Past Issues/Subscribe | Printer-Friendly | Advertise | Send to a Friend | pmpi.org | Engage Archive July 2015
In This Issue
A Note From The President
I am honored to serve as your chapter president for the 2015-2016 year. For those of  you that missed our Evening of the Star awards ceremony, it was a celebration of  award winners, nominees, chapter leaders and volunteers, and the recent news of the Potomac Chapter winning the MPI Rise Award. Congratulations to all and thank you for your dedication and service to our members.

At our recent Board Retreat, I challenged our leadership to focus on assisting members with writing the next chapter. You’ll hear us ask you this year, "Why did you join PMPI? Are we delivering that value? What’s next for your MPI story or personal journey?"

This year our Board of Directors will be focused on membership and delivering the quality of education that drives recruitment, the engagement and value that drive retention, and the leadership development that builds the innovation and best practices this chapter is known for ... and now recognized for. Cheers to a fantastic year!

Amy O’Malley
PMPI Chapter President 2015-2016


 
Galveston Island CVB
Features
Here is what your leadership says: "PMPI is so great because of ____________."

Kaitlin Felix, Catering Sales Manager, Omni Shoreham Hotel
People, Education, Networking

 

Erin M. Icenhour, Bureau Express Sales Manager, Visit Charlotte

Collaboration


Lesly Rehaut, CMM, CMP, Director of Business Development, onPeak

Connections

Alexis La Broi, MBA, CMP, Regional Sales Manager – Mid Atlantic, Media Vision
Camaraderie

Michelle Coombs, National Sales Manager, San Diego Tourism Authority
People

Tammy Kockaya, CMM, CMP, Associate Director, Events and Meetings, KPMG LLP
Opportunities

Kate Lockard, CMP, Global Account Executive, Conference Direct
Members

Tamela Blalock, MTA, CMP, Director, Membership Services, National Association of Wholesalers-Distributors
Leadership

Melissa R. Benowitz, CMP, Association Manager Meeting Professionals International Potomac Chapter
People


Corinne Routhier, Director of Sales, Associated Luxury Hotels International

Connections, Friendships 

Doug Sandler, Professional Speaker, Corporate Trainer
Relationships

How would you answer the question? We would love to hear from you. If you have a different word, Tweet it to @PMPI1.

Take the poll on the right side of the FYI newsletter and also cut and paste and fill in the blank:
"@PMPI1 is so great because of ____________________."






 

Entrepreneurs. They are not normal by any stretch of the imagination. I am not sure why I am using the word "they" since I proudly consider myself in the "them" category. We are unusually unique, many of us labeled as certifiable (and proud) workaholics, with passion, persistence and tenacity as our calling cards. It takes a certain level of craziness to be an entrepreneur, but I wear the label like a badge of honor. Are you a member of the club? Below read the list of 15 entrepreneurial signs and see how many you can identify with as traits belonging to you.

People believe in entrepreneurs because of their attitude and positive vibe.

  1. Instead of taking "NO" for an answer, entrepreneurs rephrase the question. The person who was asked obviously did not hear correctly, so rearranging the words in the sentence is probably the best course of action.
  2. There is opportunity in every problem faced. As an eternal problem solver, entrepreneurs are driven to conquer issues, work towards a solution and attain goals.
  3. As the beer man is walking through the stadium, entrepreneurs count up how much money he is making by multiplying the amount of beer he sells per inning by the number of innings he sells beer, subtracting out the stadium cut, adding in the amount he collects in tips if he makes a dollar tip on every beer sold, and totalling up all of those numbers.
  4. For each and every idea thought about, entrepreneurs mentally turn it into a business opportunity. Regardless of whether it's car washing, lemonade selling, computer repair or business consulting, there is money in it and a profit to be made.
  5. An entrepreneur's biggest problem is that they are not short of business ideas or even money to invest, but instead are flat out of time to initiate 99 percent of what they think about.
  6. When people come to an entrepreneur with a business idea, they have a better way to do it and then become a partner in the business.
  7. Entrepreneurs think creatively and are constantly dreaming of ideas of how to take everyday ideas and turn them into extraordinary projects. Paperclips, empty water bottles, paint and scrap wood can turn ideas into cash flow.
  8. People believe in entrepreneurs because of their attitude and positive vibe. They care less about the idea brought to them and more about the way entrepreneurs present the idea with such enthusiasm.
  9. When entrepreneurs wipe out, they do it big. But without hesitation, they stand back up, dust themselves off and get back at it again, knowing that the lessons learned from defeat will put them on the right path next time.
  10. Truly living by the motto, "I work hard, I play hard," entrepreneurs enjoy life to the fullest. They are less likely to be found watching a ball game on television and more likely to be at the ball game with glove in hand, eye paint under their eyes and sitting way down close to the dugout. If given the opportunity to run the bases, they would say, "Can I throw the first pitch too?"
  11. Focus is not their problem, but knowing when to call it a day is. Entrepreneurs wake up early, go to be late and love every hour in between. Oftentimes, they will push themselves so hard they eat breakfast around noon, lunch about 5 p.m. and dinner every once in a while at 11 p.m. Pee breaks are combined with checking email on their smartphones and pajamas can easily be the uniform of the day.
  12. Facebook friends are the proving ground for new products, services and innovations. Entrepreneurs are more likely to throw their first sales pitch to their best buddies than to a complete stranger because they want to share their best ideas with those closest to them. And every idea is their best idea.
  13. No need to turn off your computer if you are an entrepreneur. At 3 a.m. when they can't sleep because of their thoughts are running a million miles an hour, that's the best time to return emails, work on a project or finish that keynote presentation. Entrepreneurs are night owls.
  14. Why hire a graphic designer, bookkeeper, web designer, social media marketer or assistant? Entrepreneurs have children and spouses to do all that stuff. And if that doesn't work, they do it all themselves to save money, and let's face it, entrepreneurs do it better anyway.
  15. An entrepreneur will sneak into the bathroom in the middle of dinner with friends or family to take out their phone and Tweet, connect, post or share a great idea. 

When people come to an entrepreneur with a business idea, the entrepreneur has a better way to do it, and then becomes a partner in the business.

If you can identify with many or all of the signs above, you probably are sorry you were distracted long enough from your emails, projects and tasks to get to the end of this post, but you are very likely to share this post with someone else you think is an entrepreneur. More likely than not, most of your friends are entrepreneurs as well, since your old friends think you are a bit crazy anyway. It's ok though, you can join all of your entrepreneur friends at 10 p.m. on whatever Twitter hashtag chat is going on. I'll see ya there.

Doug Sandler is proud to be an entrepreneur and even more proud to be in the best chapter of MPI, the PMPI chapter. He serves on the publications committee and oversees this amazing publication called FYI. If you have a feature article to submit, news about the chapter or just want to get involved by sharing a word or two here on FYI, reach out to Doug at doug@dougsandler.com.



 
Irving Convention & Visitors Bureau
News and Announcements
On Wednesday, June 24, PMPI announced all of this year's stars at the Holiday Inn Rosslyn. In addition to the Evening of the Stars award recipients, the PMPI chapter welcomed in the new Board of Directors, thanked the outgoing board and all attendees enjoyed networking with other members of the chapter. Here are the award winners:

Planner of the Year – Jennifer Bond, CMP, American Farm Bureau Federation

Supplier of the Year 
 B. Murphy, CEM, Fern Exposition and Event Services

Rising Star of the Year 
 Natalie Street, Omni Shoreham Hotel

Distinguished Leader Award 
 Mary-Kathleen Todd, CMP, ConferenceDirect

Marketplace of Excellence 
 Omni Shoreham Hotel

President's Award 
– Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau

Pinch Hitter Award 
 Michelle Allgauer, Financial Services Institute







 
Howard County Tourism and Promotion
AMA Executive Conference Centers
Space Needle

Reader Poll

PMPI is so great because of __________

People (Connections, Members, Relationships)
Leadership
Networking
Collaboration
Education
Opportunities
Other

View Results


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.