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'CMP' Moments
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The CIC Manual is chock full of detailed examples of the basic components of a successful meeting. It does a great job, but there is nothing like real world experience! In my eight years so far as an association meeting planner, the element of surprise never fails to amaze me. How I reacted to the following situations made the difference from being merely reactive to proactive and saving the day:
Post-BEO Heart Attack: In preparation for the Academic Surgical Congress meeting at the Encore & Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas, I had plotted my food and beverage down to the nickel to satisfy the F&B minimum, but not go over my meeting budget. To the nickel! The Executive Council was throwing a Presidential Reception during the five-day meeting – always a crowd favorite. To save money, and due to the late hour of the reception (10 p.m.-midnight), the only food were mixed nuts to accompany the Premium Bar, trying to keep within my tight budget. I was on-hand to get the reception going, but seeing everything running smoothly, left for the evening to prepare for the next day’s slate of events.
Fast forward to the next day, and I’m reviewing the BEOs from the previous day. I noticed on the Presidential Reception BEO, that a very, VERY expensive cognac had been added to the bill! We’re talking $12,000! Surely there had been a mistake?
After investigating all possible scenarios, it turns out a Board member had asked for this "gold standard" liquor, and the bartender, with his "anything to please the customer" attitude (the Wynn & Encore staff are fantastic in that way) assumed this was OK, and obliged the Board member. Remember, this is the hotel where they offer Louis XIII Black Pearl Cognac at $90,000 per bottle in their XS nightclub. What’s a mere few thousand dollars?
Needless to say, using honey in this situation with my hotel CSM, went a long way to resolving the issue. The charge was taken off our bill. The "virtual defibulator" was put away!
Volcanic Ill Wind: In April of 2010, our office had two international meetings scheduled, the SAWC/WHS in Orlando at the Gaylord Palms, and IHPBA World Congress at the Hilton Buenos Aires. Both meetings relied heavily on not only international attendees, but speakers and moderators. But Eyjafjallajökull, the Icelandic volcano that erupted during April 14-20, 2010 had other ideas! The ash cloud from that volcano virtually closed the European airspace for days, affecting 10 million travelers, including our guests. WHS Co-Chair Dr. Anie Philip of McGill University in Montreal, said, "It was a bit frantic, as we had no firm Plan B in place for missing speakers Dr. Sabine Ewing from France and Dr. Paul Martin from England. We pulled it off by organizing a Skype presentation with the slides and audio (could not do a video presentation). It was a great team effort.
The lesson learned: "Be prepared for the unforeseen!"
Kim O’Dell, CMP, principal owner and Executive Director of O’Dell Group Management, and a veteran of international meetings, including the IHPBA meeting, said it best: "Weather always plays a part when planning an international meeting, but so do other factors. We were in Greece one year for a conference, where the next year there was unrest, so we anticipate problems for an International meeting. But the volcano impacting such a large amount of airspace was different. We reached out to alternative experts who were already in Buenos Aires to step up and help speak and moderate. Thank goodness we had the speaker power points ahead of time! Also, having proactive convention chairs, and meeting insurance was a major key!"Arts & Crafts: Gift-giving is an important part of Japanese business protocol. When it was time to present the Japanese Society for Wound Healing (JSWH) contingent special WHS embossed padfolios during the opening Welcome Reception at the 2011 SAWC/WHS meeting in Dallas, spiffing up the wrapping was in order. I found gorgeous world maps at Sam Flax to use as wrapping paper, and to symbolize our international ties. The boxes were wrapped in color coordinated ribbon with silver 1" W, H & S initials glued onto the wrapping. Dr. Sadanori Akita, a Plastic Surgery professor from Nagasaki University said, "We were very moved to be welcomed by the WHS people for our scientific exchange in this way".
Other than my burnt fingers (glue guns hurt!) a lifelong positive impression was made!
Lyn Henderson, CMP, is an independent event and meeting planner based in Orlando, FL. She can be reached at lynbhenderson@gmail.com
CMP Today welcomes the voices and perspectives of our diverse community of CMPs. If you are interested in contributing an article for a future issue, please contact us as: cmptoday@conventionindustry.org.
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