Sustainability Expert and Emerging Professionals Recognized by CIC with New Pacesetter Award

A new awards program spearheaded by the Convention Industry Council (CIC) honors accomplished industry supporters and emerging leaders in the meetings and events community. Called the Pacesetter Awards, the program will pay tribute to individuals as achievements are brought to the CIC as worthy of industry recognition in areas such as:

• Innovation & Best Practices
• Community Service, Environmental Leadership, Corporate Social Responsibility
• Friend of the Industry, Public Elected Official
• Young Professionals
• Chairman's Award

For this first Pacesetter Award presentation, CIC has chosen Amy Spatrisano, CMP principal at MeetGreen and renowned sustainability expert to receive the 2012 Environmental Leadership Pacesetter Award and four Young Professional Pacesetters nominated from CIC member organizations to receive the 2012 awards.

Spatrisano was one of the driving forces behind the development of the industry’s first sustainable meeting standards, the APEX/ASTM Environmentally Sustainable Meeting Standards, released earlier this year. As Chair of the APEX Green Meetings and Events Panel and later as a member of the ASTM E60.02 Committee, she oversaw the development of the standards, a four-year process that included expertise from 300 planners, suppliers and sustainability experts from within the industry, as well as the standards, engineering and materials science experts that make up the ASTM membership.

The 2012 Young Professionals Pacesetter Awards will be presented to the following individuals:

Joe Capitanelli, Regional Marketing Director, Global Spectrum, nominated by International Association of Venue Managers, for his leadership and influence to foster more involvement from local non-profits, city government, staff and volunteers in "Helping Hands for the Holidays." The event seeks to provide food and services for those in need within St. Charles County Missouri and has grown from annual event serving 150 people in its first year, to one of the largest charity events of its kind serving over 1,200 meals, offering flu shots, winter coats, canned food, various health screenings, transportation and family activities to those in need.

Krzysztof Celuch, Manager, Poland Convention Bureau, nominated by International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), for his role in the execution of the ICCA Forum for Young Professionals, and for his work in helping to organize the inaugural IMEX Challenge Poland, a biennial humanitarian event designed to promote the power of corporate social responsibility.

Mary Catherine Tagg, DMCP, National Sales Manager, Destination King, nominated by Association of Destination Management Executives International (ADMEI), who has risen to president of the Memphis Attractions Association, earned a Fellow of Leadership Academy Memphis and serves on numerous ADMEI committees and earned a Rising Star Award all within 5 years in the DMC industry.

Sarah Vining, Marketing Manager, The National Conference Center, nominated by International Association of Conference Centers, serves the IACC Board as a non-voting associate to advise on emerging trends from the Millennial perspective and Chairs its Emerging Trends Committee. Leading that committee, Sarah created IACC's Social Media Guide, which serves as a resource for its members worldwide.

Beginning in 2013, the Pacesetter Awards will be a part of and presented during the CIC Hall of Leaders gala, a program that was started in 1985 to represent the industry's highest honor and lifetime of achievements and contributions to the industry. This class of emerging professionals will be honored alongside Spatrisano at an invitation-only luncheon hosted by CIC on Oct. 8, 2012 in Las Vegas during IMEX America. In this inaugural year, individuals were selected only within these categories and in outward years those honored will be expanded to include other categories.