Each month, MPI Global Headquarters suggests a messaging theme that they would like to see communicated to the membership. This month that theme is "What It Means to Be A Leader." I thought long and hard about this because the term leadership can mean different things to different people. Is it about measuring an organization's annual results? Is it the teambuilding and culture that an organization creates? Should a leader’s main focus be to provide motivation and empathy to their team?   

To be honest, being president of MPIGNY for a second consecutive year was not something that I had expected, but I consider it to be one of the greatest honors of my professional career. This chapter has done so much to lift me up over the years, and the members, many now close friends, mean the world to me. I look upon my current role as an opportunity to pay it forward, to cultivate future leaders of this chapter, to bestow the same knowledge upon others that has been bestowed upon me over the years.   

Back in 2013, as a fairly new member of the chapter, I was speaking with Meghan Schilt, a former chapter president. I was still pretty green back then and not really active in the chapter, let alone had any thoughts about joining the board of directors. During that conversation, Meghan told me she believed in me and thought that I could be doing more for MPIGNY. At first, I was a little taken back by her bluntness. She went on to suggest that I join the Golf Committee to “dip my toe” in getting more involved with the chapter. It is a moment I will never forget, but I am fairly certain my reaction belied how I felt. I was noncommittal and said that I would think about it. After some consideration, it was as if a lightbulb went off in my head, and I knew she was right. I could contribute more. I needed to do more. Without that push from her, I can assure you that I would not be where I am today — and you would not be reading another long-winded yet (hopefully) poignant message — as the leader of this chapter. Meghan saw something in me that I did not necessarily see in myself. It made me realize how a little encouragement from a trusted colleague can be the impetus to propel you forward in your career and professional development.   

What does all of that have to do with leadership, you ask? Well, I think the questions I asked above certainly resonate with leadership, but, to me, that conversation with Meghan defines leadership. She knew my personality well enough to know what to say and how to say it, knowing that it would likely push me toward my own self-reflection. Looking at someone, believing in them, empowering them to push the limits of their abilities while, simultaneously, executing an overall vision of your own through the help of other talented individuals is the definition of leadership in my mind. 

We simply cannot accomplish our goals as a chapter with just one person or even a highly experienced 18-member board of directors. Almost every member of our board has a similar story. None of us would be here without the support of our industry colleagues and past board members. But, like board members before us, we will not be here forever. The chapter will only continue to thrive with greater and more consistent member participation. We encourage you to attend more events, join more committees and, most importantly, apply for a board position. 

At the end of the day, the onus falls to each individual to take action. I challenge each one of you to reflect on your path of professional development. We all realize that COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on this industry. Can you agree that your connection with this chapter helped you through all of this at least a little bit? This pandemic is going to pass, and things will, eventually, return to normal. Are you doing all that you can right now to help your career thrive once we get out of this? Or can you do a little bit more? If you are reading this, I am confident that you can do a bit more. I encourage each one of you to give some serious thought to how you can make a positive impact on this chapter while advancing your own professional goals. If you have any questions, please reach out to any of us on the board. We would be honored to discuss your MPIGNY future with you. You would be surprised how much of an impact you can really make.  

Moving on to our upcoming events, we have an amazing follow-up to our September education program. For those of you who joined us last month, you were privy to a stimulating conversation moderated by the legendary Chris Reed from Equinox Hotels. He led a vibrant discussion with industry leaders including our fellow MPIGNY member Ruth Katz (Morgan Stanley), Gerilyn Horan (Hilton Worldwide Sales) and Dyhalma Torres (HelmsBriscoe) on the state of contract negotiations in the era of COVID-19. If you were unable to attend, the full conversation is available on-demand here. Tomorrow, Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 12:30 p.m., we are offering a complimentary follow-up to that discussion where each one of you can provide your own feedback and perspective to your fellow industry professionals. This month's MPIGNY Grub Club is the latest installment of our Peer-to-Peer discussion series that was rolled out over the summer. Please register and plan to join us for what promises to be another lively conversation.

Finally, I hope you have seen the recent email blasts and social media posts regarding our new education event on Thursday, Oct. 22. MPIGNY is producing a fully immersive day of content, networking and recognition all rolled into one amazing event. The MPIGNY Education & Expo, or EdX, sponsored by Meet Virtually, is our virtual version of the New York Meetings Industry Exchange, or NYMix, a popular half-day education event our chapter used to produce several years ago. I cannot begin to tell you how much work so many of your fellow members have put in so far to create this experience for our chapter and our industry as a whole. This engaging event will have virtual exhibit booths, activated networking receptions, a highly sought-after keynote speaker and three relevant education breakouts to choose from. To cap it all off, we are closing out the afternoon with a presentation of the MPIGNY Annual Genie Awards, sponsored by Kalihari Resorts, live from Shubert New World Stages in the Theatre District.

This is the first time we are asking for any event registration fees since the start of the pandemic. We realize that these are trying times for so many of us in this industry, but we do hope that you will be able to find a way to participate. Fees range from $15 for planner members to $25 for supplier members, and your registration provides you with three different experiences — networking, education and our annual awards, PLUS a virtual performance by members of the cast of "Hamilton,” sponsored by 360 Destination Group. I assure you this is one afternoon that you will want to block off on your calendar. Further information, including a full outline of the day's activities and registration, can be found at www.MPIGNYEdX.com. If the fees are impacting your participation, please reach out to us so we can discuss it. It is important to our board that we provide a solution so everyone who would like to participate has the opportunity to do so. 

We will continue to make any updates to the event registration website as they develop, but the vast majority of the event is locked in. We do have a couple of sponsorship opportunities still available so if you are a supplier looking for a cost-effective way to rebrand or remarket coming out of the pandemic, we encourage you to consider participating. Those details can be found under the Exhibit/Sponsor tab at www.MPIGNYEdX.com.

And one last note: Nominations for the Genie Awards will close this Friday, Oct. 9! We all know someone who deserves to be recognized for their contribution to our chapter and our industry. Please submit your nominations before it’s too late!

I look forward to seeing all of you soon. 

Best,

Patrick Colomer
MPIGNY President
patrick.colomer1@gmail.com

P.S. Are you following MPIGNY on social media? If not, please click on the links below and follow us to stay up to date on all the current news and events. Don't miss out! 

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Our September Education Event, "The Amazing Race - Navigating Through Contracts with Your Partners," shared real-life experiences and open discussion among our distinguished panel of industry leaders with a great deal of engagement from the audience. With our next installment of the Grub Club Peer-to-Peer Discussion Groups, we are offering an opportunity to continue the candid conversation with your peers to learn even more.

Objectives:

• Provide a follow-up discussion to our Amazing Race education event from Sept. 15.
• Provide a deeper, open forum discussion with your peers on how you personally are navigating through contracts, negotiations and conversations with your partners.
• Share strategies, success stories and experiences with each other and offer/ask for advice regarding more specific situations.

Join your fellow MPIGNY colleagues for our October Grub Club — a safe space to discuss collective experiences and concerns. Our Grub Club small group sessions will allow you to connect with your peers, collaborate openly and help you stay connected to our industry while discussing the topics that are on your mind right now. 

Registration is complimentary and open to all hospitality professionals.

Register Here

MPIGNY returns once again this month to God’s Love We Deliver for our regular volunteer session providing help in the kitchen. Due to social distancing guidelines, our assistance is needed now more than ever. 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. 

Our next volunteer session is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 28, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. 

*Please note the time change.* Due to scheduling changes at GLWD, the session is extended by one hour. Please try to stay for the entire time, if you can. Gloves and masks will be provided to all volunteers. Register here. 

If this session time is not convenient for you, check out the God's Love volunteer calendar for more volunteer opportunities. With numerous sessions scheduled each day, you are bound to find one or two that fit your schedule!

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 is 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!
• Celebrate With a Plate! Sponsor a holiday meal. So many people are alone during the holidays. Our special holiday meals are delivered with love to make sure that each and every one of our sick clients knows that someone cares. Your $20 funds a holiday meal for a seriously ill New Yorker and their loved one. 
• 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.

Around this time of year, under normal circumstances, we would usually be gearing up for our annual Auction & Mixology Madness event in November. If you have attended one of these fantastic events in the past, you know how much fun it is and the great crowd of industry colleagues it attracts!

From the plethora of incredible auction items, including immersive restaurant experiences, hotel stays, full destination getaway weekends and much more, to the tasty offerings and friendly competition among local cocktail purveyors eager to win votes for best drink and best theme, this event is always a huge hit!

Unfortunately, as is the case with most large events this year, in an effort to maintain safety and stay in compliance with group gathering restrictions, we will be unable to host the event in November 2020. However, we are looking ahead, so mark your calendars for April 2021 when the 34th Annual Auction & Mixology Madness event makes a spring comeback! Exact date is TBD, so stay tuned for more details coming soon.

If you or your company are interested in donating auction items or becoming a sponsor, please email Lauren Carbonneau at lauren@qualiaevents.com.

After the success of his talk in January, "Saturday Night Leaders: How to Solve Problems Keeping You Up Until 3AM," keynote speaker and certified leadership trainer Jamie Mason Cohen returns to MPIGNY in November with another exciting and thought-provoking seminar tailored to our current experience. "Master the Art of Emotional Connectedness in Times of Social Distancing" promises to be another great evening with this highly engaging and entertaining speaker. 

Stay tuned! More details and registration coming soon!

A note of thanks from Volunteers of America/Operation Backpack® for the generosity of our members in helping to reach their fundraising goal and provide 18,000 children with backpacks and school supplies for the new school year.

"Thank you! Every summer, over 230 homeless and domestic violence shelters across New York City rely on Volunteers of America-Greater New York to provide backpacks and school supplies for their children through Operation Backpack®.
 
When the pandemic entirely disrupted the campaign, and we couldn't hold public backpack drives or invite thousands of volunteers to help, it would have been easy to say, "Not this year." But that would have left many of the city's most vulnerable children even more disadvantaged.

Instead, you — the New York City community and beyond — pivoted with us, and together we provided new backpacks and grade-specific school supplies for 18,000 students living in shelters across the five boroughs. We heard that when one little girl living in a homeless shelter in Queens opened her box of school supplies, she looked up at her case worker and said, "These can't all be for me!"
 
Watch this year's Thank You video and see how you can help Volunteers of America-Greater New York give 2,000 of these same children living in our shelters access to one more back-to-school essential: reliable Wi-Fi."

Who among your fellow MPIGNY members is a true stand-out? An absolute rock star? A top-of-the-line talent who should be recognized for all they do to promote our chapter and our industry? Well, here is your chance to give that person the recognition they deserve! Nominations are now open for the MPIGNY 2020 Genie Awards. Categories include:

• Committee of the Year
• Outstanding Contribution by a Member Planner
• Outstanding Contribution by a Member Supplier
• Outstanding Contribution by a Young Professional (Member with less than five years in the industry)
• Hall of Fame Award
• Speaker of the Year
• Venue of the Year

Click here to access the online nomination form. We suggest writing out your nominations in a Word doc so you can save your work, then access the nomination form and cut/paste the information into the form. Deadline for submissions is Friday, Oct. 9, 2020.

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.

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

Did you know that MPI members have access to complimentary resumé 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 resumé.