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In This Issue
Galveston Island CVB
Features

If you attended MACE! we hope your experience lived up to the promises we made to you in the months leading up to the conference. Our promises to you were outstanding education for everyone, opportunities to network and connect with business partners both old and new, at an affordable price and at an accessible location. Let’s see if we lived up to our promises to you...drum roll, please.

Record-Breaking Attendance
 A record breaking 315 planners and suppliers participated in MACE! Our conference home this year was the Washington Marriott Wardman Park and we believe this new partnership had something to do with our successful attendance not only for its accessible location, but also the product and staff really lived up to our expectations to create a successful event!

Record-Breaking Networking Opportunities
Wow! The 6:30 Club was an amazing success! With over 250 attendees (our largest ever for a pre-MACE! reception) and artistic direction by Tina Bettina & Co a great time was had by all who attended. Prior to the reception, 70 suppliers hosted 55 buyers at the Flipped Marketplace. The Flipped Marketplace was also record setting as over 50% of the buyers were first-time attendees at the marketplace. Huge thanks to the Strategic Events Committee and the Flipped Marketplace Committee for making these two networking experiences such an amazing success!

Record-Breaking Sponsorship
We cannot have a successful MACE! without our committed and generous sponsors. In total we secured 31 sponsorships including cash, table-top, and in-kind sponsors. This is double what we’ve been able to secure in the past and as a result we exceeded our overall sponsorship goal. We look forward to partnering with our sponsors again to make next year’s MACE! an even greater success!

Ground-Breaking Education
While we have not calculated all of the evaluations yet to determine if we broke any content records, what we can say is that our education was certainly a ground-breaking MACE! experience. In total we hosted over 25 total hours of education content which included advance workshops, five separate tracks for concurrent breakouts, and a fife and drum rockin’ Colonial Williamsburg-style general session featuring a former White House staffer. The feedback we’ve received has been overwhelmingly positive with regard to the quality of the session topics chosen, expertise of the speakers, and effectiveness in delivering the content. We promised that we would make it possible for everyone to take advantage of the educational offerings by placing the Flipped Marketplace on the first day. We did this and as a result, everyone had the opportunity to participate in professional development.

Thank you to the entire MACE! Committee and all of the volunteers who worked tirelessly to produce such a successful and record-breaking event! Your dedication to PMPI and MACE! is unparalleled.

 

One of the most common tips to keep yourself motivated to go to the gym is to find an exercise buddy. Studying for the CMP, I found that tip to also be essential when sticking to my studying regimen. Discipline and motivation are much easier when you have a CMP "exercise buddy" by your side, and you’re both working toward the same goal.

In November of 2011, just days after moving to Washington, D.C. from Minneapolis, Minnesota, for a new job, I attended my first PMPI meeting . I was very shy and not good at networking, but I did manage to make one connection that would prove helpful in the future. At the PMPI Insider after the meeting, I met Rachel Nedelman, recently promoted to Sales Manager at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center. We chatted about the D.C. area, our recent moves and soon found out that we both had it in our sights to obtain our CMP in the near future.

Rachel and I became friends but also kept in mind that goal of getting our CMP, and in October of 2012 we applied and were both accepted as CMP candidates. In November, we started our CMP training regimen. Over the last three months, we have met weekly, reviewing reading, asking questions, and discussing issues we had questions on from weekly reading. We are a small study group, but we balance each other out well, as I can ask her questions about the hotel side of things that I don’t understand, and I can explain the planner’s view and ultimately help her understand those issues that she doesn’t normally deal with.

After an intense 12 week training period, Rachel and I went into the final stretch of training and ultimately ended up at the big final training session - PMPI’s CMP Boot Camp. Thanks to PMPI Cares, I was able to spend two days at the Hyatt Regency in Bethesda reviewing and clarifying months of studying to help prepare for the exam. PMPI brought in current CMPs and members of the association to help us review key areas such as program planning, food and beverage, and the dreaded contracts and insurance areas.

The most valuable part of the training for us was the part we weren’t able to get through our weekly "workouts." At the Boot Camp, we were led by people that had actually taken and passed the test. They knew how to help us prepare, gave us information on the exam itself as well as the format, and helped us zero-in on areas we wouldn’t have known to really focus on. We asked about 500 questions, took numerous practice exams, and walked out of there still scared but more prepared.

Thanks to the PMPI Boot Camp and my CMP "workout buddy", I was given the tool to pass the exam.

Stephanie Szurek
Senior Education Associate
Solar Electric Power Association

 
Irving Convention & Visitors Bureau
Upcoming Events

We surveyed our members and the topics selected for discussion were your choice.

These include:

• Advanced Meeting Technology
• Contract Negotiation
• Current Industry Trends
• Identifying Sponsors & Sponsor Management
• Marketing Trends
• Menu Planning
• Social Networking & Social Media
• Special Events
• Exhibitor Sales
• Volunteer Management

Want the inside scoop on how to maximize your membership with PMPI? Join us prior the program for PMPI Insider. Click here to register.

When
Tuesday, March 19, 2013 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Where
The Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital
921 Pennsylvania Ave SE
Washington DC
Metro: Eastern Market

 
Greater Raleigh CVB
News and Announcements

 

Community service projects will be completed by our participants at a multitude of sites, concurrently, creating the most impact for our neighbors. We will give back to schools, effect food pantries, help military, and more.

HINT: We will be partnering with other major industry players...

You already know the theme this year is to give back without giving money, and our volunteer efforts have been generating increased interest. Chicago has a service day that you may have even heard of, that the industry can’t stop talking about. As the nation’s capital, it’s time to boast our red, white and blue with an event of our own.

HINT: We will have a kick-off rally and a closing celebration.

If you are interesting in joining the Community Outreach Committee in shaping this inaugural event, please contact Community Outreach Chair, Tabatha Gilmore at Tabatha.Gilmore@destinationdc.com.

 

PMPI CMP Spring University

  • Mondays (except Holidays) beginning March 4 – May 6, 2013
  • The Pew Charitable Trusts 901 E St. NW Washington, DC
  • Metro: Gallery Place

Some of the many benefits of participating in the study course include:

  • Clarification of complex material and concepts
  • Great time management assistance
  • Learning CMP test-taking tips
  • Support and encouragement

Important 2013 CMP Dates (Subject to Change)

Application Submission

  • February 19 – May 7, 2013
  • May 14 – July 30, 2013

CIC Exam Registration

  • February 27 – March 20, 2013
  • May 22 – June 5, 2013
  • August 14 – September 4, 2013

Exam Dates

  • May 9 – May 18, 2013
  • August 8 – August 17, 2013
  • November 7 – November 16, 2013

For more information on career development click here.

For more information contact: Sekeno Aldred, CMP at sekeno.aldred@goodwill.org or Robin Roane, CMP, CTE, CCTE at RRoane@VisitAlexVA.com.

Join the conversation about PMPI CMP University by using #PMPIUniv.

 

Who do you know that is a PMPI standout? This is the last opportunity of the year to show your appreciation to those volunteers who go above and beyond for our chapter.

Please submit your nominee for PMPI Rock Star today!

The nominations are due no later than Friday, March 15th. Click here for the nomination form.

Submit a photo of your nominee(s) to info@pmpi.org. Please put "PMPI Nomination Photo" in the subject line and include the nominee’s name in the body of the email.

Contact Terri Moore at designs@graphicventures.net if you have any questions.

 

 
Meet the Leaders of the Potomac Chapter, learn more about committee opportunities, ask questions about industry certifications and so much more! The Insider is open to all members, new and old, and occurs before or after the PMPI Education Experiences (E2), so just look for the timing on the event registration page and RSVP for the PMPI Insider. Look for more information how to become a PMPI Insider on our website .
 

Remember the days when you were a student, struggling to figure out your place in the world as well as how to pay for that next semester’s textbook? Please consider sponsoring a student member of PMPI. Your $40 sponsorship will offer a student a valuable membership in our chapter and access to our educational & networking events.

For more information, please click here or contact Jessica K. Roberts, CMP, Chair of the Student Involvement Committee at jroberts@ur.umd.edu.

 

You've spent years refining your skills as a meeting professional. Now share your experience and knowledge by submitting a presentation for consideration at a PMPI education event. PMPI invites all speakers to submit presentations for our educational initiatives and MACE!

We are very interested in innovative presentation formats including case studies, panel discussions and other cutting-edge adult learning formats. We welcome all new ideas and encourage forward thinking presentations. Our Call for Presentations is continually open and reviewed biannually in March and September.

To submit your presentations, please click here.

 
Greater Des Moines Convention And Visitors Bureau
Knoxville Tourism & Sports Corporation
The Boar's Head
PMPI Strategic Partners
 


MEETING PROFESSIONALS INTERNATIONAL
POTOMAC CHAPTER

Please visit our website at www.mpipotomac.org to learn more and register for all of our events,
as well as information about the resources we have to offer you.