Planners, Suppliers Share Wealth of Information at MPI-CAC Spring Knowledge Share

From having an event emergency plan to discovering what professional certifications are available in the events industry, more than 40 attendees were treated to an afternoon of roundtable discussions at the MPI-CAC Spring Knowledge Share.

Held at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Chicago North Shore Suites in suburban Glenview, five table topics were available for attendees to visit in 15-minute intervals.

Table topics included:

• #PlannerProblems: Top Concerns and Hot Topics Facing Meeting and Event Planners Today led by Kara Ferguson, MSHTM, CMP of American Society of Anesthesiologists

• Finding and Qualifying Business: Turning Over Rocks the Digital Age, “Of Course You Don’t Have a Budget”, and Other Supplier Adventures led by Emily Yao of 360 Destination Group, Chicago

• Stuff Happens!: Sharing Best Practices in Contingency Planning and Emergency Preparedness led by Tammy Anderson, CMP of Blue Cross Blue Shield Association

• The Alphabet Soup of Professional Certifications: Which is right for you? How do you get there? What resources are available? led by Meg Palm CMP, HMCC of Meetings and Events Group

• Work/Life Balance: Achievable Goal or Absolute Myth? A Moderated Discussion on How to Best Find Your Flow let by Michelle Castady Orlando, DMCP of 360 Destination Group, Chicago

In one session of Ferguson’s discussion, meeting planners and suppliers exchanged ideas for sponsor retention .

During Anderson’s emergency preparedness chat, attendees shared ideas for creating an emergency plan and also including the venue in a discussion prior to the event to discover the best situational emergency contacts and establishing protocols for various scenarios.

Making a conscious effort to turn off work emails during vacations or even the weekends was just one idea shared during the work-life balance roundtable led by Castady Orlando. Another idea included setting up a more detailed auto-response to let people know when you may respond when you are out of office, as well as adjusting the out-of-office reply to be one day later to give yourself time to catch up on emails.

The event finished with a networking reception held in the hotel’s atrium. MPI-CAC recently announced plans to hold a Summer Knowledge Share on Tuesday, July 18. For more information, visit https://www.mpiweb.org/chapters/chicago-area.

About the Author: Warthen is Chief Events Officer and Chief Marketing Officer for 22nd Century Media, an award- winning media company specializing in hyperlocal content in Chicagoland. Hired as its first employee in 2005, she is a former award-winning journalist and photographer who now manages the planning, logistics, marketing and executing of more than a dozen community events and expos. She is co-chair for the MPI-CAC Marketing & Communications Committee.