MPI So Cal Connect
Events
Although we can't be together in person while we are sheltering at home, we have created many virtual educational opportunities over the coming months, and we are deep in planning mode for the rest of the year. Join us and we will see you soon! 
 
 
It’s hard to believe that it was just a month ago that MPI Southern California gathered together for the fifth annual (WE)Con Weekend Educational Conference in Santa Barbara. Although the world has changed dramatically since that time, our theme of “Stronger Together” feels more relevant now than ever, and this feels like the perfect opportunity to reflect back on our time together.

On February 20, more than 250 hospitality industry professionals met at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort for a weekend of education and networking. This year, (WE)Con focused on how we, as meeting professionals, must draw on our collective strengths to encourage and support one another as we grow our businesses and careers.
 
Mix Business with California beach leisure.
Annenberg Community Beach House
From team-building exercises to executive presentations, meetings to retreats, the site allows your group to mix business with California beach leisure and historic Hollywood glamour. The Annenberg Community Beach House is also available for filming, and still photography shoots. www.annenbergbeachhouse.com
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Along with the countless challenges of battling COVID-19 has come a reckoning of sorts for the meetings and events industry. Organizers are having to get creative, and many have been rethinking what an event can be.
Grow
Like you, I’m a live event producer. But live events are now illegal in many ways. People are barred from meeting in groups not just in one state or country, but in most countries around the world. Never would I have thought that the thing I love to do more than anything would be banned – that people would be afraid to meet in-person, rather than excited. But here we are. And the end isn’t yet in sight. Though there are predictions this could let up in the fall, there are many companies and individuals who may be hesitant for a while after that. In other words, I think we’re in a for a long ride here.
 
   
The Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort & Spa
   
Connect
  
We want you to meet Margaux Macgregor who is our Social Media chair on the MPISCC MarComm team. Margaux tirelessly devotes countless volunteer hours and passionately makes our social media shine across all platforms! Margaux is also a partner at Grant Sound and Lighting Inc. and really knows how to light up a room (pun intended).

 

 

 

Our overarching theme for the year, STRONGER TOGETHER, has never proven to be more neccessary or powerful as we lean on each other for support during what is probably the most devestating time throughout history in the global meeting and event industry. MPI Global has gathered together a collection of resources to ease your burden of navigating this unchartered territory. 
 
Educate
In the wake of the planet's unified battle against COVID-19, countless meetings and events are being postponed and even cancelled. Long before you need to make any determination as to whether to reschedule or eliminate an event, be sure your insurance and liability coverage are adequate for potential changes to an event's timeline.
As we head into week four of sheltering at home, most of us are settling into our new normal, though our current life circumstances are far from normal, and it often feels like week 400. For many of us, the usual and hectic schedules of work, travel and life demands could weigh heavily on our ability to practice whole-life wellness and balance, and finding time for extracurricular activities can often take a backseat.
 
Industry News
Whether directly or indirectly, the effects of COVID-19 have touched countless people, industries and walks of life. The virus is an incredible source of stress, and it can be challenging for meeting planners to convey the correct tone when communicating with attendees of in-limbo events. Here are a few key points to remember in your messaging.
With so much uncertainty and fear surrounding COVID-19, meetings planners find themselves in delicate and unenviable situations when determing whether the show should go on. Here's a look at how a group of meeting planners in the UK are approaching this crisis.
   
Levity Entertainment Group
      
New York Food Company