Toronto Education Conference (TEC) - June 7-9, 2015
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The 2015 MPI TEC took place in the beautiful Blue Mountain Resort. We were inspired, connected and we collaborated! TEC provided opportunities to network, learn and earn the coveted CEUs!
On opening day, we were told that "We got this!" and we were made to realize that we all have something in common as a base for productive communication. The evening was kicked off with a reception held at the Westin Trillium House.
On day two, we were presented with innovative ideas and tech trends and the nitty gritty of contracting. The day was filled with great speaker sessions covering everything from the power of planning, working unscipted, un-conference style session discussing the Generation Intervention, to everything in between!
The final day was jam packed day with variety of sessions – teaching us to think on our feet or persuasive tips on how to enhance our career and build trust within the buyer-seller relationship, and many more. The day ended with a very inspirational closing presentation.
THANK YOU!
Thank you to all who attended and to those who donated stuffies to the General & Marine Hospital in Collingwood.
Thank you to all of the speakers for your contribution to our growth as professionals in the industry.
To our incredible sponsors and exhibitors – we appreciate all of your support in making this year's conference as amazing as it was.
Sponsors:
Blue Mountain Resort
Ottawa Tourism/Shaw Centre
Travel Alberta
Edmonton Tourism
Meetings Conventions Calgary
Banff Lake Louise Tourism
Hotels Red Deer
Tourism London
PSAV
EventMobi
Speakers' Spotlight
The Image Commission
D.E. Systems
Saman Design
Exhibitors:
AV-CANADA
EventMobi
JW Marriott The Rousseau Resort & Spa
Medieval Times
PSAV
Ottawa Tourism/Shaw Centre
TEC was a highlight this year, and the MPI Toronto Chapter awarded two lucky winners with a scholarship to attend. Here is what they had to say about the conference:
MPI TEC Scholarship Recipient – Tamer Mecky, CEM
I was fortunate to receive one of TWO educational scholarships available to all MPI Toronto Chapter Members to attend TEC (Toronto Education Conference) 2015 at Blue Mountain Resort. The process to submit the application was straightforward and the application is available to download from the MPI Toronto website. I encourage MPI members to make use of all available scholarships and recommend the option to other fellow members.
When we think of education, most of us think of the classroom or conference room learning about facts and theories, but the most effective education happens outside the classroom. It happens when we share our experiences with others, and let others share their experience with us.
Taking the education experience outdoors during the summer months is something I look forward to every year when I attend TEC; it's an exclusive group size that promotes learning in a different setting and encourages conversations and new connections. Over two days of professional development and multiple speaker line-ups to share their knowledge, TEC is a chance to recharge our professional batteries and take time to reflect on what we have learned and how we do things. It makes a great difference when you are extracted from your daily environment and surrounded with a group of like-minded meeting professionals who are eager to learn, set trends and elevate the meeting industry.
MPI TEC Scholarship Receipient – Kristi Contini
Walking into the Mosaic lobby at Blue Mountain Resort on the afternoon of Sunday, June 7, I was immediately reminded why my MPI membership is important to me. I was immediately welcomed by a dozen familiar and genuinely happy faces – these were my fellow members. We were all excited about the prospect of a fun few days spent at "Blue" being educated and connecting with each other.
The Blue Mountain Conference Centre welcomed us that afternoon with a display of local treats in the foyer and mixed seating in the ballroom. Outside, the ballroom was the overflowing table of "stuffies" collected for the local hospital waiting to be whisked off to children who need the comfort and care of a stuffed friend. The conference was energetically kicked off by Jennifer Spear followed by Shawna Suckow who had us on our feet dividing and re-dividing into groups while engaging with each other.
The next morning back at the conference centre, Max Valiquette got our Monday morning started with an inspirational keynote focusing on shifting demographics, new cultural trends, shifts in business and industry, and new technologies for events and meetings. Before we headed off to a full day of inspiring breakouts, Barbara Dunn and Lisa Devlin took us on a rousing debate in the world of contract negotiations.
From Naked Negotiations to Working Improv to Murphy’s Law, the TEC’s breakout workshop facilitators had everyone engaged and inspired over two days. We learned how to better look after ourselves while traveling at Suzanne Forster’s session and discussed AV and technology trends in Courtney Stanley and Bill Kubiak’s sessions. And new for this year was the ability to immediately track our CEUs through the handy EventMobi app. Participants at the workshops keep facilitators on their feet asking for the "code" at the end of each session.
And in between all the workshops and keynotes was the time spent connecting and sharing stories and collaborating with our fellow MPI Toronto members. We took over the patio at the local Irish Pub and reconfigured the tables to welcome more and more friends to join us. We shared best practices, life stories and experiences over meals and boy did we laugh!
The two and half days spent at the Toronto Education Conference was much more than just sitting in a classroom learning practical skills for our craft – it was about connecting, collaborating and becoming inspired in what we do every day, and most of all making memories with our friends to last a lifetime.
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