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SuNDAY, Aug 3
The OFFICIAl award-winning daily publication of MPI’s 2014 World Education Congress
@wec
What are you most hoping
to discover at WEC 2014?
“I’ve been in the industry since 2009 and I just completed my CMP, and WEC offers great learning. I am interested in the topics of leadership without authority and
fostering business relationships, and WEC has appealing
presentations on both.”
zhana edmonds, interactive Advertising
bureau, new york city
Welcome to MPI’s
WEC 2014!
On behalf of your global MPI team, international board of directors and volunteer leaders,
I would like to welcome you to Minneapolis and to WEC 2014!
We have designed WEC to help you discover your own strategic and professional potential. With exceptional keynote speakers and education sessions, you will learn new ways to
transform and elevate your approach to planning meetings and events.
In addition, WEC boasts numerous opportunities for you to network, establish new connections and enhance your professional acumen, which can lead to discovering new business partnerships. We encourage you to join us during both the opening night and closing
night celebrations and all of the signature networking events in between.
Thank you for joining us. I am very excited about this year’s conference and look forward
to meeting and interacting with you—the most passionate and
talented meeting and event community.
Have fun!
”I plan an annual event for our association and I am always looking for a way to make it new and fresh. I knew
that WEC would offer me a lot of new ideas that would
help me do that.”
Ralph Robinson, cMP, florida Apartment
Association
Paul Van Deventer
President and CEO
Meeting Professionals International
Opening General
Session: Economic
Policy and the
Meeting Industry
“This is my first WEC and I came because I am very
interested in diversity, networking and the ongoing
big-picture developments in our industry. WEC offers
content that addresses all those topics.”
griselda zarate, Metropolitan Pier and exposition
Authority, chicago
Rising
to the
Occasion
Join us for a luncheon and presentation (12 1:30 p.m., Ballroom A / Level 1) honoring the
industry’s best, where MPI will present the
Recognizing Industry Success and Excellence
(RISE) Awards for achievements made by individuals, MPI communities and organizations.
You can learn much more about the winners
on Page 8, and even more in the full feature
article in the September issue of The Meeting
Professional. The luncheon is sponsored by
Meet in Wisconsin and will include a special
performance by The Steeles, a singing group
of brothers and sisters from Gary, Ind., who
began to develop their style and soul in
Minneapolis.
The opening general session (9 - 10 a.m.,
Main Auditorium / Level 1) is where your
discovery starts and where the story of
WEC 2014 will commence.
The session will include a discussion
between MPI President and CEO Paul Van
Deventer and Dr. J.D. Foster, Ph.D., deputy
chief economist for the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce, about the economic status of
Catch all the
WEC buzz
on Twitter at
#wec14.
the industry. Attendees will gain
insight into policies that impact
their business and profession
now and in the years to come.
Foster works with Dr. Martin
A. Regalia, the chamber’s chief
economist, exploring and explaining
developments in the U.S. and global
economies. Foster also participates in
discussions around the country regarding policy and issues that affect meeting
professionals. You’ll learn to speak the
language of economics and make yourself
heard in the forums where strategic decisions are being made.
Create Healthy Meetings
with Deepak Chopra
We invite you to join us for the second can’t-miss
general session (4:15 - 5:15 p.m., Main Auditorium /
Level 1) of the day with keynote speaker Dr. Deepak
Chopra.
Chopra, The New York Times bestselling author
of Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul, will
introduce us to his concept of wellness real estate
and discuss the importance of healthy indoor environments for the home, office and meeting spaces—
where we all spend most of our time.
Chopra will be signing copies of What Are You
Hungry For? today, 2:30 - 3 p.m. in the MPI Bookstore on Level 2. A limited number of signed
books will be available after the signing.
Read our interview with Chopra on page 10 and visit the Devos Living Stay Well Room
(101B) to see firsthand a meeting environment designed around the stay well principle.
Download the
MPI Global
Events App to
see all of WEC’s
education
sessions, events
and activities!
Catch WEC highlights in
your hotel room with MPI TV
(available in select conference
hotels), brought to you by Convention
News Television and sponsored by
Tourism Toronto.
The Big Deal:
A Poker Tournament
Worth Millions!
The MPI Foundation
welcomes you to an
evening of high-stakes
poker during The Big
Deal, tonight, 8:30 p.m.
- 12 a.m. at the Hilton
Minneapolis. One
lucky player will win
a trip for two to Las
Vegas and a seat
valued at $10,000
to compete for millions in the 2015 World Series
of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, courtesy
of Caesars Entertainment.
Experience a night of high-rolling fun as
you try your luck at gaming tables, boogie
to top 40 hits or cheer on your friends and
colleagues competing in the WSOP.
And there are two open tables remaining, with a suggested donation of only $200
per chair! Contact tfundaro@mpiweb.org
if you’re interested in joining the excitement.
Read our interview with Mark Hecquet,
winner of The Big Deal at WEC 2013, on
Page 14.
The Big Deal is free for planners attending WEC,
but you must register for an entry ticket. Avoid the
lines by getting your ticket in the WEC registration
area. (Everyone must have a ticket to enter.)
The Big Deal is sponsored by:
ONSITE
Schedule
at-a-Glance
7:30 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Registration
Level 1
1:45 - 2:30 p.m.
education Sessions
Levels 1 and 2
7:30 - 8:30 a.m.
Wec for Me
Level 2
1:45 - 4 p.m.
campfire Sessions
Mezzanine Level
7:30 - 8:30 a.m.
Visit orlando
Planner breakfast
(invitation only)
Level 1
2 - 4 p.m.
tech café
Mezzanine Level
8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
MarketSquare
Levels 1 and 2
8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
career & Learning central
Mezzanine Level
8:30 - 9 a.m.
Welcome coffee
2:30 - 3 p.m.
break
2:30 - 3 p.m.
book Signing: deepak
chopra
Bookstore / Level 2
3 - 4 p.m.
education Sessions
Levels 1 and 2
9 - 10 a.m.
opening general Session
Main Auditorium / Level 1
4:15 - 5:15 p.m.
general Session – Keynote
Speaker dr. deepak chopra
Main Auditorium / Level 1
10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
tech café
Mezzanine Level
5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
Sunset education Sessions
Level 2
10:15 - 11:45 a.m.
education Sessions
Levels 1 and 2
6:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Myrtle beach Area cVb’s
Planner Reception
(invitation only)
Seasons Ballroom / Level 2
10:15 - 11:45 a.m.
campfire Sessions
Mezzanine Level
12 - 1:30 p.m.
RiSe Awards Luncheon
Ballroom A / Level 1
1:30 - 5 p.m.
hosted buyer Planner
check-in
Level 1
7:30 - 8:30 p.m.
MPi foundation big deal
Players Reception
(invitation only)
Location
8:30 p.m. - 12 a.m.
MPi foundation big deal
(ticket required)
Grand Ballroom / Hilton
Minneapolis
Sunday Campfire
Sessions
Campfires have long been a source of light and
warmth, conduits of conversation and inspiration.
Join us in Career & Learning Central, where you
can discuss the state of the industry with subject
matter experts in a series of 30-minute, interactive
sessions—all while earning CIC clock hours. Here’s a
look at today’s Campfires.
Sunday Sessions
Download the new MPI Global Event App—available for Android, iPhone and iPad devices—to learn much
more about these sessions and to get the most out of your WEC experience, from managing your education
schedule to finding locations for offsite events. Search your mobile device app store for “MPI Global Events.”
7:30 - 8:50 a.m.
1:45 - 2:30 p.m.
Wec for Me
Location: 200 B
APex Savings time: templates that Work
no Matter What time zone you’re in
200 E • .75 clock hours
9 - 10 a.m.
opening general Session
come on, get ‘Appy: trends, best Practices
and the future of event Apps
102 A • .75 clock hours
10:15 - 11:45 a.m.
Across the Pond and beyond: negotiating
on a cultural Level SESSION REPEATS
205 D • 1.5 clock hours
fostering a Mindset of discovery: An
improvisational Workout with the brave
new Workshop SESSION REPEATS
200 E • 1.5 clock hours
generation next: bridging the generation
gap in the Workplace and at Meetings
Auditorium Room 1 • 1.5 clock hours
Make the event gReAt! Menu Planning for
Success
208 A • 1.5 clock hours
Marriage counseling: Relationship
building for Planners and Suppliers
Working together on healthcare Meeting
compliance
101 E • 1.5 clock hours
Point/counterpoint: the Lawyers debate
today’s hottest contract issues
SESSION REPEATS
Auditorium Room 3 • 1.5 clock hours
RfP Reconstructed: A hands-on Approach
to improving the Attractiveness of
Meetings SESSION REPEATS
102 A • 1.5 clock hours
Sales Skills for the independent
Professional SESSION REPEATS
101 B • 1.5 clock hours
creating a Revenue culture or Making
Revenue your Second Language
Auditorium Room 1
do i need a Music License for My event?
200 B • .75 clock hours
MASteR cLASS: What Meeting and event
Professionals need to Know About the
u.S. economy, fiscal Policy and Market
indicators for the u.S. and Abroad
Auditorium Room 3 • .75 clock hours
the Wisdom of the crowd: crowdsourcing
and Sharing for events
101 B • 1.5 clock hours
eco-focused: Mcc back of house
Sustainability tour
Meeting Point outside Ballroom A / Level 1
1 clock hour
feed the Addiction: Video = euphoric
Results
102 A • 1 clock hour
global healthcare compliance: it’s a new
day and a new Way with open Payments
101 E • 1 clock hour
tech forum: discussing your challenges
and Solutions
101 B • 1 clock hour
What not to Sign: the best and Worst
dressed contracts
Auditorium Room 3 • 1 clock hour
you don’t have to be a techie to
Manage AV!
200 E • 1 clock hour
4:15 - 5:15 p.m.
Work-Life balance: how to be
extraordinary
101 E • .75 clock hours
oPening dAy Keynote: environment
As An extension of our body
Main Auditorium • .5 clock hours
1:45 - 4 p.m.
5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
creating epic conferences: discovery in
the Age of dynamism SESSION REPEATS
205 D • 1.75 clock hours
danger: Women in Whiskey (Additional
Registration Required)
208 A • 1 clock hour
deep dive: Leading Without Authority
and the Seven deadly Mistakes of Managing People SESSION REPEATS
205 A • 1.75 clock hours
event contingency Planning
SESSION REPEATS
200 E • 1 clock hour
deep dive: Managing the Politics of
business, Positively SESSION REPEATS
208 A • 1.75 clock hours
Perfect office Workout
SESSION REPEATS
205 A
3 - 4 p.m.
Shortcuts to Success: A Lot of Little cool
tech tools to Save you time and Money
200 B • 1.5 clock hours
data discovery tools: how they impact
the Meeting and event industry
200 B • 1 clock hour
Sipping at the World café - idea exchange
for Senior Planners
205 A • 1.5 clock hours
demonstrating the Value of Meetings
Auditorium Room 1 • 1 clock hour
download the MPi global
events App to see all of
Wec’s education sessions.
10:15 - 10:45 a.m.
11:15 - 11:45 a.m.
3 - 3:30 p.m.
future of Meetings:
content in transformation
.5 clock hours
#hiring: finding a Job using Social Media
digitally disoriented: how to Win
business from today’s tech and Media
Savvy Planner
.5 clock hours
10:45 - 11:15 a.m.
What is Augmented Reality, and how
can it Revolutionize your event?
.5 clock hours
finding the next Steve Jobs
.5 clock hours
1:45 - 2:15 p.m.
getting the Most out of your conference
centre experience
.5 clock hours
Avoid the top 5 RfP Pitfalls
.5 clock hours
finding the next Steve Jobs
.5 clock hours
future of Meetings: content in
transformation
.5 clock hours
3:30 - 4 p.m.
conference centers are changing
.5 clock hours
World Education Congress 2014 • Sunday, August 3
MPI ONSITE
3
ONSITE
Mastering
Healthcare
Regulations
Hooked
On Planning
For more news on HMCC, see Page 17.
Danielle Adams exemplifies the energy and
excitement those attending WEC for the first
time bring to the table. BY ROWLAND STITELER
WEC attendees tackle the Healthcare Meeting
Compliance Certificate for the first time.
For a first-time attendee at WEC, Danielle
Adams (MPI Arizona Sunbelt Chapter) is
extremely organized, focused and energized about what she wants to experience
and learn—and who she wants to meet,
hear speaking and interact with during
this year’s conference.
That’s because Adams’ preparation for
her first WEC was a very long process.
Adams put herself on a trajectory into
the meeting industry—before she knew
there was such a thing as the meeting industry—when she became a travel agent
for Carlson Wagonlit in Minneapolis in
1997. When her travel bookings became
more and more meeting-related over the
three years she spent as a travel agent, she
started learning more about the industry,
joined MPI and ultimately got a degree in
meeting and hospitality management from
Minnesota Business College. By then she
was hooked on meeting planning as a lifelong career.
But it’s the career she built for herself after moving to Arizona about five years ago
that brought Adams to the decision that
WEC 2014 was a must-attend event for her.
Having affiliated with the Arizona Sunbelt
Chapter shortly after moving to Arizona,
she is now a member of the board of directors and is its director of IT (and was also
the chapter’s member of the year for 20122013). She is also a meeting and incentive
planner for KCA, an association management and meeting and event company in
Chandler, Ariz.
Adams says her trek back to her hometown of Minneapolis for WEC is motivated
by the desire to further herself in virtually
every aspect of her career.
“I am very interested in the technology
I’m neither doctor nor healthcare professional—I don’t even play one on TV. I am a
journalist and have, for nearly a decade, assigned, edited and written about meeting
and event trends for the healthcare sector.
In order to learn more about the fluid-yetdemanding and potentially costly regulations of the Open Payments Act, I completed the Healthcare Meeting Compliance
Certificate (HMCC) program earlier this
year.
Yesterday, for the first time, the HMCC
program was offered at the World Education Congress (WEC), taught by Pat
Schaumann, CMP, CSEP, DMCP, HMCC (MPI
St. Louis Area Chapter), director of professional development, healthcare sector for
MPI. Fresh from the Minneapolis-St. Paul
International Airport, I was keen to speak
with the 20 HMCC attendees representing
device, pharmaceutical and biotech fields.
Why did they set aside four hours on a very
busy conference Saturday? What did they
hope to learn?
About a year ago, DR Smith, CMP (MPI
Chicago Area Chapter), an advisor for CVS
Caremark, began seeing a growing interest
in the subject of healthcare regulation and
how it impacts the meeting and event industry.
“We occasionally have healthcare clients
and I want to learn about my responsibility as a planner,” he says, expecting to bring
the knowledge he gains back to his team of
eight planners.
Sharon Marsh, CMP, CMM (MPI
Northern California Chapter), meetings groups manager for Medtronic,
has been well aware of the impending
regulations and says her company began tracking and reporting processes
years ago—easily in time to meet the
4 MPI ONSITE
part of our industry, and how it enhances
and builds upon the face-to-face meeting
part,” Adams says. “And I am in the process
of getting my CMP, so I felt this would be a
wonderful way get more education credits.
But when you get right down to the core
reason I am attending WEC, it’s the same
reason most of us join MPI—outstanding
career advancement opportunities.”
Adams is attending WEC on the Bobette
Gorden Scholarship from her chapter. (Gorden, who is VP of INFLUENCE AT WORK, is
a regular provider of scholarships to WEC
for Arizona Sunbelt Chapter members.)
Because she has a fascination for meetings technology and a love for face-to-face
meetings, Adams is always looking to learn
more about forums in which the two forms
of interaction converge.
“I want to keep myself on the cutting
edge of meetings technology and be very
well attuned to what is the latest in this
constantly evolving field,” she says. “But
also I am really attracted to the opportunity to meet people in my chosen industry,
talk to them and learn from them.”
Adams says that in the very first hours
of the first day at WEC 2014, she knew this
was going to be an experience in which her
expectations would not exceed the reality
of her experience.
“This is my first WEC,” says Adams, “but
it is certainly not going to be my last.”
Rowland Stiteler is
editor of The Meeting
Professional.
World Education Congress 2014 • Sunday, August 3
BY Michael Pinchera
government’s original deadline.
“One of the benefits in working with a
large company is that we have the compliance and regulatory teams,” she says. “But
it’s good for us to know how others are doing things. It’s given us an opportunity to
revise our processes.”
Diving into the class, interaction and
conversation is fluid. What happens when
the Open Payments data goes live with
physician names and the amount of currency each has received from medical companies?
“Will the doctors attend fewer meetings?” Shaumann asks the class, to which
multiple attendees simultaneously—almost instinctively—exclaim, “We’re already seeing this.” As the conversation
grows, others vocally posit that they believe
the institutions employing doctors will encourage healthcare provider involvement
rather than limit attendance and speaking
at professional meetings.
Each nuance brought up during the
HMCC program brings more blood to the
surface as attendees share best practices
and debate while Schaumann guides them
through the labyrinthine—sometimes contradictory—wording and specifics of Open
Payments and what meeting professionals
must know about it.
“I think you’re specialists in what you
do because you have so many masters you
have to report to,” she says. “Meeting planners are the most
informed
people
that I’ve found regarding Open Payments.”
Michael Pinchera is editor
of The Meeting Professional.
ONSITE
•
•
•
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Managing AV
for Non-Techies
Educator Kassia Dellabough talks audiovisual
smarts for meeting professionals at her WEC
session today. BY Michael Pinchera
What is some of the most important AV
knowledge that you’ve found meeting
and event professionals often lack?
Meeting and event planners need to be
generalists—skilled across all aspects of
events. Often, as planners we may gain expertise in areas that are most interesting
to us. Many planners are great with people,
6 MPI ONSITE
timelines and the big picture but may not
have real hands-on understanding of audiovisual. It is not essential to be an AV
whiz yourself but you must know when to
hire help.
Here are the keys to success:
• Always have a plan B, C…even D.
• Budget properly for hiring profession-
World Education Congress 2014 • Sunday, August 3
als, especially for complex events.
Make sure presenters submit any media
specifications prior to the event in order
to ensure functionality.
Communicate frequently and clearly.
Make sure you understand all contracts
before final signatures.
Simple site visits can help you avoid many disasters.
Without giving away too much from your
session, can you share some strategies to
avoid AV disasters?
The questions below hint at the kinds of disasters planners need to be ready for.
• What do you do when the electricity
goes out?
• Where are the extra batteries?
• How many outlets are on separate
circuits?
• What is that buzzing sound?
• Will a podium mic suffice?
• No Internet connection, did the video
get downloaded?
• Skipped the site inspection only to find
the site untenable?
• You didn’t check references for your AV
provider?!
What challenges do changing AV budgets introduce?
AV used to be a simple podium mic, an amplification system, an overhead projector
and a few lights. AV aides in today’s meetings and events span across a huge array of
media tools. The costs for these resources
have skyrocketed, along with expectations
to use them. There are specialized areas of
lighting, sound, computing and more.
As participants and presenters increase
expectations of media integration with
events and meetings, planners need to
carefully assess the needs against the budget constraints and goals of the event. The
best planners must be able to prioritize
the requests/needs as well as schedule for
efficiency to keep costs down. Don’t be
lured by bells and whistles; be sure your
AV requirements meet the expectations of
the event/meeting and that the funding is
allocated properly.
What are some other AV challenges
meeting professionals are facing?
There are always new technologies, such
as new media that presenters might want
to use. Keeping current with updated
resources and making sure you are clear as
to the actual needs of your presenters, vendors and other participants is key.
Kassia Dellabough’s
Sessions at WEC
TODAY:
10:15-11:45 a.m.
“Make the Event GREAT! Menu
Planning for Success”
3-4 p.m.
“You Don’t Have to be a Techie
to Manage AV!”
ONSITE
Highlighting
the Best
going on around you,” she says.
Fleischer believes apps like hers represent the future of meetings.
“The younger attendees all expect apps,”
she says. “They don’t expect paper anymore.”
By Elaine Pofeldt
From hackathons to greening meetings, your
peers are transforming the industry. Recipients
of the 2014 Recognizing Industry Success and
Excellence (RISE) Awards will be recognized during today’s presentation and luncheon, 12-1:30 p.m.
Member of the Year
Known for volunteer leadership with the
MPI Orange County Chapter and international volunteer groups, Robyn Mietkiewicz, CMP, CMM, has been an active MPI
member for more than 10 years. Currently
director of global meeting management
at Meeting Sites Resource, she started her
8 MPI ONSITE
career after earning a degree in hospitality
and tourism from California State University, Fullerton.
As she worked through various board
positions within the chapter, Mietkiewicz
was sought after as a mentor to fellow
committee members.
“One of the most rewarding aspects of
being a part of the meeting industry is the
opportunity to not only make an impact
on the industry through volunteerism and
collaboration efforts, but also to mentor future leaders,” she says.
She currently serves on the global
Professional
Development
Advisory
Council, and says her activities with MPI
have prepared her to make the most of
today’s environment.
“It really opened the door to the global
marketplace and all the amazing opportunities that were available,” she says.
World Education Congress 2014 • Sunday, August 3
Meeting Industry Leadership
A high-profile leader in creating more sustainable meetings, Silke Fleischer (MPI
Northern California Chapter) co-founded
ATIV Software in 2010, launching the
EventPilot mobile app to reduce waste
at conferences and events. The app lets
organizers share materials without the
need for paper or a Wi-Fi connection.
“I used to work for Adobe in the e-learning field,” she says. “I went to a lot of conferences as a speaker. One of the things that
bugged me was the waste that was generated.”
With more organizations concerned
about delivering value to attendees, the
app lets them get more out of the presentations, too, down to taking notes in the context of materials related to each session.
“If you’re sitting in a session and five
minutes into it realize ‘This isn’t the one I
want to go to,’ you can see all the sessions
Young Professional
Achievement
As a program coordinator for the California Association of Boutique and Breakfast
Inns (CABBI), Jenn Wheaton (MPI Sacramento/Sierra Nevada Chapter) provides
training to members on how to strategically use new marketing channels to reach
younger audiences and has updated the
organization’s website and increased its
use of social media.
After graduating from California State
University in Sacramento in 2009, Wheaton, like many young college grads, found
the recession had other plans for her.
When the opportunity to work at the
continued on page 12
ONSITE
a company intent on creating healthy indoor environments; his latest book, What
Are You Hungry For?, examines that which
constitutes a healthy human diet. A healthy
setting combined with a healthy diet could
produce meeting space and designs that
benefit the wellness of attendees and industry professionals.
JEREMIAH SULLIVAN
Well Space
Create
Healthy Meetings
WEC keynote speaker Dr. Deepak Chopra
shares his insight on how the understanding
of biology can lead to superior wellbeing
at events. BY Michael Pinchera
For meeting pros, happy, clear-headed
and engaged attendees are an indication of
work done well. Wouldn’t you also appreciate a workplace that promises the same
10 MPI ONSITE
positive results?
Dr. Deepak Chopra, today’s opening keynote speaker, can help. He’s a proponent of
and on the advisory board for Delos Living,
World Education Congress 2014 • Sunday, August 3
Hours before Chopra spoke with me he was
reading a business article about the stress
and anxiety experienced by workers who
feel they’re in unhealthy environments. “If
they had some semblance of serenity or
wellbeing, it would make for better business practices,” he says.
As a senior scientist at Gallup, he’s in
a unique position to see wellness trends
before anyone else. Specifically, he says,
there’s a connection between career, community, financial, physical and social wellbeing.
“Wellbeing, in these various ways, affects
everything in a community, from hospital
admissions to traffic accidents to crime
rate and the quality of life and schools and
offices,” he says. “They’re all linked. So as
we begin to see this data emerging, I think
you’ll see that the corporate world will be
the first to recognize that it’s good for business.”
When Chopra first heard about Delos
Living Founder and CEO Paul Scialla’s interest in developing indoor environments
that promote mental and physical health—
wellness real estate—he was intrigued.
“I personally have always thought of
the environment as our extended body,”
Chopra says. “I thought this was a very
good opportunity not only to research sustainable environments but to see how we
could ultimately create whole houses and
hotels and rooms where your immediate
environment would help what I call ‘biological sustainability.’”
Guided by the seven categories which
comprise its WELL Building Standard (air,
comfort, fitness, light, mind, nourishment
and water), Delos Living—with Chopra
and advisors such as U.S. Green Building
Council President and CEO Rick Fedrizzi
and actor and sustainability advocate
Leonardo DiCaprio—created a purified environment complete with advanced air and
water filtration, sound-absorbing materials, electromagnetic-field shields and selfcleaning surfaces on commonly touched
areas, among many other elements.
“A room that’s healthy can be used to
cultivate emotional wellbeing,” Chopra
says.
Delos Living—a for-profit company
that Chopra says will give 51 percent of its
profits to philanthropy—has subsequently
created a first-of-its-kind certification to
evaluate facilities. To qualify, a venue must
submit applicable documentation and
pass an onsite audit based on the WELL
Building Standard. Some of the criteria to
become a WELL-Certified building include
water conservation and extensive purifica-
tion (such as the removal of chlorine, traces
of prescription medication and other contaminants), adequate natural light as well
as blackout shades and circadian lighting
controls for optimal management of lighting conditions, dedicated exercise and ergonomically designed spaces. The WELL
Certification is already getting traction in
the corporate world, Chopra says, and he’d
like to see its incorporation in hotels and
convention centers grow. But ultimately
it’s something he wants to see in hospitals.
“Hospitals are the most unhealthy environments in the world,” Chopra says. “As a
physician, I’m very well aware of that. It’s
noise pollution, air pollution and total disregard for diet—and nothing in the hospital nurtures wellbeing.”
Is Everybody In?
One foot firmly planted in the now-ness
of integrated living and mind-body health,
Chopra is also standing in tomorrow, viewing the future of wellbeing. And that’s a
future much more expansive than most
would imagine.
“Emerging technologies are going to
help us self-regulate our bodies, our gene
activity and our brain activity,” he postulates. “I’m very fascinated by the new digital technologies that can measure everything from heart-rate variability to stress
levels to brain-wave activity to sleep and
immediately transfer that information to
your handheld device and give you back
information that allows you to actually be
in charge of your biology.”
Just as my time with Dr. Chopra is coming to an end and I’m starting to think, “Offthe-charts sustainability, new perceptions
of human health and technological futurism, that’s wonderful, but isn’t he supposed to be deep?” he pulls it all together
and hits me with the alpha and the omega,
a twist which few living people can successfully perform.
“What is consciousness,” he says rather
than asks. “It’s important for us to understand the nature of consciousness and how
it relates to not only our biology, but to everything that we call life.”
Meet Healthier
at WEC
TODAY:
4:15-5:15 p.m.
“Environment as an
Extension of Our Body”
Dr. Deepak Chopra will explore many of
the topics presented in this story during
this opening keynote session.
MONDAY:
5:30-6:30 p.m.
“Making Meetings Healthy
with Delos Living”
Presented by Paul Scialla, founder and
CEO of Delos Living, and Dana Pillai,
executive director of Delos Labs.
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Highlighting the Best
continued from page 8
association arose, she decided to give the
hospitality industry a try. It turned out to
be the best move she could ever make.
She is currently staff liaison for two volunteer leadership groups within her association and has produced a related annual
conference three times.
She joined MPI at a colleague’s suggestion more than three years ago, increasing
her chapter involvement gradually. In the
past two years, she has served as chair of
the Website Committee and Publications
Committee, redesigning the chapter’s
website, newsletter, member directory
and more.
Wheaton—who admits, “I’m kind of a
nerd”—enjoys sharing new social media
platforms and technologies with the chapter. She is currently working toward her
CMP.
Community Achievement in
Knowledge and Ideas
The MPI Chicago Area Chapter’s TechCon,
a one-and-a-half-day event to bring technology education to the industry, helps
suppliers and planners understand how
technology can solve common challenges
such as finding sales leads, event marketing and audiovisual requirements.
The 2013 event included more than
300 meeting professionals, achieved an 85
percent satisfaction rating among attendees and exceeded its sponsorship goal by
US$22,000.
TechCon’s 2013 Hackathon, a 48-hour
code fest, brought together computer
programmers and software development experts to build new solutions for
the meeting and event community. To publicize the event, the chapter used
Google Hangouts to share pre-recorded
video interviews with speakers and also
presented keynote speaker Scott Stratten’s
video in live and recorded versions.
A key element of the marketing plan
was a targeted Facebook campaign. Over
two months, the ad that targeted event
professionals received more than 290,000
impressions and resulted in more than 57
click-throughs to the registration page—at
a cost of only $62.
Community Achievement in
Marketplace Excellence
A crash course in sought-after topics such
as contract negotiations and “how to write
a résumé like a recruiter,” the professional
development program Backpacks to Briefcases (B2B), put on by the MPI Rocky
Mountain Chapter, has become a perennial
favorite for young meeting professionals in
the Denver area.
Launched in 2007, the program aims
to help students achieve personal and
professional growth through education,
mentorship, internship opportunities and
networking. B2B also serves as a recruiting
platform for local companies interested in
tapping MPI’s talent pipeline. Students
from five local colleges and universities
participate.
A key element of the program’s successful outreach was identifying one interested professor at each school to spread the
word.
Organizational Achievement
The investment firm LPL Financial’s strategic use of multiple conferences to roll out
its new corporate theme “Smarter, Simpler,
More Personal.” demanded attention.
To develop relevant content for focus13,
the firm’s largest conference, LPL surveyed
stakeholders: 1,000 sponsor attendees,
600 LPL Financial staff and 4,400 financial
advisors and their staff.
Executives got involved in the design of
the conference to ensure alignment with
business objectives and key messaging.
Post-conference survey results from
attendees gave the annual conference
some of the highest ratings in its 25-year
history, with an all-time-high score of 98
percent of attendees rating the conference good/very good/excellent, up from
93 percent in 2012.
Read the complete stories of this year’s RISE
Awards recipients in the September issue of
The Meeting Professional.
12 MPI ONSITE
World Education Congress 2014 • Sunday, August 3
works for the National Association of Sports Commissions and has been involved
with MPI for many years. I
have worked in the CVB/
DMO world for the past 13
years. I am a member of the
MPI Ohio Chapter and regularly attend their meetings
and conferences.
The Big Deal Winner’s
Secrets Revealed!
Mark Hecquet, CDME, executive director
of the Butler County (Ohio) Visitors Bureau, won The Big Deal—the MPI Foundation’s high-stakes poker tournament and
networking event presented by sponsors
Caesars Entertainment, Hilton Worldwide
and Encore Productions—at the 2013
World Education Congress (WEC) in Las
Vegas. As champion (a guest of Encore Productions’ table), he earned a seat valued
14 MPI ONSITE
at US$10,000 to play at the 2014 World
Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event in Las
Vegas as well as airfare, hotel and ground
transportation, courtesy of Caesars Entertainment.
Tell us about your background in meetings and events.
First of all I should mention I am married
to a meeting planner, Beth Hecquet. She
World Education Congress 2014 • Sunday, August 3
How did you get started
playing poker?
I have played poker since I
was relatively young, playing with friends, but that
was fun rather than serious.
However, I didn’t really start
playing Texas Hold‘em until it got popular
on television about seven or eight years
ago. I probably play about once every two
months with friends.
What were your expectations heading
into The Big Deal last year, and how were
you able to win?
Winning The Big Deal was a completely
surreal experience. I still can’t believe I won
and will be playing in the WSOP. I had absolutely no expectations when I sat down
to play. It was an awesome event, with professional players walking around, videos of
last year’s winner, all of the WEC attendees
gathering around, cameras, large video
screens, etc. With 240 players I was hoping
to maybe win my table. Earlier in the day
I had played in a poker tournament at the
casino but I was the first one knocked out,
so my expectations were really low. How
was I able to win? I was lucky. There were
four separate times throughout the night
that I got extremely lucky. Twice I was all
in and got dealt a pair. Twice I got lucky
on the river. Even on the very last hand, I
was losing until the last card was dealt. It is
always better to be lucky than good!
Do you plan on defending your title at
The Big Deal 2014 in Minneapolis?
Absolutely. It is an awesome event.
The MPI Foundation welcomes you
to an evening of high-stakes poker at
The Big Deal, tonight from 8:30 p.m.
- 12 a.m. One lucky tournament player
will win a round-trip experience for two
to Las Vegas and a seat valued at $10,000
to compete for millions in the 2015 World
Series of Poker Main Event, courtesy of
Caesars Entertainment.
The Big Deal is sponsored by
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Keeping Up With
Healthcare Meeting Trends
Pat Schaumann, CMP, CSEP, DMCP, director
of MPI’s Healthcare Meeting Compliance
Certificate program, has been a meeting
and event professional for more than 25
years and has planned or managed many
healthcare meetings within the U.S. and
globally, ranging from incentive programs
to product launches. We asked her about
the development of the certificate program
and how meeting professionals can stay
on top of the latest trends in this rapidly
evolving industry. (Anyone interested in
attending a class can go to Saint Louis University’s program website: http://tinyurl.
com/kprf9gw).
Why and how was this certificate program developed?
I saw, in 2009, that the new laws and regulations affecting the meeting industry
were going to hit us in a big way, and we
needed to be prepared. Our basic planning processes were about to change and
the changes were going to be complex and
misunderstood. I wrote a book, Breaking the Code to Healthcare Compliance, on
the topic in 2010 to serve as a reference
for meeting professionals. I was serving
as chair of the Hospitality Management
board of directors in Saint Louis University’s School for Professional Studies, and
I spoke to the dean about the possibility
of offering a class. That class developed
into the Healthcare Meeting Compliance
Certificate program and was moved to the
university’s Center for Workforce & Organizational Development.
Who needs to earn the certificate, and
what will the process teach them?
Our original audience for the program
included healthcare meeting professionals—planners from all segments of manufacturing: pharmaceutical, medical device,
biologics, healthcare associations, allied
health planners, third-party planners and
suppliers. Our thinking changed when we
saw that our students were much more diverse—physicians, attorneys, compliance
directors, restaurant managers and others.
The class is designed for working adults.
Our program is currently one of the only
accredited programs within our industry.
The methodology of the university is to of-
Congratulations to those who earned
their HMCC certification yesterday at WEC.
fer adults a program that is only four hours
in length, no tests, no pass/fail, no prerequisites and no skill-specific experience.
The experience is enriching as it offers all
information regarding Open Payments and
the global information necessary to oblige
international mandates. We cover all aspects of category spend, violations, registration and reporting.
I will add that the best learning experience in the class is the interaction among
the attendees, including companies that
compete with each other. They share
challenges and experiences, which is an
incredible benefit.
Jackie Beaulieu, HCEA
Corinne Bibbo, Phoenix Marketing Solutions Inc.
Wendy Bloom, Aimia
Jody Brandes, CMP, Genentech
Marlissa Clarke, CMP, J Michael Media LLC Karen Farr-Aal, Aimia
Sharon Hill, CTRC at UT Health Science Center
Patricia Hosmer
Sue Klick, Medtronic Inc.
Colleen Lattery, Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Jackie Mahoney, Coloplast Corp.
Diana Marinos, Boston Scientific
Sharon Marsh, Medtronic Inc.
Barbara Mcleod, Matrix Meetings Inc.
Tamara Olson, DJO Global
D.R. Smith, CMP, CVS Caremark
Danielle Restaino, Genentech
Donna Walker, CMP, Hill-Rom
Nancy Werner, CMP, Hill-Rom Debbie Zunt, CMP, Cleveland Convention Center
HEALTHCARE SESIONS at WEC
TODAY: 4:15 - 5:15 p.m.
“Environment as an Extension of Our Body”
Dr. Deepak Chopra will explore “wellness real estate” and holistic living
during this keynote session.
MONDAY: 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
“Making Meetings Healthy with Delos Living”
Presented by Paul Scialla, founder and CEO of Delos Living, and Dana
Pillai, executive director of Delos Labs.
World Education Congress 2014 • Sunday, August 3
MPI ONSITE
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ONSITE
Need a Professional
Headshot?
thanks to orange Photography, this year’s official conference
photographers. be sure to stop by to have your free professional
headshot taken on Level 2 and the Mezzanine Level.
Photographers will be available:
Sunday: 7:30 - 8:45 a.m., 5:15 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Monday: 10:15 - 11 a.m. 12:15 - 2 p.m.
Tuesday: 8 a.m. - 9:45 a.m., 3:30 - 4:15 p.m.
Minneapolis Enhances
Relationship Building
The Minneapolis Convention Center (MCC)
will spend nearly $14.5 million on facility
improvements to enhance the “relationship building” for clients and
to remain competitive by being more efficient, flexible and
better able to respond to the
needs of the customers. The
enhancements—including
the following—will take place
over a two-year period while
the MCC prepares for its busiest event schedule in a decade.
• The Visitor Information
Center is being completely
renovated and moved closer to the
facility’s main entrance on Second
Avenue.
• A new mezzanine level is being added to
increase flexible event space.
• New, energy-efficient escalators for the
lobbies of Halls C, D, and E will be added.
• Color-changing LED lights for the exhib
it hall interior domes will provide more
options for enhancing the exhibit hall
décor.
• The MCC is working with
Corporate Art Force to
provide art from local artists
that will be displayed on a
six-month rotation.
Win fabulous Prizes with
the Not-So-Silent Auction
This year’s MPI Foundation auction is completely digital, so visit the MPI Global Event
App or the WEC page on www.mpiweb.
org for your chance to win great prizes.
An auction finale will take place at MarketSquare (First floor) on Monday, 3:30
- 5:30 p.m. Staff members will be on hand
to answer questions or provide digital devices for placing bids.
Here’s a sampling of the more than 30
excursion packages and items up for bid.
• Three-night stay in a standard or garden
view room at one of four Universal Orlando Resort onsite hotels.
• Six-day, six-night accommodation for
two that includes three delicious meals
per day and two game viewing drives per
day by professional game rangers in open
game viewing vehicles on Zulu Nyala’s
6,000-acre Private Game Reserve.
• Complimentary two-night stay at the
Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa,
New Mexico. The resort is set on more
than 500 acres of protected land along the
Rio Grande, with spectacular views of the
Sandia Mountains, the Bosque and ancient
mesas.
“We are using this art to highlight the creative community of
Minneapolis to our hundreds
of thousands of visitors each
year,” says Jeff Johnson, MCC
executive director. “And doing so will also
add some texture and interest to our 1.6
million square feet of space.”
Read a behind-the-scenes account about
MCC by Editor in Chief Rich Luna at www.
mpiweb.org/blog.
the iMex-MPi-Mci future Leaders forum provides an opportunity for networking
and education that many young meeting professionals take advantage of each year at
Wec. the 2014 edition included roundtable session with experts from different industry segments and a discussion about changing your world with social media.
WEC for Me
yesterday, volunteers gathered at the chapter Leaders forum to discuss a variety of
important topics critical for chapter success, including on-boarding, communication,
finance, governance and operations.
18 MPI ONSITE
World Education Congress 2014 • Sunday, August 3
Whether you are new to MPI, a first-time
WEC attendee or a veteran of many years,
think of today’s WEC for Me (7:30 - 8:50
a.m., 200 B / Level 2) as “must attend” if
you’re eager to get the most out of your
time at the event—especially one as rich
in content and diverse in activities as WEC.
A forum this large can be overwhelming,
but maximizing your ROI on site at WEC
is a two-step proposition: being aware of
the opportunities that surround you and
taking advantage of them in a way that is
unique to your needs and wants.
With that proposition in mind, the team
of planners behind WEC is hosting this session to help you maximize the value of attendance. It’s an opportunity to familiarize
yourself with the innovative ways you can
learn at the event and network with your
colleagues in the industry, both inside and
outside of the classroom. We will walk you
through this year’s offerings in an interactive and personalized manner that will
help you choose the areas of most value
and interest to you.
MPI Northern
California Chapter
MPI Potomac
Chapter
MPI Washington
State Chapter
Chapters Drive Industry
Growth through Giving
Congratulations to the MPI chapters that made the highest contributions to the MPI
Foundation in fiscal year 2013-2014. These contributions are critical for fueling the
growth and advancement of MPI members through professional development and
career opportunities via grants and scholarships.
MPI foundation Chairman’s
Challenge 5K Run
MPI Foundation Chairman Gus Vonderheide has defined this year’s theme as “challenge”—to promote the importance of professional development, healthy lifestyles,
strong chapters and a robust meeting
industry. As part of this challenge, we’re
asking every MPI chapter to host or participate in a non-cause-related 5K run on a
Saturday in March 2015.
All funds raised will go towards the MPI
Foundation Education Endowment, and
our goal is for all funds to go back to the
chapters for educational programming. If
your chapter hosts its own race the fundraising program for each member will
be powered by Lanyon technology. It will
give each participating member a unique
webpage for promotion of the 5K run and
a fundraising goal, as well as a payment
processing location. The technology will
also feature a Chairman’s Challenge 5K
Run webpage where you can track each
chapter’s progress. The three top chapters
based on fundraising will each receive a
prize package.
The Chairman’s Challenge 5K Run will
be introduced in detail at this year’s Chapter Business Summit in September. We
will provide a toolkit to each chapter that
supports the hosting of a 5K, the Lanyon
technology instructions and an executive
summary of the event.
Meet, Greet and Mingle
at MarketSquare
The MarketSquare at WEC is an area
where planner attendees can meet, greet
and mingle with suppliers and other WEC
attendees between sessions and during
scheduled breaks. Make sure to scan QR
codes located in each MarketSquare using the WEC mobile app and earn points
towards the WEC game. Located on two
floors of the Minneapolis Convention Center, MarketSquare will be open daily from
8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
New this year, the all-attendee lunch
will take place on Monday (12:15 - 2 p.m.)
in and around the MarketSquare area.
Food and beverage stations and seating
is located throughout levels one and two.
Grab a bag and select your own custom
lunch from choices of sandwiches, salads
and treats, including two recipes from the
IMEX recipe book. There is something for
everyone, and you will have plenty of time
to network!
Lunch sponsored by IMEX Group.
Breakfast in Bed by Tourisme Montréal
A special Breakfast in Bed event on Tuesday morning at 7 a.m. will require that you
make a stop to Montréal’s booth before Tuesday to sign up!
find Your Eureka Moments!
Play the Discovery Game, brought to you by San
Francisco Travel, and explore the event in a whole
new manner! Use the game app to discover your own
Eureka moments at WEC 2014 and take home new
facts, ideas and experiences.
World Education Congress 2014 • Sunday, August 3
MPI ONSITE
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