Morning Breakout Sessions
Get Expert Tips and Advice
Choose one session from each group below, plus Tommy Spaulding's Keynote Luncheon at noon.
Note: Advance session selection is not required. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Session Descriptions
"Back to Basics:
Social Technology 101 Workshop" - BEGINNER
For those who haven't yet engaged in social media, there are generally a couple of reasons why:
- You are intimidated or overwhelmed with the technology and can't seem to sort through what is most important to learn or how to learn it.
- You just don't see the value and it appears to be more of a time drag or personal indulgence than any true business strategy.
If this sounds familiar and you'd like to learn more, this session will focus primarily on reason #1. We will explore the biggest platforms in the social media space and some of the basics of how to navigate and use them (like, what the heck is a hashtag anyway?). Believe it or not, you can develop some basic skills in just one hour in a non-intimidating, fun atmosphere.
If you're looking to explore reason #2, attend our follow-up session, "Creating Event Engagement Through Technology".
» Presenters: Midori Connolly and Jessica L. Levin, CMP
"Creating Event Engagement Through Technology"
- INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED
For those who haven't yet engaged in social media, there are generally a couple of reasons why:
- You are intimidated or overwhelmed with the technology and can't seem to sort through what is most important to learn or how to learn it.
- You just don't see the value and it appears to be more of a time drag or personal indulgence than any true business strategy.
If this sounds familiar and you'd like to learn more, this session will focus primarily on reason #2. We will address more of the why we use social media as an events strategy. We will also explore some of the tools available in an interactive session that will feature a chance to learn from and engage with your peers.
If you're looking to explore reason #1, attend our introductory "Back to Basics: Social Technology 101 Workshop"..
» Presenters: Midori Connolly and Jessica L. Levin, CMP
"Environmental Sustainability:
Implementing APEX/ASTM Meeting Standards"
The meetings industry is being influenced by a global shift in thought that moves sustainability to the forefront. As organizations work to improve their sustainability and to deliver sustainable meetings, planners need to adapt their existing processes. These process changes touch every aspect of planning, including the crucial first step of destination selection. Participants in this session will learn how the APEX/ASTM Environmentally Sustainable Meeting Standards can provide quantifiable ways to evaluate the sustainability of destinations, while working first-hand with sample sections of the standards and your own RFPs.
At the conclusion of the session, participants will be able to:
- understand the framework of the APEX/ASTM Environmentally Sustainable Meeting Standards;
- understand how the standards offer measurable criteria for evaluating destination sustainability; and
- implement next steps to adapt RFPs and destination selection process to the standards.
» Presenters:Lawrence Leonard, CMP
"Maximizing Value:
Using DMCs to Increase Your Meetings’ ROI"
- BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND
A Destination Management Company (DMC) is a professional services company possessing extensive local knowledge, expertise, and resources specializing in the design and implementation of events, activities, tours, transportation, and program logistics. This session will detail how meeting planners can maximize their ROI for these services and better understand the different pricing models.
Presenter: Rhonda Marko, DMCP, CMP, CMM
"Meetings and the Law:
Creating and Managing a Risk Management Plan"
While meeting professionals hope they will never face a disaster or emergency while onsite, the reality is such situations do occur. Are you prepared to manage a crisis? Have you developed and implemented a crisis management plan for your organization? What can you do to minimize your organization's exposure to financial and legal liabilities in the future? If these questions are keeping you up at night, this session is for you.
Join industry attorney Barbara Dunn for this interactive and informative session on today's most pressing liability and crisis management issues. Learn to differentiate types of risk management, discuss risk management techniques, identify liability concerns, and review a risk management plan. Be prepared to share your questions and to roll up your sleeves and jump into real life case studies with your colleagues.
After participating in this session, you will be able to:
- identify types of risk management;
- develop risk management techniques;
- assess liability concerns;
- analyze impact of current events and global implications; and
- create and implement your own risk management plan.
» Presenter: Barbara F. Dunn, Esq.
"Professional Certification: Obtaining CMP Status"
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) designation is covered in this session: its history, its structure and organization, and how the test is drafted. Included will be tips on the application process, studying, and how to survive test day.
Learner outcomes:
- learn about the CMP application process and learn how to successfully apply;
- explain how the CMP exam is designed and how questions are written and weighted; and
- describe recent changes and streamlining of the CMP application.
» Presenters: Christina M. Buck, CMP
"Until There Are Clones:
Maximizing DMOs to Increase Your Planning Productivity"
Do you find that there's never enough time to accomplish all of your goals at work? Ever wish you could clone yourself? You're not alone! "Doing more with less" isn't just a catch phrase any more, it's a meeting professional's everyday reality.
Fortunately, you can rely on the total destination services of Destination Marketing Organizations to make your job easier. Through the consistent feedback of surveys and customer advisory boards, DMOs/CVBs, including those exhibiting at Destinations Showcase, are implementing your suggestions to save you real time and money. From assistance in coordinating RFPs with multiple hotels and venues, to providing expert organization of site inspections and help with attendance promotion, a DMO is your local expert resource. You can leverage the relationships they've built to make planning your meeting much easier.
What's more, now DMAI and the DMO industry offer a single Web portal to search and compare more 120 destinations. We'll provide a brief overview of how you can easily submit an RFP to multiple destinations through empowerMINT.com.
In this session, you will learn about:
- the value of working with a DMO to simplify your planning process;
- what DMOs are doing to adapt to the "doing more with less" meetings marketplace;
- the ways in which DMOs are implementing suggestions from planner surveys and customer advisory boards to better serve; and
- DMAI’s new destination planning tool: empowerMINT.com
» Moderator: Christine "Shimo" Shimasaki, CDME, CMP
» Panelists: Jason Fulvi, CDME and Jeff Holcomb, CMP
