2011 PCMA
11_PCMA_General Session

PCMA Is A High Roller In Vegas  

Chapter Leaders Session

Chapter Leadership Workshop participants (L-R):

Melissa Bronstein, PCMA HQ; Rocco LaForgia, NYPCMA; Kimerberly Forte-Brown, Rocky Mountain PCMA; presenter Jeff Hurt, Velvet Chainsaw Consulting;  

Amanda Ciarlone, NYPCMA, Elisa Jaworski and  

Astrid Schrier, Philadelphia PCMA.

 

 

PCMA's Convening Leaders annual meeting held January 9-12, 2011, lived up to the host city's theme, 'Vegas Means Business' and then some, rolling out many new event features.

 

PCMA's program was chocked full of sessions and networking opportunities.  Each day's agenda unfolded like a road map with a dozen topics to choose from for each education session time period.

 

And to up the ante, PCMA co-located with Vitural Edge Summit, January 12-13, presenting digital solutions for events,

360 Degree

Innov8 Theater

meetings, learning and community. VES, the premier source for education about virtual and hybrid meetings, for the first time

included association meeting planners and executives as speakers and panelists with sessions of particular interest to associations.

 

Also new this year, for early risers Monday and Tuesday mornings, was a customized, informal learning experience - PCMA Learning Lounge - which offered attendees 120 additional opportunities to learn in a variety of interactive and innovative ways - from peer-to-peer discussions, to six theaters offering continuous 15-minute TED-style presentations, to the Social Media Expert Bar, to the Supplier Showdown and the PCMA365 Livestreaming Studio.  

 

Velvet Chainsaw Consulting partnered with PCMA in producing the Learning Lounge in a effort to blend formal and informal education, "taking the learning that might happen in the hallways, and moving it into the main tent, " according to  managing director Dave Lutz, CMP. 

PCMA365

PCMA365 Live Studio

 

PCMA365 Livestreaming Studio's emcee Glenn Thayer conducted real-time interviews 

onsite with speakers and others, making 2011 Convening Leaders PCMA's first hybrid
meeting with virtual access for a remote audience.  

 

PCMA also launched PCMA365 as a networking and education virtual space on PCMA's website. Attendees are offered opportunities to continue the conversations started at the meeting online. Members can interact in four different areas: The Auditorium, a venue for online education events; Networking Lounge where they can review member profiles, send emails and participate in discussions; Resource Center where brochures and documents are archived; and Partner Showcase showcasing virtual booths created by PCMA's partners.

 

For 97 attendees arriving early, Sunday morning's Hospitality Helping Hands (HHH) projects - landscaping at WestCare Nevada's Women & Children's Campus and painting at US VETS Initiative - continued a long tradition for members to give back to the host community. HHH participants paid $75 each for the opportunity to serve, allowing for $4,000 to be donated to each nonprofit, in addition to their labor-intensive efforts. The projects were coordinated by Peter Schmidt, senior sales manager at the newly opened Cosmopolitan hotel which hosted a lunch for volunteers at the projects' completion.

 

Helping Hands Michelle

     NYPCMA Members VolunteerHelping Hands Meredith

for Hospitality Helping Hands

   Project in Las Vegas      

 

Michelle Nicoletti (L), Hyatt Hotels Corp. and Meredith Gaynor (R), March of Dimes, put their painting skills to work in an effort to deinstitutionalize the overall atmosphere of the US Vets facility by repainting several housing corridors and the reception area in warmer colors. 

 

 

Las Vegas ... Then and Now - the meeting's Opening Reception was an entertainment extravaganza experience for attendees that recreated a look back to what put Vegas on the map, as well as what it has become.

 

General Sessions were also over the top Vegas-style kicked off by the Jersey Boys' performance Monday morning. Keynote speaker Renee West, President & COO of Excalibur and Luxor Hotels, presented "Tightrope To The Top: Learning the Language of Success," relating her personal journey to achieve balance in business by creating a leadership style that would acknowledge and make the most of the differences between men and women.  Tuesday Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, shared his perspective on 'Delivering Happiness.' What started out as a focus on customer happiness, is now on employee happiness and company culture - defining 10 core values, committing to them and aligning the organization to them. Hsieh described how happiness is the true path to profits, passion and purpose.

 

Chapter Challenge Sign

Tuesday's Chapter Challenge Competition

Convening Leaders is set for January 8-12, 2012 in San Diego ... and our NY chapter couldn't be more excited. NY Chapter members who competed in Tuesday's Chapter Challenge Game Show against other chapters, will receive one of thirty 2012 registrations won by placing first in the trivia-based competition. ALL chapter volunteers can earn a free registration as well! A ticket will be entered in a drawing for the remaining complimentary registrations for each hour volunteered on a chapter committee. PCMA's annual meeting is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to review, renew and recharge your professional commitment.   

 

Start planning now for your participation in San Diego!