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MPI WEC Grapevine Event
The 2020 U.S. elections are Nov. 3, which is also the first day of the World Education Congress, happening this year in Grapevine, Texas. We want to make sure you have all you need to cast your ballot, while experiencing WEC in a way that works best for you.
Click here to find links to resources and learn what to expect on-site in Grapevine.
If you can't travel to WEC, be sure to register and take part in MPI's biggest hybrid event of the year.
MPI Potomac Roaring Good Time Hybrid Cocktail Class
New Date: October 26
Time: 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Location: The Sunset Room by Wolfgang Puck - National Harbor & Virtual
CE: 1.5 Hours
While we are prohibited from meeting in large groups, we must educate our meeting professional community on how to create hybrid events to bring us together safely. In the spirit of the hospitality industry, we do this with a roaring good time!
Join us for the Prohibition-Themed Cocktail Class with Molecular Food Cocktails. This edu-networking event is one of a kind. Thanks to our production by Extraordinary Entertainment and property host The Sunset Room by Wolfgang Puck, you will learn firsthand by being in person at the event or sitting at your computer how to set up and execute a safe hybrid event while being immersed in it.
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Launch of MPI Potomac Mentor Program
By Ronda Keys, MBA, CMP, CMM, CEM, CTA, DES, HMCC, MPI Potomac Chapter, Leadership Development Committee
The Leadership Development Committee is launching a Mentoring Program! The program will offer an opportunity for newer professionals in the meetings and events industry to gain knowledge, insight and perspective from professionals with more extensive experience and expertise. We hope to foster long-term relationships that translate into professional development, career growth and a greater level of engagement within the industry as a whole — for everyone involved.
Our community of mentors will be experienced professionals in the event industry available to share their perspectives and advice while creating a supportive environment to learn, teach and share knowledge.
Benefits to Mentee:
- Real-world insight
- Exposure to new ideas, perspectives, learning experience and resources
- Networking opportunities
- Receive assistance with long-term career planning and direction
Benefits to Mentor:
- Exposure to new ideas and perspectives
- Enhancement of leadership and coaching skills
- Develop and retain talent in your organization
Timeline of events:
- October/November - Call for mentors and mentees
- November/December - Coordinate responses and surveys
- January - Official launch
Stay tuned as more information will be released later this month.
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The Benefits of Mentoring on Career and Personal Development
Gaining experience in the meetings industry comes from more than just your place of work and time spent in your job. Having a relationship with a seasoned professional can help you gain knowledge, insight and perspective. Mentorship is an active way to offer training in management skills and mastering of duties and responsibilities.
Join us for an interactive discussion taking an in-depth look into mentorship. Members of our distinguished panel will share their stories from the perceptive of the mentor and mentee and how it led all to success.
Moderator:
Shameka Jennings, CMP, Director of Meetings and Partnership Development, National Coalition of STD Directors
Panelists:
Stephen Peeler, CFRE, Executive Director, Infectious Diseases Society of America Foundation
Yoko Heukels, CMP, President, Meeting Element
Shelli Vasser Gilliam, CMP, Senior Director, Membership & Meetings, AMC Institute
Steve Lawson, CCM, CAM, Assistant General Manager, Washington Golf and Country Club
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By Anjali Sanghvi, independent planner and co-chair, MPI Potomac Chapter, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee
At a previous job, I distinctly remember a colleague from another department came up to me, introduced herself and asked if I had been in charge of ordering the food for the last few office events. I had just joined the company, and, as was the culture there, I was encouraged to take on a social committee role to get to know everyone better. I picked a role that would allow me to pick the food. If you know me, you would know that food is a passion of mine.
She then went on to say that she had avoided office events or left early because no one ever thought to order vegetarian/vegan offerings for her and a few other colleagues. “We were always an afterthought,” she said, “or at least it always felt that way.” She then went on to (incorrectly) assume that I must be a vegetarian because I was of Indian descent.
This was over 10 years ago, and things have come a long way since then for the vegetarian event goer, but not all folks with genuine food allergies and restrictions are met with grace. It is understandable that as meeting professionals we cannot cater to every attendee’s personal dietary plans, especially as the fads get more elaborate every day.
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OMG ... Dual Membership between MPI & NCBMP!
You can now obtain a dual membership between Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals (NCBMP)!
This dual membership provides incredible depth in access to content and resources between two of the meeting and event industry’s strongest associations, while furthering our profession’s advancement in diversity, equity and inclusion.
Through this joint membership, you gain access to member benefits that are seemingly immeasurable in value for your personal and professional growth. Below is just a sampling of what you gain by taking advantage of this dual member experience:
MPI Benefits
- Connected to an expansive network of more than15,000 meeting and event professionals globally
- Free or reduced cost to on-demand and in-person education sessions, webinars and certification courses through the MPI Academy
- Discount registration to MPI Signature events, such as WEC, and exclusive registration for MPI
- Experiential Series events
- Advanced search features in the MPI Member Directory
- Connect with peers and expand your education and networking through local chapter affiliation and MPI Communities
NCBMP Benefits
- Unique networking yielding mutually beneficial relationships
- NCBMP’s annual educational conference that assists in the advancement of industry professionals
- Perspectives, NCBMP's quarterly newsletter, communicating the latest industry trends
- Member database access for marketing destinations and services year-round
- Workshop and article composition opportunities for conferences and publication
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MPI POTOMAC PODCAST IS LIVE!!!
Listen to the first three podcasts, produced by our DE&I committee. Download it today and hear what's happening in your community.
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Interested in maximizing your MPI Potomac membership?
Increase the visibility for your organization's brand
and get in front of decision-makers.
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CMP Digital Badge
Recently, EIC has partnered with Credly to provide a digital version of your CMP certification. You may use the digital badge to showcase what you have earned and your passion for this industry. You can display the badge in your email signature, electronic copies of a resume and on social media: LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
What is a digital badge?
- A web-enabled version of your credentials that can be shared online
- An efficient way of posting to social media platforms
- A trusted method for real-time credential verification
You also can print your certificate directly from the digital badge platform.
We are proud of this community and all that you represent — dedication to the professionalism of our industry.
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Designing the New Face of MACE
By Cristina Charron, CMP
The challenges we have been facing this year in our industry will likely continue into next year. As the leading MPI chapter, we are committed to embracing these challenges in a positive manner, learn how to adapt and grow stronger together.
There are still many things to get excited about, and we hope you’ll agree that our new approach to planning our annual regional education conference and expo, soon to be formerly known as MACE, is one of them!
Many of you participated in our focus groups to help rethink MACE. Our chapter board unanimously agreed with the consensus of our members; the dual experience offered via a bold and immersive hybrid conference is the best way forward. This means we intend to present a conference for both in-person and virtual participation. The venue we select will uphold the highest safety standards for the current climate to help us deliver a worry-free in-person event. For those who are more comfortable with a virtual experience, rest assured we will partner with a platform provider that will facilitate an engaging, informative, collaborative and fun experience.
Hopefully you participated in the naming contest last month for our regional education conference. The winner and new name will be announced at the Oct. 16 E2 MPI educational session.
Consider joining the planning committee and help us create a memorable experience. Contact Brian Chung, Director of regional education conference, at bchung@baltimore.org. For partners who would like to help us elevate this unique opportunity, please contact Melissa Benowitz at info@mpipotomac.org.
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CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN ORDER!!
A HUGE congratulations to chapter members that earned their certified meeting professional (CMP) credential in August
Megan Bidelman
Courtney Urquhart
Carolina Lorenz
Anna Mitchell
The CMP credential is recognized globally as the badge of excellence in the meeting, convention, exhibition and event industry. The qualifications for certification are based on professional experience, education and a rigorous exam. They demonstrate their comprehensive knowledge of meeting management as well as a commitment to the meeting profession.
MPI Potomac is so proud of Megan's, Courtney's, Carolina's and Anna’s achievements!
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Don’t Miss It — the New Issue of Engage Magazine Just Arrived!
Check out the current issue of MPI Potomac’s Engage magazine in a digital format.
You’ll find informative articles on a host of topics, including virtual meeting do’s and don’ts; how your industry colleagues are embracing change; the racial justice movement and its effect on our industry; and what your fellow chapter members have learned about themselves during the pandemic. Plus, view the list of new members.
Do you enjoy writing or editing? Want to share your perspective? Join our editorial team and have fun! The next issue will be released in March. Email us before Nov. 15 at info@mpipotomac.org to inquire about participating.
Mid-Atlantic CHAMPS: Forming a Partnership for Progress
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, MPI Potomac and five other local meeting professional organizations have joined forces to create a collaborative community. Mid-Atlantic CHAMPS will help us all feel more connected and will provide information to help foster growth and healing, as many of our colleagues have faced furloughs and layoffs.
CHAMPS offers a LinkedIn page that brings together a united industry calendar and resources for employment and professional development opportunities. Through social media, CHAMPS provides an outlet for people to share and stay connected. Join the greater effort today — it’s free — by adding your name to the LinkedIn group.
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Welcome to our newest members who joined in September!
Jennifer Abdinoor, Reno Tahoe
Karen Advincula, The MITRE Corporation
Nicole Armstrong, The MITRE Corporation
Dzidra Junior, MGM Resorts
Kristi King, The MITRE Corporation
Anita Maginniss, The MITRE Corporation
Canisha Pope, Student, University of Maryland
Rebecca Takemoto, Syncopate Meetings & Events
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Navarro Research and Engineering - Fort Belvoir, VA
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Malene S. Ward is no novice to the hospitality sector, as she holds several professional designations such as CMP (certified meeting professional), CEM (certified exhibition management) and DES (digital events strategist) as well as being the founder of Phoenix Planning Group LLC, which she founded in 2018.
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After Lockdown – Meetings & Events Post-Crisis
October 16
10 a.m. - 11 a.m. ET
Click here to register!
Join your peers for this critical conversation on how the coronavirus crisis has changed the execution of meetings, events, conferences and trade shows, delivered in partnership with Planet IMEX for Community Day. Discuss new guidelines for social distancing, sanitation and food preparation and review ways meeting professionals are utilizing technology to expand the reach of their events to include those impacted by travel restrictions.
How to Remain Relevant in the Marketplace
October 23
11 a.m. - Noon
With nearly one-third of the U.S. workforce self-employed and growing throughout the world, owning a business is the new norm. In a world that is constantly evolving, our business changes all the time. It can be a challenge to stay on top of the latest trends while serving existing clients. We will discuss the challenges and solutions to keeping your business alive and thriving.
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