this and can be accessed at www.conventionindustry.org/StandardsPractices/APEXASTM/GettingAPEXASTM.aspx. If you read the standards, you’ll know what is expected, so you can meet industry standards for transparency.  

CIC making it easier: If you want to be transparent so others can see your sustainability commitment using an online standardized policy and sustainability rating system, get listed in the SMPP® Directories found at www.SustainableMeetingPlanner.com. Use the CIC50 discount code to register.

If you have a question on the Don’ts and Dos according to the standards, send it through the Contact Us form at www.SustainableMeetingPlanner.com. 

 

According to the article, "The most stressful jobs of 2015 can be physically dangerous, psychologically taxing – and a great match for those with the passion and drive necessary to succeed in such an environment. Learning from the experience of others is invaluable in any career, but in the most stressful jobs of 2015, it’s critical," as is avoiding complacency.

"Of course, not all of the most stressful jobs of 2015 find workers responsible for public safety, but they are entrusted with seeing that the expectations of large groups are met without problem. Event coordinator is one such career. The tight deadlines, the high expectations of clients and the keen attention to detail needed to succeed as an event coordinator land it on the list." 

#8 Event Coordinator has a Jobs Rated Stress Score of 49.93. Careercast.com also projected a 33 percent growth in this job by 2022 and reported a median annual salary of  $45,810. That last figure differs from the 2014 Convene Salary Survey, which reported the average salary for those with a CMP was $81,515, compared to $71,042 for those without a CMP.

Click here to see the entire list and article. 

 

Global Pharmaceutical & Medical Meetings Summit
February 10-12, 2015
Philadelphia, PA
More information 

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! 

IMEX Frankfurt 2015 
May 19-21, 2015
Frankfurt, Germany
Do you plan international meetings? Apply to join the CMP Hosted Buyer program at IMEX Frankfurt! Click here for more information and to apply! 

 

Maja Ferrari, CMP, has recently been promoted from Senior Event Manager at Renaissance Washington DC Downtown Hotel to Director of Event Planning at The Legendary Key Bridge Marriott in Arlington, VA.

Shira Gordon, CMP, is now, Manager, Conferences and Meetings at Malachite Management Inc. She was previously at Mitacs Inc as a Conference Planner. 

Brian W. Hatchitt, CMP, is now Director of Business Development & Brand Management for KESSELMAN-JONES, INC. in Albuquerque, NM. 

Jessica Johnson, CMP, is now the Manager of Education and Meetings at The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America in Rosslyn, VA.

Heather Kubisiak, CMP, is now the Event Planner/Marketing Manager for the National Association of Sports Officials. She previously worked as Complex Meeting & Event Manager for the Westin Beach Resort & Spa, Fort Lauderdale and the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Beach Hotel.

Elaine Powell, CMP, is now the Deputy Director, Conference and Meeting Services with America's Health Insurance Plans.

Ushma Suvarnakar, CMP, is now Director of Meetings and Conferences at the American Anthropological Association. 

Sherilou W. Tokvam, CMP, is now Conference Coordinator for the US Consulate Frankfurt and Independent Sales Consultant (Remote) for the Branson Tri Lakes Visitors and Convention Bureau.

Kathryn Viggiani, CMP, has recently joined the Events Division of Association Development Group, in Albany, New York.