Strategic Meeting Tech & Better Meetings Podcasts

Show #3 - A special episode discussing depression & anxiety in the meetings industry

Show #2 - Sherrif Karamat, President & CEO of PCMA and Greg O'Dell, Chairman of the 2019 PCMA Board of Directors talk to us at PCMA's EduCon in Los Angeles

Show #1 - An Interview with Sherrif Karamat, President & CEO of PCMA

We recently caught up with Roger Rickard of Voices in Advocacy during the IMEX America show in Las Vegas.  We talked at length about voting and it's importance to the nation as well as to our industry. Roger publishes a great blog about politics and advocacy, as well as being a terrific meetings industry advocate and supporter.  His website and blog can be found here: Roger Rickard   And here's a direct link to the blog post that we are discussing on the show: American’s have a Big Decision on Election Day (and it’s not for president) It's an important message, and it reaches far beyond just our industry. So it's vital that we all exercise our right to vote in the upcoming election.  Make sure your voice is heard, not just on the top of the ticket, but all the way down to the local offices that can have significant impact on our business, schools and city governments.

Strategic Meeting Tech Podcast Show #27 - Roger Rickard discusses the upcoming election and how voting (or not voting) impacts all of us in the meetings industry

On this edition of the podcast we're joined by an old friend, Tracy Stuckrath, CSEP, CMM, CHC, CFPM.  Tracy is one of the leading consultants to the meeting and event planning industry on nutrition.  She travels around the world speaking to industry groups like MPI, PCMA, NACE, ILEA and SGMP on a wide variety of food related topics.  Tracy has extensive information and resources about all types of food and nutrition areas as they relate to planners on here website: Thrive Meetings & Events. On todays podcast in honor of "Vegetarian Awareness Month" we talk about the various types of vegetarian classifications and ways that planners can best understand and address them for their attendees.  We also talk about Tracy's upcoming sessions at IMEX America coming up on October 17-20, 2016 in Las Vegas. If you're attending IMEX and have an interest in nutrition, food waste and legal aspects of food service to your guests and attendees, be sure and seek out her sessions and visit her website for information and resources.

Strategic Meeting Tech Podcast Show #26 - Tracy Stuckrath discusses ways to best accommodate vegetarian attendees

On todays podcast Jon talks about his upcoming webinar at "Meetings Today".  On October 26th at 1pm EDT he'll be presenting a webinar on the topic of "Contracts: Audiovisual & Speakers".  Here's a link: Meetings Today where you can register in advance for the webinar. Today he gives a preview by discussing AV Quotes and the material that's presented in them.  An overview of the various sections and a few pointers for negotiating before you reach the contract stage with a vendor. Be sure and mark your calendar to join him on the 26th of October over at Meetings Today

Strategic Meeting Tech Podcast Show #25 - AV Quote Tips and news about a webinar later this month

On this weeks podcast we catch up with Roger Rickard, professional speaker and advocacy consultant to the meetings and exhibitions industry.  He's the founder of "Voices in Advocacy", and you can learn much more about his work with industry groups via his website: RogerRickard.com We talked in depth about an industry initiative headed by IAEE (the International Association of Exhibitions and Events).  They've created a broad coalition of exhibition industry supporters to advocate for the industry via the website: Exhibitions Mean Business.  Since launching in 2011 they've generated over 750 million impressions, 2600 media impressions and a total of over 70 million dollars in publicity.   For the past three years they've sponsored an annual Exhibitions Day where industry members can meet with their representatives in Washington DC to advocate for the industry.  They've also created an Advocacy Center to provide information on pending legislation and convenient ways to reach out to your elected representatives. On the podcast, Roger provides a wealth of information about current issues that can affect the meetings industry and all of us.  

Strategic Meeting Tech Podcast Show #24 - Roger Rickard discusses Exhibitions Mean Business

On today's Hall of Leaders edition of the podcast we talk with Colleen Rickenbacher of Colleen Rickenbacher, Inc and The Global Protocol, Etiquette & Civility Academy.   Colleen is being honored at the CIC Hall of Leaders Celebration coming up in October in Las Vegas.  We talk about her history and background; including her transition from event planner to become an author, speaker and industry expert on etiquette and protocol.   She's the author of four books:  Be On Your Best Business Behavior Be On Your Best Cultural Behavior The Big Book of People Skills Games (International) Be On Your Best Teenage Book And, she devotes a significant amount of her time working with prison and juvenile programs in the Dallas area to help both of those groups better transition into the workforce.  She's also a mentor to numerous students and others in the meetings and events industry. You can join Colleen and her fellow 2016 honorees on October 18th at the Jewel Nightclub at Aria in Las Vegas for the Hall of Leaders Celebration.

Strategic Meeting Tech Podcast Show #23 - Colleen Rickenbacher Hall of Leaders Interview

On today's Hall of Leaders edition of the podcast we talk with John "Jack" Patronski of Global Experience Specialists (GES).  Jack is being honored at the CIC Hall of Leaders Celebration coming up in October in Las Vegas. We discussed his history and background that brought him to the industry, how he moved from law enforcement into facilities management and then to Andrew Bartlett and later GES for the past 23 years. Jack is a PCMA Education Foundation Trustee and has been very active in PCMA, The Convention Industry Council and other vital industry groups and initiatives in the Chicago area over the past twenty years.  We look back at the history of the industry as well as forward to the future as he's honored for his years of work advancing the meetings and events industry. You can join Jack and all the other honorees on October 18th at the Jewel Nightclub at Aria in Las Vegas for the 2016 Hall of Leaders Celebration.

Strategic Meeting Tech Podcast Show #22 - Jack Patronski Hall of Leaders Interview

On today's podcast we talk with Lee Ann Benavidez, VP of Sales Operations for Hyatt Hotel Corporation.   (Or visit, Hyatt Meetings & Events)  Lee Ann will be part of an all-star panel representing many of the major hotel brands at the upcoming CMP Conclave in Baltimore.  She and the rest of the panel will be taking part in a session called: "Trends and Shifts in Hotel Sales Landscapes". Today we chatted about the shifts in technology and how planners and their hotel sales counterparts are all learning to adjust and adapt to the changes that touch the processes of booking space and managing an event.  We consider some of the ways that technology can provide helpful data to save time and costs while still honoring the traditional relationship model between planners and suppliers that is so valued in our industry.   We touch upon concessions and negotiations with your hotel partners.  And, we also spend some time on safety, security and contingencies and how the changes that occur around us have touched the meetings industry.  Including a bit about how each property deals with unique sets of conditions unique to their location when planning for the safety of their guests and attendees.   There's still time to join us in Baltimore at the CMP Conclave on September 16-18!

Strategic Meeting Tech Podcast Show #21 - Lee Ann Benavides previews “Trends and Shifts in Hotel Sales Landscapes”, her upcoming panel session at the CMP Conclave

On today's podcast we talk with Janee Pelletier, MBA, CMP, DES of Conference & Logistics Consultants about her educational session at the upcoming CMP Conclave in Baltimore.   Her session, "Budget-Driven Meeting Planning: Contracts, Expenses and Your Career" is a terrific overview of how planners can look at their events with a budgetary perspective at the forefront of their thinking.  Flawless logistics are no longer the measure of a successful meeting.  And, with a greater focus in organizations on the budgetary side of an event, to progress your career and be valuable to your company, you need to be able to work within the budget realm. Janee will offer practical advice she's found for cost savings, as well as guidance for setting up a budget template and making well considered projections of possible variable expense areas of your event.  There's still time to join us in Baltimore at the CMP Conclave, September 16-18. 

Strategic Meeting Tech Podcast Show #20 - Janee Pelletier, MBA, CMP previews “Budget-Driven Meeting Planning”, her upcoming session at the CMP Conclave

On today's podcast we talk with Carol Norfleet, MBA, CMP, DMCP of Destination Nashville about her pre-conferece session at the upcoming CMP Conclave in Baltimore.  Carol's session is a workshop that will bring together planner and supplier CMP's to begin the process of revising the legacy documents of APEX that need to be refreshed and updated. APEX is an initiative of the CIC that promotes the development and implementation of industry-wide accepted practices to create and enhance efficiency throughout the meetings and events industry.  It's vital that the APEX be updated to maintain it's relevancy and usefulness.  Amongst the topics to be considered in the session are: Event Specification Guide, Housing & Registration Guide, Site Profiles Guide and Post Event Reporting Guide. There's still time to join us in Baltimore for the annual CMP Conclave on September 16-18!

Strategic Meeting Tech Podcast Show #19 - Carol Norfleet, CMP previews “APEX Legacy Documents Workshop”, her upcoming pre-conference session at the CMP Conclave

On today's Hall of Leaders edition of the podcast we talk with Richard Aaron, MFA,CSEP Emeritus of Biz Bash.  Richard is being honored at the CIC Hall of Leaders Celebration coming up in October in Las Vegas. We discussed Richard's history and background that brought him to the industry, how his broadway and entertainment career eventually led him to producing corporate events for a "who's who" of major companies in the 1980's and 1990's.  Then, his move into the burgeoning internet by joining BizBash as they were being launched.   Richard is a passionate teacher and we spent some time talking about his classes and his goals in training the next generation of industry professionals.  We also look at some of the interesting new trends in the industry related to things like festivals and how they can influence corporate meetings. You can join Richard and all the honorees on October 18th at the Jewel Nightclub at Aria in Las Vegas for the 2016 Hall of Leaders Celebration.

Show #18 - Richard Aaron Hall of Leaders Interview

Our guest today on the podcast is Jim Clarke, CAE; the Senior Vice President, Public Policy at the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).  Jim's will be leading a session at the upcoming CMP Conclave in Baltimore called: "Meetings in the Crosshairs - Current Legislation and issues affecting your events."  We previewed some of the major issues that he will cover in the session and bring some attention to topics that have the potential to significantly effect the meetings industry.   First up we look at a proposed overtime rule revision that will go into effect on December first of this year and impact organizations nationally by changing the salary level of exempt employees.  There's a potential compromise bill that could alter this rule and it's very important that as an industry we let our representatives know of our support.  To that end, and as mentioned in the podcast, here's a link to find your Congressional Representative: United States House of Representatives We also discussed recent ASAE Board Policy enacted on the subject of Diversity and Inclusion as it relates to our industry and actions like recently passes RFRA laws in some states. Lastly, we touched on recent progress for easing federal rules regarding attendance of federal employees to meetings. Each of these topics has significant impact on the meetings and events industry.  If you're interested in learning more, you can attend Jim's session at the CMP Conclave in Baltimore coming up later this month.  If you can't attend you can learn more about the work ASAE is doing on our behalf at their site: The Power of A.  You can also find out specific ways to become more involved in advocating and advancing our industry. 

Strategic Meeting Tech Podcast Show #17 - Jim Clarke, CAE previews “Meetings in the Crosshairs”, his upcoming session at the CMP Conclave

On today's edition of the podcast we talk with Dr. Jan Roy of Kaplan University about her session slated for the CMP Conclave in Baltimore next month.  She'll be looking at a terrific area for self-improvement and career advancement.   "The Importance of Soft Skill Competencies for Meeting Professionals" will help attendees better understand the area of soft skills and how it's an area of growing importance within organizations and an individuals potential to advance their career.  Her focus is on the leadership aspects of soft skills and ways that attendees can better understand and develop them. There's still time to join us at the CMP Conclave in Baltimore on September 16-18.  You can learn more here:  CMP Conclave.

Strategic Meeting Tech Podcast Show #16 - Jan Roy, PhD, CMP previews “The Importance of Soft Skill Competencies”, her upcoming session at the CMP Conclave

The Strategic Meeting Tech & Better Meetings Podcasts sources for news and discussion of the meetings and events industry.

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Strategic Meeting Tech & Better Meetings Podcasts

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