Are you looking for the best place to represent your meetings industry pride on April 4? Global Meetings Industry Day events all over the country will promote the power of face to face as an economic, scientific and cultural force.
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From Cape Town, South Africa; and Victoria, Australia; to Madrid, Spain; Alberta, Canada; and Austin, Texas, event professionals will come together to network and learn. Some gatherings will take the form of panel discussions on industry issues. Others will more closely resemble a rally to raise awareness of the cause. One emphasis this year will be on getting elected officials involved by requesting proclamations.
San Francisco
This epic gathering of the Northern California chapters of PCMA, MPI, ILEA, SPIN, IAEE, GMIC, HSMAI and SITE with NACE Silicon Valley Chapter, Bay Area Business Travel Association and Corporate Event Marketing Association will happen at Hilton San Francisco Union Square, sponsored by Giants Enterprises, San Francisco Travel and Hilton. The evening will raise funds for ECPAT-USA, an organization focused on eliminating sexual exploitation of children around the world, and St. Anthony Foundation, a support network for Bay Area homeless.
Southern California
GMID SoCal at Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena will be the one time all year that local chapters of PCMA, MPI, SITE and ILEA come together. The afternoon will include educational sessions on data-driven event design from Sand Diego State University and MPI Academy, and will end with the Wait-Out-the-Traffic afterparty, with entertainment and dessert.
San Diego
MPI San Diego Chapter will honor Margie Sitton, senior vice president of sales at San Diego Tourism Authority. The event will take place at San Diego Air & Space Museum.
Las Vegas
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is bringing the industry together for the Building a Better Economy event to showcase the industry’s strength. Educational sessions, tours and a celebration on The Strip will unite planners and suppliers in delivering a vivid message about the power of meetings.
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Denver
Meetings Industry Colorado, a collection of 13 organizations that just closed out its 19th annual educational conference, will gather at Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel for a panel discussion of the future of the industry and some Rocky Mountain networking.
Orlando
The Greater Orlando chapters of MPI, SITE and PCMA will unite for a day of networking and education, featuring Rock Star Impact founder Brant Menswar speaking on changing what’s possible. Other speakers will focus on sustainability in events, and the state of tourism.
Washington, D.C.
The PCMA Capital Chapter and MPI-Potomac chapter are gathering to celebrate growing advocacy from coast to coast. The morning Hill Day Training Program, followed by Hill Appointments, will focus on changing hearts, minds and policy.
New York City
The city that never sleeps will shine blue for GMID as seven iconic buildings, including One World Trade Center, Javits Center and Coney Island Parachute Jump, will be flush with blue lights to mark the occasion. Delegations from the city will also be present across at other celebrations, including visits in Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Minnesota as well as Kansas City, Missouri, and Seoul, South Korea.
Montreal
A presentation at Hotel Bonaventure Montreal about sustainable leadership and the responsibilities of influence from Kathleen Sears, founder of KSears Institute, will pay forward the concept of supporting organizations at the highest levels.
Toronto
MPI Toronto Chapter will be exploring the solutions to human trafficking, career development and meetings in a newly legal cannabis world during a discussion let by Constance Wrigley-Thomas, CEO of Essentient Association Management & Events; Tania Ferlin, volunteer at Meeting Professionals Against Human Trafficking; Jay Rosenthal, president of Business of Cannabis; Dela Kumapley, events manager at Lift & Co.; and Matt Maurer, vice chair of Cannabis Law Group.
Virtual MPI
If you can’t make it to one of the organized celebrations, MPI will be live broadcasting featured education activities from chapters across the country starting at 6 a.m. Central Time. You can hear how social media is changing everything from Ross Simmonds at MPI Atlantic Canada Chapter, how to go from harried to healthy from speaker Kelly Treadway and how to create memorable experiences inside the meeting room from Alexander deHilster and Daphne Wood at MPI North Florida chapter.
Whatever you do on that Thursday, share it with Smart Meetings readers and the world using #GMID19 and #MeetSmart.
