Welcome to a new year for MPI Greater New York! Summer is officially in full swing, and I couldn't be more excited to start another term as president of this chapter. This last year was certainly one that I will never forget. I am proud of the progress we have made and look forward to continuing those efforts in the coming year. With that in mind, I would like to officially introduce the 2020-2021 MPIGNY board of directors. We are fortunate to have several returning champions joined by five new members beginning their first board terms this year. The team has already hit the ground running, formulating a plan for the coming year that, we hope, will continue to provide tremendous value to our membership.

As many of you know, we have decided to postpone the 2020 MPIGNY Kalahari Resorts Golf Outing scheduled to take place later this month. A new date has been set for Thursday, Oct. 1, so please mark your calendars and plan to join your MPIGNY friends and colleagues for another round at Harbor Links Golf Course in Port Washington, New York. This event has a rich history for our chapter, and we are eager to continue the tradition this fall. The Golf Committee, led by our returning Director of Golf Andrew Barnes, is well on its way to executing another successful event, with several sponsors and golfers already confirmed for the new date. We appreciate their continued support and encourage all of you to get involved. There are numerous opportunities to participate, so please reach out to Andrew directly with any questions. 

We are committed to bringing our chapter together over the course of the year, so please stay tuned to your inbox for more details. 

Enjoy the rest of your summer! 

Patrick Colomer
President
MPI Greater New York Chapter

MPIGNY will provide help in the kitchen on Thursday, July 16, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Gloves and masks will be provided to all volunteers. If you are able to join us, please register here.

As NYC continues to reopen for business, we are reminded again of the impact closing has had on organizations, like God’s Love We Deliver, that rely heavily on volunteer staff to fulfill their commitments. Due to social distancing guidelines, God’s Love has had to minimize the number of people in the building overall and in the kitchen area especially. Yet, they are still committed to serving over 10,000 meals per day. 

Here's an article on how our support is needed and appreciated in our community: "Delivering tens of thousands of meals a day to sick and homebound people across our area"

GLWD is in desperate need of delivery drivers. If you have a car or van, they could really use some support with delivery services at this time. There are some walking delivery slots available as well. Please see the volunteer calendar for available times and to sign up.

If you are not able to volunteer, there are still several ways you can help!

The Cards of Caring campaign offers an opportunity to share a message of caring to brighten someone’s day. Many of GLWD’s clients are homebound senior citizens who, in this climate, are unable to have visitors of any kind. A cheerful note to let them know they are not forgotten can be a welcome reprieve from their solitude. The website provides guidelines on creating the cards, but feel free to be as creative as you would like. And if you have children at home, this might be a perfect activity to help pass the time in quarantine!

In addition, God’s Love has three distinct giving opportunities to donate much needed funds.

• COVID-19 Emergency Fund for clients of God’s Love: $54 funds a shelf-stable meal bag and $100 funds a week of meals for a client living with serious illness. Please give what you can. Any amount helps!
• Birthday Bake Sale: God’s Love bakes and personalizes birthday cakes for their clients living with serious illness. Your donation contributes toward the purchase of ingredients, baking, decorating and packaging of these special cakes.
• Who Are You Cooking For?: God’s Love’s newest campaign to help fund 100,000 meals during the coronavirus pandemic. Donate what you would have spent if you were cooking for friends. More details are on the website.

Lastly, during this time, we are all doing a lot more cooking at home, and after nearly four months, you may be in need of some fresh ideas to answer that age-old question, “What’s for dinner?” Help yourself and God’s Love with a purchase of The God’s Love Cookbook: Nourishing Stories and Recipes from Notable Friends. You can finally stop making pasta (for the 100th time) and feel good knowing that you are doing good for your fellow New Yorkers. 100% of the book’s proceeds directly support God’s Love.

Operation Backpack® 2020, a community service of VOA-Greater New York, provides brand new backpacks and grade-specific school supplies to children living in homeless and domestic violence shelters throughout the five boroughs of New York City. 

The organization typically relies heavily on donations of school supplies to fulfill their commitments to children in need. Unfortunately, this year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, they are unable to accept supplies from individual donors. As a result, they are in desperate need of monetary donations that will enable them to purchase enough supplies to meet their demand.

As we continue to seek out opportunities for our membership to help fellow New Yorkers during this time of social distancing, MPIGNY is proud to support this effort. We are pledging to raise $1,000 toward Operation Backpack®'s ultimate campaign goal of $200,000. Won't you please join us by making a donation? Any amount will help!

Join our MPIGNY Team

Visit OperationBackpackNYC.org to learn more.

We are pleased to share that the 2020 MPIGNY Kalahari Resorts Golf Outing is moving forward on Thursday, Oct. 1. We are excited to continue the great tradition of this amazing event!

Please visit our website for our Player Registration form and Sponsorship Opportunities. We look forward to seeing everyone in October and will be in touch in the coming weeks with next steps. 

Until then, hang in there, get practicing, stay safe and keep washing your hands!

2020 MPIGNY Kalahari Resorts Golf Outing

Free live webinars are being added on a regular basis, so please keep checking this link for more information and to register: MPI Academy Live Webinars

Upcoming webinars include:

July 10 – Contract Strategies for the Evolving Marketplace

July 14 – Coronavirus Dialogue Series: Job Search Strategies for Event Professionals

July 15 – Coronavirus Dialogue Series: MeetSAFE

July 17 – Coronavirus Dialogue Series: Budgeting for Uncertainty

Are you looking for guidance during these changing times? Are you interested in mentoring a fellow MPIGNY member? The Leadership Development Committee is pleased to announce the second annual "Power of Two" Program! We had great involvement during the 2019/2020 year, and due to the great interest, we are going to run the program again for the 2020/2021 year. Stay tuned for additional details this summer and expect the program to kick-off in September. Below are some testimonials from our recent mentors and mentees: 

Scott Ramsdell and Kate Andriola:
Scott and I have met virtually several times throughout this period of global uncertainty and stress, and it was so valuable to catch up both personally and professionally. Given his years of experience in the industry, it was especially great to hear Scott's perspective on the future of the events world and gain some insight into how his day to day role has shifted.  

Elke Sudin and Colleen Jasinski:
Mentorship with Colleen is a favorite moment of my week. It feels good to check in with someone who understands the industry and to share progress or frustrations, especially when tackling new territory with my business and how to navigate new ways planners are looking to use our services. Relating to another experienced woman in the field gives a great sense of validation that my efforts are not for naught!   

Learn how to be better at what you do – and further your career. Through Joanne's class, you can earn contact hours for the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) application or recertification.

This intensive, and extensive, class utilizes the CMP – International Standards as the base for the areas of learning. This is a class where the information is taught, not facilitated. It will be a live video, and there will be no Power Point. Although we won’t physically be in the room together, any questions will be answered either during or after the class.

The classes will be held Tuesday to Friday, July 21 to 24, 2020, from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. each day (the class is ALL four days). More info here: Joanne Dennison’s Meeting and Events Intensive CMP Class

Did you know that MPI members have access to complimentary resume critique through our career center?  Members will need their MPI username/password to access this service. Visit: 

www.mpi.org > Resources > Career Center > Sign In > go to My Account (top left corner) > go to Resume > check mark “Send me my free professional resume critique from TopResume” > click on Upload Resume to, you guessed it, upload your resume.

At MPIGNY, our members are family, and in challenging times, we believe in taking care of our own. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the financial hardships many are experiencing as a result, MPIGNY has set up a community support fund to provide monetary grants to our colleagues who need it most. If you are in need of assistance during this or any of life's more difficult moments, we may be able to help. 

There is no issue too large or too small. If you need help, please know we are standing by to assist you. Simply submit a confidential Request for Support for review of support in any personal crisis situation. We can offer assistance toward:

• Housing while in quarantine 
• Essential items like groceries, rent, utilities or essential worker child care
• Rebuilding after natural disasters 
• Escaping from domestic violence
• Recovering from a serious accident
• Other support following loss when not otherwise provided by insurance

Submit a confidential request with all supporting documentation to Kathie Stapleton. As this is confidential – please share as much information as you are comfortable sharing. All requests will be reviewed and considered to determine what, if anything, we can do to assist you in your situation.

Additionally, if you are in a position to donate to the fund, MPIGNY is gladly accepting donations at this time. Please contact Kathie Stapleton for more information. 

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 

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

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

The MPI Foundation is focused on helping as many current members retain their professional affiliation and the opportunity to continue to have access to all our resources. For more information, please contact help@mpi.org.

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