Thursday, November 2
7:00 am — 5:00 pm Registration Open
7:30 am — 8:30 am Continental Breakfast
7:30 am — 8:30 am CMP Information Breakfast

Planning to pursue the CMP designation? Sitting for the January 20, 2007 CMP exam? you’re looking to take the next step in mapping your career, this breakfast session should be the top of your list. Join Everett T. Shupe MBA, CMP and bring all the questions you may have about the test, CMP study course options, and other ways to further your adult education.

Everett T. Shupe, II, CMP, MBA the lead staff planner for Goodwill Industries’, Inc. (GII) Conference of Executives and Delegate Assembly, and provides overall project management support Goodwill's Learning Events department. A recognized leader in the meetings industry, his experience and expertise has been instrumental to GII’s efforts to enhance the Learning Events experience. Everett has 12 years of meetings industry experience including planning and executing meetings for Council of Independent Colleges, ZERO THREE, and the Doubletree Hotel in Rockville, MD. He is a past president of the Meeting Professionals International Potomac Chapter (PMPI) and is a frequent presenter on topics such as adult learning, management, and accessibility awareness for meeting professionals. Everett currently coordinates the PMPI CMP Study Group. Everett is a graduate of University of Maryland – College Park and earned Master’s of Business Administration from Hood College. Everett is passionate about learning and enjoys playing tennis, racquetball, all performing and spending time with his family.

8:30 am — 10:00 am
Concurrent Education Sessions

TRACK ONE: Branding
Defining the Terms

Knowing the difference between sales, marketing and branding is essential to the success any business. This panel consists of four distinguished local executives who have made the distinctions within their organizations and share their successes and failures.

• What is the difference between sales, marketing and branding?
• How does branding affect you and drive spending?
• How do you make your company stand out in a crowd?
• What is new and exciting, and what impact will it all have on your organization?
• Thinking outside the box — where can it lead you?

Join Mary Power, President & CEO with the Convention Industry Council, Jim Ryan, Eastern Regional Sales for the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority, Ron Sweeney, Agency Relations and Advertising Layout Manager for the Washington Post and Hector Torres, VP of Sales & Marketing for Capital Hotel & Suites as they take you through the world of Branding – Defining the Terms.

Mary Power is President and CEO of the Convention Industry Council (CIC). The CIC is a federation of 32 leading national and international associations representing all aspects of the meeting, convention and exhibit industry. Mary is responsible for the strategic direction and implementation of CIC’s various programs, including the Global Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) program, the Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX) initiative and the Hall of Leaders program. She was selected by Meeting News magazine as one of the 25 most influential people in the meeting industry in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006; and by Tradeshow Week Magazine as one of the 25 most influential women to know in the meetings industry in 2003 and 2005.

Jim Ryan has been the Senior Manager of the Eastern Region for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority for more than five years. He has a long history in the Washington area directing special events, inaugural balls and charity galas. A founding member of the International Special Events Society (ISES), Jim works with many MPI chapters up and down the East Coast as well as with his personal favorite charity, Habitat for Humanity.

Ron Sweeney started his career at The Washington Post in 1966 in the production department and spent 6 years in production management. In 1976 Ron moved to advertising sales and has been an account executive in Home Furnishings, Department and Chain stores, Classified Real Estate, Auto After-market and Food, Drug and Liquor. Ron was the account manager for Hecht's, Macys, Bloomingdales, Sears, JC Penney and other major retailers. Ron is currently the Agency Relations and Advertising Layout Manager. He also serves on the Maryland, Delaware and DC Press Association Advertising Committee. Ron is currently the President of the Washington DC Advertising Club and on the Board of Directors of the American Advertising Federation. Outside of the Post, Ron has served 8 years as town council person, police commissioner, and county recreation advisory board member. Ron is also active in coaching AAU Ladies Basketball and a member of other civic organizations. Hobbies include skiing, golf, and tennis. Ron is married with grown children and 8 grandchildren.

Hector J. Torres is Vice President of Capital Hotels & Suites, a locally owned and managed hotel company consisting of three properties totaling 550 rooms. His responsibilities range from product development and market positioning to client relations and direct sales. Currently a member of both the Board and the Executive Committee for the Washington Convention & Tourism Corporation (he was initially appointed by Mayor Anthony Williams and subsequently re-elected by the Board), Hector is active in wide range of organizations which contribute to the health and well being of our nation’s capital.

TRACK TWO : Legal Issues in the Crossfire
What is Negotiable? What is Legal? What is Reasonable?

Get the answers to these questions and many more with this session lead by two of the most recognizable legal experts in the business. Lisa Sommer Devlin, Academy of Hospitality Industry Attorneys Board Member and James M. Goldberg, Goldberg & Associates PLLC leads critical discussion of legal issues in the hospitality industry. The session will include a discussion of how industry attorneys interpret and negotiate tough contractual clauses. Learn what to include and perhaps maybe more importantly what not to include in your contracts and how to achieve winwin situations for your organization. Expect to be brought up to date on the very latest legal issues facing our industry. If you haven't kept up in the past two years, you have a lot to learn about!

Lisa Sommer Devlin has practiced law since 1984 and has concentrated in hospitality law since the early 1990’s. She drafts standardized contracts, provides legal training for sales staff and handles convention and meeting related litigation nationwide for major hotel chains, including Hilton and Starwood. Lisa was named one of the 25 most influential people in the meetings industry by Meeting News magazine in both 2002 and 2006. She is a member of the Legal Advisory Council and sits on the contracts panel for the APEX initiative sponsored by the Convention Industry Council. She also serves on the Board of the Academy of Hospitality Industry Attorneys.

James M. Goldberg is a principal in the Washington, DC, law firm of Goldberg & Associates, PLLC. His practice focuses on the representation of trade associations and professional societies, as well as independent meeting and event planners and other providers of services to the association and event communities. A frequent writer and speaker on hospitality industry legal issues, he is the author of “The Meeting Planner’s Legal Guide,” a widely distributed publication that is also used as the text for his course on “Meeting and Exhibition Law and Ethics,” taught each fall at Northern Virginia Community College. In his law practice, he routinely reviews and negotiates client contracts with hotels, convention centers and other service providers. He estimates he reviews more than 200 such agreements each year.

TRACK THREE: Novice Meeting Professional

Optimizing Operations: Meetings Events and DMCs – Part 1
Tara S. Kavadias, CMP, Principal, TSK, Inc. Andrea M. Seiger, CMP, Principal, Urban Safari

Come prepared for this interactive two-part session in which you star in the leadership role. Learn how there is an ever-growing need to be trained in the fundamentals of this dynamic industry, while simultaneously expanding one’s knowledge and skills through available resources. Walk away from this session with your own project outline, useful resources and templates. The first part of this session primarily focuses on evaluating the skill set of your organization and suppliers while learning to utilize resources to your advantage in order to build and enhance partnerships. You’ll focus on recognizing the characteristics of working with different generations and the commonalities that benefit successful relationships. We’ll also look at negotiation considerations to gain a better understanding of how to be a good customer and learn to understand the processes suppliers undergo to provide the best service to meet the requirements of your organization and maintain the integrity of your programs. Additionally, in this ever-changing world, we’ll look into the standardization of the paper trail to ensure consistency for all programs - internal operations and sales practices. Consider this: “If you got hit by a bus today, would someone else be able to decipher your files tomorrow?” Directed discussion will tap the collective wisdom of the group to share realistic solutions that target the most pressing real-life challenges facing your staff.

Tara S. Kavadias, CMP has a professional career spanning over nineteen years in the hospitality industry. She is the principal of TSK, Inc., a meetings management consulting company that provides marketing, public relations and event services to destination management companies, independent meeting managers, corporations, trade associations and incentive companies. She has served on the Board of Directors and co-chaired PMPI’s 25th Anniversary gala. Tara obtained her CMP designation in 1998 and is a frequent guest lecturer for current CMP applicants. She has an M.A. in Corporate Public Relations from the American University in Washington, D.C. and vast professional experience in both operations and sales.

Andrea M. Seiger, CMP has cultivated a thriving career in the meetings and hospitality industry over the past nineteen years. She began her career in convention services where she learned the most important logistical and management lessons from the line employees at a busy Washington, D.C. convention hotel. Over the years, she has expanded her career into domestic and international meetings, destination, tour, transportation and event management. She is the principal of Urban Safari, a meetings, events and tour management consulting firm, providing logistics planning and training to all stakeholders in the meetings and tourism industry. Andrea has served on the Tourism Committee of the Washington Convention and Tourism Corporation, Community Outreach Committee of PMPI and on the Education Committee of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

TRACK FOUR: Leadership Development
CPR for Meeting Professionals: Using ViewpointShift™ to Resuscitate Your Passion for Leadership
Vicki Hess, RN, MS, Catalyst Consulting, LLC

Sometimes meeting professionals feel like they are gasping for air at work. Often they yearn for a lifeline to reconnect with the “good old days” when things seemed easier. Keeping up with the pace of organizational change and growth can simply wear a person out. As we all strive to achieve more with fewer resources, stakeholders may feel less supported and drained of energy. Leaders must connect with their own passion for work in order to be a role model for positive energy and engagement. Using the ViewpointShift™ technique, audience members will learn six proven methods to create more energy and passion for their work. At the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• Describe the proven process of ViewpointShift™
• State the importance of courage, connections, purpose, presence, respect and renewal for leaders
• Create a specific action plan for creating positive change for themselves and others at work

Key elements are presented to breathe new life into leaders and their staff. Don’t allow folks to “crash and burn” when CPR is available now. During this interactive workshop, meeting professionals will gather the tools they need to laugh, learn, and live with passion for what they do every day.

Vicki Hess is a catalyst for ViewpointShift™. She brings substantial presentation expertise as well as hands on business and healthcare experience to her projects. In addition to over 23 years of professional experience in sales, management, training and nursing, she holds a master’s degree from Towson University in Human Resource Development. Vicki is the author of the 28-Day Diary™ series and the Sixty Second Spark™ monthly enewsletter. She is a former adjunct professor in the graduate school of business at the Johns Hopkins University. Vicki is a proud member of the National Speakers Association and she is showcased as a keynote speaker on INC, Fast Company and Business Week.

General Session
Supercharging Your Innovation Process
John Sweeney, Owner and Executive Producer, The Brave New Workshop
10:30 am — 12:00 pm

Do you ever wonder who came up with the idea of frozen dinners? Or perhaps the person responsible for the conference badge ribbons used to distinguish leadership and/or speakers? John Sweeney has developed an extraordinary corporate training curriculum based on the principles and philosophies of improvisational theatre and shared that training with hundreds of organizations around the globe. In his first book Innovation of the Speed of Laughter: 8 Secrets to World Class Idea Generation he challenges companies like Microsoft, Yahoo!, General Mills and companies of all sizes to turn ALL employees into innovation super stars. Need an idea for your next meeting? Let John turn you into an “idea factory”!

10:00 am — 10:30 am Refreshment Break
12:00 pm — 2:00 pm Lunch in The Marketplace
Plenty of time to enjoy a nice lunch while you gather advice and information from the top meeting industry suppliers in the MACE! Exposition. This innovative businessto- business marketplace setting will be much more conducive to business discussions than the other giant industry shows.
2:30 pm — 4:00 pm Concurrent Education Sessions

TRACK ONE: Branding
Session 1-A: Reveal the Secrets
Douglas Bolger, Facilitator and Lead Designer, L(earn)2 Inc.

Participants learn to meet competitive challenges head on and identify areas of weakness in a competitor's offering, analyze products/services from the customer's point of view and discover what matters to them. Create new value propositions and unique competencies. Expand customers value by being "on the Mark" at all times and create new futures by positioning your organization as the market leader

Douglas Bolger has a belief that enjoyable and memorable learning increases both the capacity and ability to produce measurable, high-impact results. He is passionately committed to inspiring learning and transformation. This is Doug Bolger and his passion and commitment led him to found L(earn)2 and to become lead designer of the L(earn)2 learning experience.

Since 1989, Doug’s L(earn)2 programs have consistently delivered results on two important levels: inspiring participants to transform their organizations, and generating a high return on investment when these people return and directly apply their new skills with their companies – literally transforming the power of learning into the power of earning.

As a result, Doug has designed and delivered learning experiences for an impressive number of organizations, facilitating learning for and transforming the culture of American Express, Bata Shoes, BCE, Bombardier, Johnson & Johnson, General Electric, RBC Financial, Sprint and USDA. Worldwide, Doug has generated powerful returns for projects in Aruba, Cayman Islands, Chile, France, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, and the United States.

Doug’s passion for learning and commitment to excellence has been recognized throughout his own learning transformation. Doug has an Honours degree in Business Administration and strives toward completion of his Masters in Education. From an early age, Doug was encouraged to share his insight, working with York and Laurier universities to design and market new learning experiences. He has been awarded the Stephen E. Lyons Memorial Award, the Ontario Youth Achievement Award, a Kraft design award and Five Canadian Training Excellence Awards.

Now focused on inspiring transformation through L(earn)2’s learning experiences, Doug Bolger gets actively involved and offers his energy, insight and himself to inspire as many people as possible to transform their lives with learning.

Session 1-B: Stand Out in the Competition

How do you find the "wow" factor in marketing that is going to excite and inspire everyone? Learn from three local experts that have the knowledge and experience in selling and marketing to their members and exhibitors.

1. How do you think outside the box?
2. What is appropriate and why is something not appropriate?
3. How to find the one thing that is going to set you apart from all the other competitors out there?

Join Jim Duda, Executive Director of Destination Showcase, Robert Gilbert, CHME, President & CFO of Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International, and Doug Price, CMP, Senior Vice President of Professional Development with Destination Marketing Association International, as they show you how to stand out from your competition.

Jim Duda has over 16 years of experience in events, entertainment and multimedia. Previously as Sr. Vice President of Exhibitions for TBA Global Events (formerly PGI, Inc.) and now with Destination Marketing Association International as Executive Director of Destinations Showcase, he has helped numerous associations and corporations build better events through solid planning, marketing and execution. Prior to his experience in the meetings industry, Duda served as COO and co-founder of Reallinx, Inc., a broadband service provider located in Dallas, Texas. He also worked as an account manager for the Synapse Group in Dallas, an Internet marketing company known for its work building the online presence of Hilton Hotels and several other multinational companies. He earned an MBA from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business in 1997 and prior to that, spent five years as a talent agent for International Creative Management in Los Angeles.

Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHA, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI). In this role he has been guiding HSMAI through a dynamic and exciting period of change with the 7,000-plus member organization re-establishing itself as the definitive hospitality and travel marketing association in the world. Prior to joining HSMAI in 1995 (in an executive capacity), Robert was vice president of marketing for a leading hotel management company (which at the time was the largest hotel management company in the world), where he oversaw the corporate marketing support for 170 hotels representing every price tier and product type in the industry. Robert holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, and has been a member of HSMAI since joining the student chapter at Cornell. He is a frequent guest lecturer at Cornell.

Doug Price prepared for his current activities by spending eighteen years with Marriott International, beginning as a sales manager of group meetings for hotels in the Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia areas, then advancing to Director of Sales & Marketing for a large hotel in Chicago and an equally large resort in Southwest Florida. His sales and marketing responsibilities continued to grow when he became the Southeast Regional Director of Sales & Marketing in 1988, overseeing the sales and marketing for 25 full-service Marriott hotels throughout the Southeast U.S., Mexico and Panama. In 1990, Doug was named Vice President, National Employment Marketing, a strategic planning position responsible for directing all SBUs in meeting their recruitment goals. Doug is a board member of HSMAI, past Chairman of Marriott’s Customer Leadership Forum and a former member of Purdue University and University of Delaware Advisory Boards. He currently serves on The George Washington University Leadership Council for Tourism & Hospitality Management. He earned an Associate Degree in Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management from Northern Virginia Community College, and his BS degree in Hospitality Management from Florida International University. He resides in Herndon, Virginia, with his wife and two children.

TRACK TWO: Legal Issues in the Crossfire
Session 2-A: Keeping Your Next Meeting in Compliance with Key Laws
Barbara Dunn, Esq., Partner, Howe & Hutton

In addition to juggling meeting logistics, meeting professionals must also ensure that their meeting is in compliance with key laws. From the Americans with Disabilities Act, to music licensing, to trademark use, meeting professionals must be on top of their game when it comes to legal compliance before, during and after their meetings. Join hospitality attorney Barbara Dunn of Howe & Hutton, Ltd. as she explores the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the copyright laws as they relate to music licensing and speaker materials, and the trademark laws as they relate to an organization’s name and logo and use of sponsorship logos. Find out what you need to know and what you can do to ensure your organization will stay in compliance. This lively and interactive session is one you won’t want to miss!

Barbara Dunn is an attorney and partner with Howe & Hutton, a law firm which specializes in the representation of individuals, firms and organizations in the travel, tourism, hospitality, incentive and meetings industries, as well as notfor- profit organizations, including trade associations, professional societies and other related organizations. The firm has offices in Chicago, Washington, D.C. and St. Louis and serves as general counsel to Meeting Professionals International among hundreds others. Barbara works with many individuals and organizations in the meetings industry including corporate and independent planners, as well as suppliers the industry. She has written numerous articles on wide range of legal issues and is a frequent speaker for MPI and its chapters, the MPI Foundation’s Platinum Series programs, SGMP, PCMA, HSMAI, ASAE and its affiliated societies, and other groups in the meetings, travel and hospitality industries.

Session 2-B: Hotel & Meeting Contracts: An Insider’s Guide
Joshua L. Grimes, Esq., Grimes Law Offices

Negotiating contracts is one of the toughest jobs in the meetings industry. As soon as you master the complexities of a favorable agreement, everything changes – new charges are imposed, terrorism threats raise security concerns, a health scare dampens attendance, or the hotel changes management. And convention center contracts include their own unique issues. You need to react to these factors at the bargaining table or your organization and its bottom line will suffer down the road. Join hospitality attorney Joshua L. Grimes, Esq. in an interactive and fast-paced discusion of the hottest issues in meeting contracts. Topics will include attrition, force majeure cancellation, booking outside the block, risk management, and convention center issues. Mr. Grimes will explain the “hidden meaning” in the most important contract clauses and suggest ways to negotiate a fair and workable contract.

Joshua Grimes is a leading attorney in the hospitality industry. His clients include meeting planners, associations, hotels, convention centers and conference facilities. He negotiates dozens of contracts annually involving convention centers and hotels, both in the United States and abroad and also represents clients in dispute resolution, business deals, and their internal governance matters. Joshua is Counsel to the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association and a member of the APEX Contracts Panel sponsored by the Convention Industry Council. frequent author and speaker on hospitality legal. topics, he is one of the meeting industry’s most popular speakers. His articles appear in publications such as Convene and The Meeting Professional, and he is often quoted in the national press. He is also a Professor of Hospitality & Tourism Law at Temple University in Philadelphia.

TRACK 3 : The Novice Meeting Professional
Optimizing Operations – Meetings, Events & DMCs – Part 2
Tara S. Kavadia, CMP, Principal, TSK, Inc. Andrea M. Seiger, CMP, Principal, Urban Safari

The second half of the session will focus on the insight gained by visiting the MACE! Marketplace. Further discussion of the supplier/ planner roles and requirements which will enable participants to anticipate and meet clients’ needs, build and improve business relationships, create sales opportunities, foster mutually beneficial business and make the job easier.

TRACK 4 : Leadership
Session 4-A: Bullies, Babies & Brats: How Leaders Manage Workplace Conflict
Vicki Hess, RN, MS, Catalyst Consulting, LLC

Unresolved workplace conflict costs businesses billions of dollars each year. Some estimates are as high as 5% of total payroll. Effective conflict management increases creativity, creates shared viewpoints and enables people to positively respond instead of react. During this presentation, discover that bullies, babies and brats have different key behaviors; ViewpointShift™ gives you choices about how to respond; real-time presence, courage and respect are keys to successful conflict resolution; and you can find the good in other people, even in the middle of conflicts.

Session 4-B: The Leadership Compass
Steven G. Foster, CMP, Managing Partner, Circle R Ranch

Leadership is about style, not personality. Finding the right style of leadership to match the need of the organization is critical to success. The Leadership Compass identifies four primary leadership styles, “Warrior-Diplomat- Visionary-Architect” and defines the impact each contributes to the team dynamic. The lives of historical leaders General George S. Patton, Mohandas Gandhi, John F. Kennedy and Harry Houdini are examined to illustrate strengths, challenges and effective leadership traits. After participating, you will be able to identify a personal style of leadership which focuses on effective command and decision-making processes and recognizes potential leadership conflicts and how to resolve issues by refocusing your leadership talent on the stated team objectives. The Leadership Compass will help you make confident and clearly-defined command decisions in those critical leadership moments "When the House is on Fire!"

Steven Foster is Managing Partner of Circle R Ranch, a 100-acre event ranch outside Dallas, TX, where he and his wife/business partner, Wendy, direct a staff of 100 employees producing more than 600 events each year. In 1999, the Fosters became the first husband/wife business team to earn the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) designation. A speaker and facilitator on topics of “Leadership Development,” “Strategic Planning” and “Team Success,” Steven is a former newspaper journalist whose research of historical events has been published in books on the attack on Pearl Harbor and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He currently is writing a book on leadership, entitled The Leadership Compass. Steven has been named one of the most influential people in the meetings and event industry, building successful organizations and leading award-winning efforts in meeting planning, destination management and special event production. He has been an active member of Meeting Professionals International (MPI) since 1991, serving as President of the MPI Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter in 1999-2000. He is the recipient of many industry honors, including MPI’s 2002 “Marion N. Kershner Memorial Chapter Leader Award,” Event Solutions Magazine’s 2001 “Event Site Professional of the Year Award” and MPI D/FW’s 2000 “Supplier of the Year Award” and 2004 “President’s Award.”

4:00 pm —6:00 pm Wine and Cheese Reception in The Marketplace
6:00 pm — 9:00 pm Closing Night Extravaganza