CMPs Enjoy Fellowship and Prizes at CMP Breakfast & Reception

Earlier this month, the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) held its 58th Annual Meeting, Convening Leaders, in Boston and the Convention Industry Council was there.

On Monday morning, CIC hosted a CMP Breakfast, sponsored by the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau, who invited performers Jessi Alexander (left) and Jon Randall to entertain. Kicking off the breakfast, CMP Board Vice President Joanne Joham, CMP, CMM, welcomed CMPs on behalf of the CMP Board and gave remarks. Joanne spoke to the board's dedication to continuing to make the CMP the recognized mark of excellence for meeting professionals and keeping the CMP certification relevant and current. She also touched on the release of the new edition of the CIC Manual, progress on the CMP-Healthcare subspecialty, a new research initiative to determine hiring practices and preferences as they relate to certification and meeting professionals, and the continued expansion of the global reach of the program.

Later that evening, CIC hosted a "Wine-d Down" Reception with the AMC Institute and the Visit Spokane team where CIC CEO Karen Kotowski, CAE, CMP, updated attendees on progress made by the CMP Board and CIC Staff in 2013. Highlights included updating the CMP Strategic Framework pillars, making the 9th edition of the CIC Manual available in an electronic format for the first time, holding the first-ever CMP Town Hall Meeting in Birmingham, Ala., hosting a group of international CMPs at Conclave for the first time, and announcing the release of an update on the Economic Significance Study from 2010. Karen also reminded CMPs to get ready for Conclave 2014 (Sept. 6-8, 2014) in New Orleans, La. and handed out some much sought-after luggage tags, which attendees tweeted pictures of using the (hashtag) #cmppreferred.

A few CMPs walked away from that event with great prizes, including a Kindle Fire HD (courtesy of AMC Institute), a Wine Basket featuring Washington State wines (courtesy of Visit Spokane) and a trip to the 2014 CMP Conclave, which includes registration, airfare and accommodations (courtesy of CIC). The winners and host representatives are pictured above (from left): Tina Wehmeir, CMP, CEO, AMC Institute; Jennifer Woods, CMP, winner of the Kindle Fire HD; Karen Kotowski, CAE, CMP, CEO, Convention Industry Council; Amanda Smith Rasnick, CMP, winner of a trip to the 2014 CMP Conclave; Karen Staples, CMP, CASE, Eastern Regional Director of Sales, Visit Spokane; and Carmelina Iannarone, CMP, winner of a Wine Basket featuring Washington State wines.

A special thank you to all who attended and helped make these events memorable!

The Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) is a
program of the Convention Industry Council

Convention Industry Council
700 N. Fairfax Street, Suite 510
Alexandria, VA, USA, 22314
Tel: 571-527-3116