As I sit here writing my second to last President’s Message, I have bittersweet feelings. In some respects, I am glad to move on and allow your next President to take over and in other respects I don’t want it to end. It has been a year of challenges, victories and memories that I am glad to have been a part of. Each of you has made it extra special. As I stated last year in my “acceptance speech,” I have been truly honored to have gotten to know many of you better and to be a part of your MPI experience. I am truly blessed to know such wonderful people and able to call many of you friends. I could go on and on, but I will save that for May 20th. Many of you may remember I got choked up during my speech last year and I had numerous people come up to me afterwards complaining that I ruined their makeup. I can’t make any promises this year it won’t happen again, so don’t say I didn’t warn you. I recently attended the CMP/CMM Breakfast and we have some very intelligent people in our chapter (I knew this already). Mind you, you don’t have to have your CMP or CMM to be intelligent, but kudos to those of you that took the time to study and write your business plan to receive your certification. As I told the breakfast attendees, I hope to be a part of this exclusive group one day. The MPI Gala is fast approaching and I once again make the plug to have you join us on this most exciting night as we honor our EMPI Award Winners and our new scholarship recipients. We will also pay tribute and thank YOU, our wonderful volunteers, and of course, our most gracious sponsors from this past year. If you don’t want to drive, take the bus we have arranged or spend the night at Treasure Island and make it a short work week. Make sure and register today as you won’t want to miss this night of fun and memories. Congratulations to all of our EMPI Nominees. You are all winners. BE BOLD! BE BRAVE! BE BRILLIANT!
Looking for ease of doing business, a quick fix to the To-Do overload? Think about purchasing a meeting card. You can purchase it anytime during the year so you decide when it best fits with you or your company’s budget. There’s just one easy payment to reconcile and then you don’t have to worry about it again for another year. And, it eliminates registration because you are automatically signed up for each meeting. Even if you miss three meetings you still save over $100! And yes, the May Gala IS included!! Click here for more information.
Thank you to everyone who made our “Half Day Education” program a great success. The University of St. Thomas Minneapolis was the ideal venue host. The layout of breakout rooms made it easy for all attendees to get to their sessions on time. View a full list of program sponsors and notes from our April 21 speakers.
When: Thursday, May 13, 2010, 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM Note: The Educational Summit is a CCTE Accredited event! Agenda:
Click here for more meeting details and to register.
Please join your colleagues for MPI MN’s Annual Awards Dinner and Celebration. This year will be An Evening at the Golden Globes, complete with a Hollywood style presentation of our Annual EMPI (Excellence in MPI) Awards given to fellow chapter members in recognition for their outstanding volunteer efforts. We will also present scholarships and meet the new Board for 2010-2011 as our current president, Jaimie Mattes, passes the gavel on to his successor, Donna Foppoli Patrick, CMP, CMM. TRANSPORTATION...Important Information!!! Treasure Island Resort & Casino is able to provide a bus for those guests wishing to park in Bloomington and ride out to the property. We will need to know by Friday, May 7, 2010 those requiring bus transportation in order to facilitate setting up accordingly. We must have 15 people signed up by May 7 in order to have the bus option. The bus will depart at 4:00 PM from (Bloomington location TBD) for Treasure Island, departing TI at 8:30 PM for return to Bloomington. NOTE: If you are a meeting card holder and would like to take advantage of the bus transportation, please e-mail the MPI MN office right away so that they can arrange for you to be included. EXTRAS: Rooms are available at a $49.00 rate (but if you nominated someone for an EMPI award, the rate will go down to $29.00!). Contact Jean Riegleman directly at jean.riegelman@ticasino.com or 1-800-222-7077 x2949 for reservations. Treasure Island is providing the first drink per person complimentary, an excellent menu for dinner, and play money for those who wish to stay on and enjoy the casino. Come and enjoy the event, then stay and play! Program Sponsors: Click here for more meeting details and to register.
What made it a great conference? MPI put together hours of top-notch educational programming designed to help me in my job and career. They offered networking events that were not only super fun but I was able to see beautiful Salt Lake City and met a ton of people. The Expo Hall is where I shined. Before leaving for the Conference, I put a little work into looking at the different exhibitors and making a game plan to tackle the 200 + booths and it made all the difference in my experience. I didn’t stop at every place that offered swag nor did I grab a bunch of literature that I would need to lug home only to recycle later. I hit the ones best suited for me and made excellent use of my time. There was a small group of MPI’ers from our MN Chapter in Salt Lake City. Not only did I get to know them better but we held a reception in conjunction with the Chicago Chapter. This was yet another great opportunity to meet some new folks. All in all, it was an excellent experience. The time and cost of attending were completely worth it and I would strongly recommend it to the rest of my fellow chapter members. Registration for the upcoming MPI WEC that will be held in Vancouver, BC, Canada opened on Friday, April 9: head to the website at www.mpiweb.org for more information. Hope to see you in Vancouver!
I would first like to start off with thanking the MPI MN chapter volunteers, specifically the Finance Committee, for heading up the December Holiday Party & Auction each year. This event is the main source of funding for the chapter’s scholarships and I would not be a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) today without their tireless efforts to gather auction items and raise the funds that allow our chapter to offer the scholarships. I have attended the Holiday Party in the past and made bids on items here and there but did not realize the impact of the event until I won the CMP scholarship. My vision of being a CMP became much closer to reality. There were several points throughout the testing process that were really a waiting game including six weeks to find out if I qualified for the test, another couple months of studying and another six weeks to get final test results. In the end the CMP Boot Camp, long study nights and hundreds of note cards had paid off. I received a very short memo in the mail that said “Pass” and that’s really all it said but that’s all I really needed to know. To CMP candidates, I say “Go for it.” During a recent event I planned, I was preparing the meeting room in the morning and a speaker said to me “Are you a CMP?” and I answered, “Actually, yes I am. I just received my letter a month ago.” He replied back, “Oh, you act like one.” I said “Thanks” and smiled and didn’t really know what to say. Quite honestly I’m not sure that there is a specific way a CMP is supposed to act. The CMP books and manuals don’t teach us to “act” a certain way but it is apparent that they have taught us to “do” a certain way and that the CMP is not just another designation. I have only been a CMP for over a month and if others have noticed then I feel like my vision has become a reality. Thank you again to the MPI MN chapter and volunteers for this opportunity. In the world of meetings, December is not very far away so think about how you can help next year’s scholarship winners – it could be by donating an auction item or by being the top bidder on the fabulous items donated. And for those of you who don’t know – the CMP requirements have changed. What are the new requirements? Why should you become a Certified Meeting Professional? How much does it cost? When is the test? What is the deadline to register? Answers to all these questions can be found in the new CMP Application, the CMP Handbook or on the Convention Industry Council’s Web site.
by DENISE WOODS, CMP, AGC of Minnesota & MPI MN CMP Chair, Education Committee, dwoods@agcmn.org Taking the July 2010 exam? CMP Boot Camp will be offered May 14 – 15. Complete details and registration are available under Career Center/Certification at www.mpimn.org. 1. Which of the learning types is characterized by the following?
Thanks to John Cosgrove, Cosgrove Presents, and Mike Vinup, IML, for providing education, entertainment, and some friendly competition, at this year’s CMP/CMM Breakfast through a fast-paced, interactive game of trivia. John’s observations of how group dynamics played out in this informal, relaxed environment and how that can be translated to the workplace or other team situations gave each of us something to think about beyond the fun of the game. Special thanks to The Wildwood Lodge for hosting the event.
As a member of this MPI community, it is the responsibility of each of us to strengthen not only the “local” community, but also the industry, or global community. We do that by sharing our own knowledge with those around us, especially those who are new. We also do that by setting a responsible and steady course, and then handing the reins over to the next person. As this year comes to a close, we are already preparing tools for next year’s chapter leaders. We will be developing processes that keep upcoming leaders ready to take over from the previous ones. It will strengthen our community and build a legacy for those who aren’t even here, yet. Will you lend us a hand?
One of the efforts of the Leadership Development Committee is to recognize everyday leaders within the chapter. These Leaders among us are people who go above and beyond to make sure our chapter goals and objectives are met or exceeded. This month we recognize the work of Amy Englund. In her second year as a volunteer on our Membership Committee, Amy happily stepped up to accept the chair position of Membership Recruitment for 2009/2010. Anticipating industry challenges for the upcoming year, Amy is leading her subcommittee in a three-fold membership campaign: First, to more effectively and directly connect with new prospects on a monthly basis; Second, to complete a Greater Minnesota campaign promoting MPI to over 350 prospects; and Third, to develop and implement a Metro membership campaign to complete her year as chair. Nationwide, MPI chapters are struggling to retain and recruit membership. Amy has been instrumental in securing 35 new members for the Minnesota Chapter in the first 5 months of this MPI year. To thank Amy for her leadership, she will receive a Target gift certificate for $50 sponsored by Julie Wagner and a gift box from Tastefully Simple. Please help us honor Amy and her efforts. Leaders of the Month are nominated by board members. If you know a chapter volunteer that deserves recognition, please share this with your committee’s Board liaisons or any board member.
May is the final month of our MPI Referral Contest. Refer potential members by filling out a new member referral form online, and you will be eligible to win a monthly prize and a Grand Prize drawing for a Weekend Concert/Entertainment Package from Treasure Island Resort and Casino! Referral Forms are available at www.mpimn.org. Drawing will be held June 1, 2010. In addition, for each referral you submit that joins MPI as a full member, you will receive a $25.00 credit toward your own membership dues! Take advantage of this great savings. Details and brochures are also available from the Membership Team at our monthly meetings.
1. How did you get to your current position? 2. What is your current job description? 3. What has been your greatest professional challenge? 4. In your past history, has anything happened that was unexpected? 5. How long have you been in MPI and what have you learned since becoming a member? 6. What is something you would like to share with us about your personal life?
Congratulations to the following members who have been recognized for their continued commitment to MPI MN and who celebrated their monumental anniversary. Thank you for your continued involvement and commitment within our chapter. 5 Years 10 Years 15 Years
Meeting Professionals International is the association for the global meetings industry and is committed to delivering success for its 21,000 worldwide members by providing innovative professional development, generating industry awareness and creating business development opportunities. Founded in 1972, the Dallas-based organization delivers success through its 68 chapters and clubs in 20 countries around the world. For more information, visit www.mpiweb.org. Minnesota Chapter Office International Headquarters
Meeting of the Minds is the official publication of the Meeting Professionals International Minnesota Chapter and is published 11 times yearly. Statements of fact and opinion within this newsletter are the responsibility of individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the officers or members of MPI. Articles submitted are subject to editorial revisions. Articles for Meeting of the Minds are always due on the fourth Wednesday of the month prior to distribution, and articles for News Notes are always due on the first Thursday of the distribution month. |
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Is another year of MPI almost over? Could it be? I remember last year at this time when I was in a deep panic about what I was going to say at the MPI MN Awards Banquet. I am in that same panic this year again, but just on a different level. Thank goodness this year is back to our regular third week of the month so I have two extra weeks to work on the program.
Have you ever attended an International Conference? More specifically, have you ever attended an International MPI Conference? Well, last summer I attended the MPI WEC that was held in Salt Lake City, UT.
Why is it important to plan for succession? Is it continuity? Legacy? Senator Blanche Lincoln (AK) said this, “It is about our personal responsibility to strengthen our community. This is about making us strong enough and leaving a legacy.”
Tracy Denison,
