Kansas City and Heartland Chapters Make History!

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By Michelle Lizak, CMP - Kansas City Chapter                          

On Feb. 16, 2009, the Kansas City and Heartland Chapters partnered to make history by hosting the first monthly program exclusively via a webinar. This effort began as a search to provide members with a cost-effective, convenient and educational program that would attract planners and suppliers alike. 

ReadyTalk was the sponsoring web conference partner for this event. Based out of Colorado, ReadyTalk delivers audio and web-meeting services that help planners and suppliers sell, market, educate and collaborate remotely. They provide services such as audio conferencing, web conferencing, event management tools and podcasting! For more information about ReadyTalk and the many services offered, visit their Web site.

This first-ever webinar had a total of 47 attendees from Kansas City and across the Heartland. Of the 47 participants, 23 were members of KCMPI and 15 were Heartland Chapter members. It was Planners, predominantly, that attended this event, from both chapters, making up 77 percent of webinar participants.

All webinar registrants received a post-event notice that contained links to the archived version of this conference. This complimentary archived version will be available for online viewing for 30 days after the event. 

The speaker selected for this event was Steven M. Rudner, principal of the Rudner Law Offices, which exclusively represents hotels and resorts throughout the world in regard to meetings and convention issues, from their offices in Dallas and San Francisco. Mr. Rudner has been recognized by Successful Meetings as one of the industry's "top legal minds." His work in the hospitality field has captured the attention of the Wall Street Journal. Mr. Rudner's resume speaks for itself. He is Vice-President of the Academy of Hospitality Industry Attorneys, Platinum Series speaker for MPI, Best in Class Speaker for PCMA; and is a member of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, MPI, PCMA, RCMA and HSMAI. He also is a member of the contracts panel for the APEX Initiative of the Convention Industry Council, as well as the State Bars of the States of Texas, New York, Arizona, Colorado and the District of Columbia.

If you were unable to attend the original broadcast of this event, it will be available for purchase online at: http://www.kcmpi.org/html/event_calendar/programs_events.html, starting on March 31. The fee to purchase this archived version of "What's New in Hotel Contracts" is $35.00.

(Michelle is a Marketing and Corporate Events Manager for US Central and is KCMPI's 2008-2009 President-Elect. She can be reached at michelle.a.lizak@gmail.com.)