Well, it’s officially full-swing holiday season! Just as that beautiful 77-foot-tall Norway Spruce lit up Rockefeller Center last night, MPIGNY, in its own way, is looking to do the same in our community. I think we can agree that the holidays are all about spending quality time with loved ones, reflecting on the really important things in life, finding small ways to do just a little more to make this world a better place. With that in mind, your board of directors has been focused on making a positive impact on our community this year. I think we are off to a great start with all that we’ve accomplished, but there is still more to do.

With that in mind, it is my distinct pleasure to unveil officially the MPI Greater New York Chapter Cycle for Survival team! On Saturday, March 7, 2020, MPIGNY will ride at Equinox (East 44th Street at Grand Central) to raise money for rare cancer research. For those of you who attended the Annual Auction last month, you’re aware that we raised $580 from the 50/50 raffle that is going directly toward our lofty team goal of $5,000! We’re asking you to join our team to help raise awareness (and money) to stomp out cancer once and for all. If you’re wondering what Cycle for Survival is all about, just click here to learn all you need to know. We hope you see the value in giving back to our community, and I certainly look forward to seeing you on a bike on March 7. If you’d like to join our team, please register here.

In other MPIGNY philanthropic news, we’re heading back to God’s Love We Deliver on Wednesday, Dec. 18. This is such a great charity that does incredible things day in and day out for our community. With that in mind, I would especially like to recognize our director of CSR, Jennifer Rondinelli, who has done a tremendous job with all of our CSR-related activities this year. She has taken on the role as our ambassador to numerous charities in the city, and I can’t thank her enough for all the hard work she has put in on behalf of MPIGNY. Thank you, Jennifer!

As our final networking event of the 2019 campaign, I would like to encourage all of you to attend the Annual Industry Holiday Celebration. This year’s event will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at the brand new Skylight Room at Manhattan Manor. MPIGNY will be joined by HSMAI, ILEA and PCMA for what promises to be one awesome evening! And, due to the generous support of Discover Newport, qualified meeting planners pay only $25 when they use the code “NEWPORT” to register! We hope to see you there!

Next, hot off the presses, our very first event of 2020 is already in the works! Mark your calendars for Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, at Convene at 605 Third Avenue. The next iteration of MPIGNY Education, “Saturday Night Leaders: How to Solve Problems Keeping You Up Until 3 AM," promises to be a really special night. Our guest speaker, "Saturday Night Live!" alum Jamie Mason Cohen, delivers his unique brand of humor as he motivates and inspires business professionals to be more effective, creative and authentic. Please register for this one if you’re in town! 

And, finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t wish all of you happy holidays! We all work really hard, and sometimes we don’t reflect on how fortunate we are to work in the best city in the world doing jobs that we love. Our industry is pretty amazing, and I still wake up every day feeling blessed to have the opportunity to do what I do. I truly hope you feel the same way. 

Enjoy these next few weeks with your loved ones!

Best regards,

Patrick Colomer
President
MPI Greater New York Chapter
patrick.colomer@hilton.com

Over the past six months, MPIGNY has secured 15 hours of volunteer opportunities for dozens of members to give back to our community at God's Love We Deliver. We are delighted to share our January to April 2020 calendar. Take a look and save the dates/sign up now! 

January to April 2020 - God's Love We Deliver Volunteer Calendar

MPI’s CSR team is dedicated to creating engagement and meaningful opportunities for our members to convene collectively with the purpose to network while proactively creating change in the local community.

When people meet with purpose, we increase the opportunity for change and authentic relationships.

Our mission and objectives are:

• To create meaningful, community-based volunteer activities for our members to be engaged
• To foster an ecosystem of local community partners
• To connect member partners with our ecosystem

Please join MPIGNY at God's Love We Deliver. We'll need your help in the kitchen!

Kitchen Prep 
(10 to 12 volunteers) 
Work as a group in the kitchen on a variety of tasks with guidance from their on-staff chefs.

Tasks may include packaging meals, chopping onions, ladling soup, peeling potatoes or making meatballs. Volunteers can also package meal bundles for clients and assemble children's meal kits.

Clothes must cover your shoulders, underarms, knees and toes (with closed-toe shoes). Watches, bracelets and dangling earrings must be removed. You can bring your own hat!

We ask all volunteers to arrive 15 minutes prior to their shift for self check-in and a quick orientation.  
*** Each volunteer MUST sign up for this event. *** 

REGISTER NOW TO SIGN UP

Venue Details:
Group volunteering at God’s Love We Deliver: Without the help of our amazing volunteers — more than 10,000 strong every year — we simply would not be able to cook and deliver more than 7,000 delicious and nutritious meals each weekday to our neighbors in need. Outnumbering our staff by a ratio of more than 100 to 1, volunteers work in the kitchen, deliver and package meals and work in our office.

Learn more about God's Love We Deliver by viewing this video!

Saturday Night Leaders:  How to Solve Problems Keeping You Up Until 3AM 

You have many things to worry about — impossible deadlines, a changing industry and challenges with team members and clients. Problem-solve faster and have more fun doing it with calmness and composure.

Jamie Mason Cohen is a keynote speaker, a certified leadership trainer with The Leadership Circle, and he worked for "Saturday Night Live." He will teach advanced emotional intelligence strategies and processes so that you can develop a new level of self-awareness. The session will give you some space and time for some quality self-reflection on your emotional intelligence as a leader.  

MORE INFO AND REGISTRATION HERE

Date:
Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020

Time:
6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Location:
Convene at 605 Third Avenue
605 Third Avenue (at 40th Street)
New York, New York

Venue Details:
Convene at 605 Third Avenue is the perfect Midtown South meeting space for planners who are looking to host executive retreats, corporate trainings, company off-sites and evening receptions. Hosting meetings at this location gives event planners more than 28,000 square feet to work with, including a 2,200-square-foot outdoor terrace. Our versatile hub rooms can accommodate up to 80 people, and our largest forum room can seat 184 people in theater style. State-of-the-art boardrooms fit up to 14 participants with generous gallery spaces and access to the terrace.

Don't Miss The Exchange, MPI Greater New York's Planner-Only Interactive Session. 

This free session takes place just prior to the January Education Program. Please indicate your participation during registration for the program.

The Exchange is designed to provide a casual environment for planners of all experience levels to interact and discuss "topics of the day" interests as well as allow for spontaneous interactions/discussions.

Since all planner members have a unique combination of skills and experiences, The Exchange provides an opportunity for all participants to share, question and contribute to enhancing their knowledge and planning skills. Don't miss this exciting opportunity to participate in this unique "planner-only" experience!

*Qualified planners are current planner members of MPI or nonmembers who plan events as their primary job responsibility. 

Topics are selected by you and can include the following and much more:

• How to manage your boss and/or your direct reports
• Tips for successful recruitment and retention on your team
• Best practices for managing a third party
• Coaching and mentoring — inspiring your team and encouraging creativity
• Contract negotiations
• Creative ways to engage attendees on meeting apps

REGISTER FOR THIS PLANNER EXCLUSIVE EXCHANGE HERE

Date:
Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020

Time:
5:15 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Location:
Convene at 605 Third Avenue
605 Third Avenue (at 40th Street)
New York, New York

Participants working through exercise designed to inspire new thinking about
building sustainable events in the short and long term.

Sustainable Events: How to Prioritize Environmental & Societal Benefits for Your Next Event

A capacity crowd of meeting professionals gathered on Nov. 19 at Convene at 810 7th Avenue for MPIGNY’s third education session of the year. There they heard Yalmaz Siddiqui share exciting industry best practices in creating sustainable meetings and MGM’s industry-leading approach to managing food waste to ensure its greatest value.

In a participant-driven exercise, meeting pros used an ingenious deck to stimulate thoughtful and practical conversation about bringing these concepts from the speaker’s platform into the real world of their events.

All planners received a copy of the deck, which can be accessed along with key takeaways in this short overview document here: MPIGNY Education Takeaways

Check out photos from the event here: November MPIGNY Education Photos

And this was the reaction in the room …

“Yalmaz Siddiqui, MGM’s VP, corporate sustainability, was inspiring and brilliant, talking about food waste, sustainability in the meetings industry. He made us realize that we are change-makers in our positions, and we owe it to the world and our conscience to propose at least one sustainable call to action each time we plan a meeting. Something as simple as completely eliminating plastic bottles at events and maybe even going one step further and awarding business to companies that are LEED-certified and green. Let’s not forget our role and impact.”

Daniele Menache
Managing Director, VP Global Head of Events & Sponsorships
AllianceBernstein

“Overall, the education session was excellent in my view from the guest presenter and the engagement working within our groups. The topic of sustainability is so important and front of mind right now, so to hear from someone with so much knowledge was appreciated. I loved the takeaway card deck (Sustainable Event Ideas). Great conversation piece and an excellent tool for me to use in planning my next meeting.”

Jennifer Rondinelli, CMP
Director, Education Operations
M·A·C Cosmetics  

We did it! MPIGNY participated in the 26th annual Race to Deliver benefitting God's Love We Deliver. Our team braved the rain and completed the race, raising $1,560 — exceeding our goal of $1,000! With these funds,156 people received meals over Thansksgiving based on what our members raised. The overall total money raised from the race from all who participated was well over $40,000! Thank you for all of your support. 

Do you want to develop your leadership skills? Do you want to be part of a team that has your back to succeed? Do you want to show you have what it takes to keep the upward momentum of our chapter on track? Do you want to show your boss the success you build outside of the workplace that compliments your position and shows an ROI for your MPI membership?

BECOME AN INDUSTRY LEADER

Are you interested in getting more involved with MPIGNY? Volunteering with a committee is a great way to meet new clients and industry partners! Visit our website or click the link for more information on how to get involved: MPIGNY - Join a Committee

We added a new campaign this year called "People of MPIGNY" and want to learn more about our incredible members! If you are interested in being featured, click the links below to read about some of our members and to complete the handful of questions to be considered for our next issue!

People of MPIGNY
People of MPIGNY Application

A key focus for the board moving forward is going to be the engagement of the meeting planner professional. We consider sustained planner participation to be a vital part of this chapter’s success. So, with that in mind, we’re rolling out the red carpet this year with the objective of increasing our planner engagement at all of our events.

Many thanks to the London Convention Bureau for graciously sponsoring several one-year planner scholarship opportunities that will increase our planner base and enhance overall engagement. Interested planners can apply here: London Convention Bureau Planner Scholarship. 

Did you know that MPI can help you cover costs for a preferred MPI membership and help fund your MPI Academy courses (including CMM, HMCC, Experiential Event Series, Meetings Essentials, Basics Boot Camp and more)?

Yes, it’s possible. The MPI Foundation provides MPI members professional development and career opportunities through grants and scholarships. MPI Foundation scholarships are awarded on an ongoing basis. Applications received by the end of the month will receive notification by the end of the following month. Conference scholarships do not typically follow the normal application cycle but will be reviewed each month. 

More information can be found here: MPI Foundation Scholarships