Recognizing MPI members and friends who were in the news headlines this year, as selected by The Meeting Professional staff.
Pieter Allaerts, Jennifer McAndrew and Michel Wolmuth
Pieter Allaerts (MPI Belgium Chapter), Jennifer McAndrew (MPI Ottawa Chapter) and Michel Wolmuth (MPI Mexico Chapter) are the leaders of MPI’s councils—Allaerts for Europe, McAndrew for Canada and Wolmuth for Mexico. They devoted countless hours as the voice of our members outside the U.S. They advocated passionately for their communities, providing recommendations to MPI on ways to better serve members. This year, their roles included boundless support for our communities and members impacted by COVID-19.Michael Dominguez
Michael Dominguez (MPI Southern California Chapter), the CEO of Associated Luxury Hotels International, makes the Top 10 for the second year in a row—and deservedly so. He further entrenched himself in 2020 as one of our industry’s strongest and most highly respected voices, both as a speaker and as co-chair of the APEX COVID-19 Business Recovery Task Force. Even with the pandemic, he spoke at more than 60 events, accumulating more than 120,00 miles in the air as he delivered insight and analysis on industry issues. He doesn’t mince words and he’s got strong opinions, but his message resonates.Jason Dunn
At a time when our industry, and our nation, needed a calm yet impactful voice on the racial tension taking place, it was Jason Dunn (MPI Ohio Chapter) who led the way as chair of the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals. He forged a partnership with MPI and advocated for positive change and a reckoning with the shortcomings related to diversity, equity and inclusion in the industry.Friends We Lost in 2020
The final farewell is never easy, particularly in an industry filled with passionate, committed individuals who become like family. Here are just a few of our friends who died this year: Durwood Gould Jr., who spent more than 30 years in hotels; John Graham IV, the president and CEO of ASAE for more than 16 years; Doug Heath, MPI’s first full-time CEO and a 48-year member; Jennifer Kist, a 17-year member; and DeWayne Woodring, the CEO for more than 30 years of the Religious Conference Management Association. To these and others who passed away, Godspeed.David Kliman
Along with Kristin Horstman of Salesforce, David Kliman (MPI Northern California Chapter), developed the idea of creating a global centralized portal to share accepted practices designed to help planners and suppliers during the pandemic, and the Events Industry Council COVID-19 Business Recovery Task Force was born. With the added leadership of Amy Calvert, CEO, Events Industry Council, the result was several key resources that helped set standards and give meeting planners guidance and confidence. While the accomplishments were clearly a collective effort, Kliman’s resolve came even as his own business calendar was wiped out, demonstrating a higher calling.Zoe Moore, Tanida Mullen and John Ehlenfeldt
Zoe Moore (MPI Northern California Chapter) and Tanida Mullen (MPI Texas Hill Country Chapter)—along with International Board of Directors (IBOD) liaison John Ehlenfeldt (MPI Southern California Chapter)—provided the leadership for MPI’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee, made up of about two dozen members who raised a much-needed voice on a critically important issue within our industry and society. Their commitment was an inspiration, and their work made a difference, highlighted by launching a robust resource page. The committee was honored with the Chair Award, presented during the World Education Congress (WEC) by Steve O’Malley, IBOD chair and division president at Maritz Travel.Manuel Macias Moreno
We pushed our boundaries at MPI’s European Meetings and Events Conference in Sevilla, Spain, thanks in large part to Manuel Macias Moreno (MPI Iberian Chapter). The director of the Sevilla Congress and Convention Bureau was a leader in helping organize the conference, incorporating the rich history of the region into the program. We also witnessed his moving flamenco guitar solo. ¡Bien hecho Manuel!MPI Leadership Team and Staff
Don’t misconstrue this is as self-serving. Very deservedly, Paul Van Deventer, president and CEO, Darren Temple, COO, Annette Gregg, senior vice president for experience, and the entire MPI team demonstrated courage in pushing forward with WEC Grapevine in November, delivering a robust catalogue of educational offerings, many offered for free, expanding industry partnerships and publishing critical resources. WEC alone was a huge gamble, but with great risk comes great reward, and a clear message was delivered that MPI will lead the industry recovery.MPI RISE Award Winners
We recognize the best work of our members with our annual RISE Awards, and our 2020 recipients continued the tradition of inspiring us and showing all that is good about our industry. Thank you to Member of the Year, Bryan Quinan, CMP (MPI Southern California Chapter); Meeting Industry Leadership, Sherry DeLaGarza, CMP, CMM (MPI Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter); Young Professional Achievement, Cassie Poss, CMP (MPI Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter); Membership Achievement, MPI Caribe Mexicano Chapter; Industry Advocate, MPI Potomac Chapter; Marketplace Excellence, MPI Mexico Chapter; and Innovative Educational Programming, MPI Netherlands Chapter.Cindy Wallace and Rob Adams
It is shameful that human trafficking continues to exist, but MPI’s Anti-Human Trafficking Committee worked endlessly to raise awareness to this scourge in our society. Much credit goes to Cindy Wallace’s (MPI Oregon Chapter) leadership of the committee, with the support of IBOD liaison Rob Adams (MPI Kansas City Chapter). The committee, made up of 18 volunteer members, built a resource page designed to educate and raise awareness about the continuing plight of human trafficking and created an education-in-a-box that can be implemented with each chapter worldwide and developed sessions at the WEC.Special Recognition
One of our more popular reports was a story in June on families of MPI members who were graduating in the midst of the pandemic. From pre-school to those earning a master’s degree, all were deprived of the opportunity to walk across the stage in recognition of a special, well-deserved moment. It was our honor to recognize the spring class of 2020 as a way to help celebrate the graduates in the greater MPI community.OTHER BEST OF 2020 BLOGS
Dec. 15: Top 10 Community Service
Dec. 16: Top 10 COVID Effects on Meetings
Dec. 17: MPItv Year in Review
