News & Views

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Canada last month, event planners from coast to coast were grappling with whether to cancel, postpone or transform their upcoming meetings. For those with gatherings scheduled in March and early April, the decisions were mostly made for them, as municipal, provincial and federal governments enacted travel restrictions and made it illegal for large groups to meet in person. But what about those of us with meetings later in the year?

Just because 2020 is already here, doesn’t mean it’s too late to make a New Year’s resolution. If you are looking for an idea to make a better 2020 for your business, our community or just for yourself - why not volunteer?

At the EVENT 2020, we DARE TO SHARE relevant wisdom by hosting a Community Keynotes® event. This innovative keynote experience will feature our very own attendees as mainstage closing speakers!

Restaurants Canada, the Hotel Association of Canada, and the Tourism Industry Association of Canada have joined forces in their lobbying effort to secure tax relief and a credit facility for the sector as a whole. Collectively the food service, tourism and hospitality sectors represent $139 billion in direct economic activity and support 1.8 million employees in Canada - nearly 1 in 10 Canadians in the workforce.

With the number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases increasing daily and the issue dominating news headlines, the Health and Mental Wellness Committee of the Canadian Commercial Corporation would like to remind everyone that taking care of your mental health is as important as looking after your physical health. Below are six ways to help maintain a sense of control and ease anxiety to better cope with the COVID-19 threat and the uncertainty it’s creating.

On January 30, over 500 attendees gathered for the 16th annual MPI Charity Auction & Dinner which took place this year at the Shaw Centre. The organizing committee transported attendees to warm tropical beaches with help from the amazingly beached out decor by Mastermind Event Rentals, who truly transformed the room to match the tropical paradise them. Many people took this theme to heart and showed how to be truly living their best beach vacation life.

This was the 30th anniversary of this ever-growing event that features outstanding speakers and over 150 exhibitors. This year’s theme was “Look Back Face Forward”. Tête-à-Tête is always offered at no cost to all association and not-for-profit executive directors and employees, meeting and event planners, as well as government procurers. Attendance was approximately 1,200 for this year’s 2020 event.

The annual Prix Prestige Awards Gala will be taking place on May 7, 2020 at the Brookstreet Hotel. The awards gala recognizes the best in our industry within our MPI Ottawa Chapter. Nominations are open from January 23 to March 27.

Over the years, our chapter’s Board of Directors have noticed a lack of applications for scholarships to conferences and for professional development. The MPI Foundation collects millions of dollars annually and gives away hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants and scholarships alone. This money is yours to take, to grow professionally and personally.

This monthly feature article allows MPI Ottawa Chapter members to share their recent professional and personal accomplishments with your MPI friends by featuring updates each month in this article series.

January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month, a vital time to spread awareness and renew dedication to ending all forms of slavery in Canada and internationally.

Site Selection Specialist with The Howes Group, Desmond Lomas, shares his top five tips to keep in mind when you're selecting your next meeting venue.

Thinking outside the box when it comes to swag bag ideas can elevate the experience of your attendees. The question you need to ask yourself is, “Is my attendee going to need or want this?”. Here are a few unique swag bag ideas that people will get excited about and will not want to throw away!

It was a cold winter’s day on Tuesday, December 10, 2019 as MPI Ottawa Chapter members and guests came together at the newly renovated Sheraton Ottawa Hotel to celebrate the festive season. This year’s theme was inspired by the children’s classic book series, The Chronicles of Narnia.

Last year, under Member Care, a new committee was formed to revamp the Awards Gala nomination and selection process. This new system was implemented in 2019 and will be fine-tuned for the 2020 Awards Gala.

This monthly feature article allows MPI Ottawa Chapter members to share their recent professional and personal accomplishments with your MPI friends by featuring updates each month in this article series.

Virtual Reality (VR) is an advancing technology that has the potential to change the meeting industry in two innovative ways: delivering a WOW factor at events, particularly to highlight sponsor or exhibitor messages; and allowing planners to visualize meeting spaces in advance.

Do you know the difference between getting recognized at work and being appreciated? This was one of the strategies Malloch shared at the MPI Ottawa Chapter workshop held on November 5 at the Brookstreet Hotel. Organized by Desmond Lomas, CMP, Disa-marie Cameron, Nancy Bradshaw, CMP and Denisa Horak, this event attracted 44 registrants for a half-day of outstanding professional development.

Build a life you don’t need to escape from; don’t just live for the weekends. Find something that makes you happy; take pride in what you do. Love what you do, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.