WEC – San Francisco Recap

MPI WEC convened August 1-4 in San Francisco this year, and boy was it a great event! KCMPI was represented well with many of our members in attendance.

San Francisco welcomed WEC attendees with open arms. The conference kicked off with the opening reception at Pier 48 right across from AT&T Park. There was great food, wonderful entertainment and beautiful weather.

The Hosted Buyer program provided great meeting opportunities that put qualified planners in one-on-one meetings with suppliers who they were specifically interested in doing business with. The education sessions were interesting and cutting edge with topics such as "Why We Matter – How You and Your Events Can Change the World," "Branding Yourself for Career Success," "Meeting Planning as a Business Practice-The Evolving Responsibilities for Project Management" and much, much more.

MPI has started an alternative to the hour-long break out and is now offering 15-minute "Campfire Sessions" where topics are discussed in an open forum with a facilitator. It's an innovative way to network and learn from our peers, and they are such a popular spot to visit during the conference.

It wouldn't have been WEC without a little puppy cuddling! If you're ever at the conference and can't find your colleague or friend, go check out the Puppy Cudding Booth, chances are you'll find them there giving hugs to one of the many sweet therapy dogs that visit WEC.

It's no surprise that the city took the opportunity to brag a little about their World Series win last year, but don't you worry!! The KCMPI Chapter made sure that they knew the Royals fans were in the house!

During WEC, MPI announced the below locations of the conference for the next four years. I hope you'll be able to attend and help represent the Kansas City Chapter of MPI!! 

• June 11-14, 2016 – Atlantic City
• July 9-12, 2017 – Las Vegas
• June 2-5, 2018 – Indianapolis
• June 11-14, 2019 – Toronto