Your NEW
March 2013
Newsletter
Check us out at pcma.org 2013 OFFICERS & DIRECTORS PRESIDENT
Vicki Comegys Des Moines Convention & Visitors Bureau PRESIDENT ELECT
Marilyn Koehler Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau TREASURER
Sherie Howell, CMP, CMM, CGMP A-S-K Associates, Inc.
Register NOW! PCMA Heartland Chapter comes to Northwest Arkansas
SECRETARY
American Fusion: Experiencing Trends
Amy Harper, CMP National Association of Insurance Commissioners
April 11 - 12, 2013 Bentonville, Arkansas
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
Mary Ryan Kansas City Convention & Visitors Assn.
DIRECTORS TERM through 12/31/13
Dr. Elizabeth Barrett Kansas State University TERM through 12/31/13
Jennifer George Lion, CMP, PMP Experient, Inc. TERM through 12/31/13
Kristen Kimbrel, CMP American Academy of Family Physicians TERM through 12/31/14
Elizabeth Huston Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Bureau TERM through 12/31/14
Jennifer Bergsieker Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis TERM through 12/31/14
Our first session on April 11 is on social media so we decided we needed a Facebook page. Check us out!
Join in on the chatter! Join the Heartland Chapter of PCMA for “Cockail Chatter” April, 2013 - Kansas City, St. Louis and Omaha! Keep an eye out in your inbox for details! Gather with fellow meeting and hospitality professionals for appetizers, cocktails and casual conversation. Stop by for a moment or the whole evening! Come join in on the fun! Thank you to our sponsors:
Make this meeting your own: you can choose the whole menu or pick things a la carte. Drive down for the lunch and first session; stay for the fun breakouts (on trends) showcasing downtown Bentonville then stay for the incredible experience of Crystal Bridges Museum. As an out-of-town planner you can stay at our whimsical new 21c Museum Hotel complimentary (others it is a deal at $130+tax). We have a great Friday morning planned for you with breakfast, IGNITE speed networking and a tour of our little piece of paradise (to include Rogers and Bentonville). Photography by Timothy Hursley, courtesy of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR
Around the Region By: Cheri D. Jones, CMP
Aesha Beattle, CMP Applied Measurement Professionals
If you have events happening in your city, please email them to Cheri Jones, CMP at cjones@vistaprod.com. We would love to highlight exciting things happening in your town. The information below is gathered from members, CVB websites and Meeting Focus.
CONTACT US!
ARKANSAS – THE NATURAL STATE NWA is hosting the April 11 – 12, 2013 PCMA meeting. The City of Bentonville received the Community Tourism Development Award at the March Arkansas Governor’s Conference on Tourism Awards Banquet. Crystal Bridges has recently opened the Norman Rockwell exhibit. It is a must see.
heartland.chapter@ pcma.org PHONE
(816) 678-8876 WEB
pcma.org
21c Museum Hotel opened February 2013. The hotel has 12,000 square feet of exhibition and meeting space and 104 sleeping rooms. It is a perfect fit for Bentonville, AR. KANSAS – THE SUNFLOWER STATE The $430 million mixed-use Prairiefire project should be one of the unique retail and residential districts in the area. The Museum of Prairiefire should open in the spring of 2014. Retailers and restaurants will want to be part of this incredible district. A few that have already “signed on” are Fresh Market, Gene Simmons Rock and Brews, Cinetopia and Pinstripes bowling. It is located two miles from the Overland park Soccer Complex and four miles from the Overland Park Convention Center.
INDIANAPOLIS – THE HOOSIER STATE Indianapolis already boasts 749,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space under one roof and 7,100 downtown hotel rooms. Yet, the city is still growing. In 2013 alone, a total of $60 million in expansions and renovations will improve the Indy hotel product. The most significant change is The Alexander, a Dolce hotel that stands as the cornerstone of downtown’s newest neighborhood, CityWay. This luxury conference center hotel may best described as an art museum, thanks to collaboration with the Indianapolis Museum of Art that curated 60 works of art by several of the world’s most notable living contemporary artists. All 209 guestrooms feature art, and 14 site-specific pieces are showcased throughout public spaces. Graffiti art by leading British artist Nick Walker decorates the parking garage, and the hotel’s mixology lounge was designed by L.A.-based Jorge Pardo. NEBRASKA – THE CORNHUSKER STATE Omaha – recently named: The world’s 2nd up-andcoming music city by MTV Iggy; one of the Top 10 Coolest Midwest Cities by MSN; the 4th Top Spring Break Destinations for Families. Omaha will host the International, an equestrian event on April 12 – 13, 2013.
In the past two months Brad Plumb has asked several meeting planners what they like in a site visit. Here are some thoughts in the words of the meeting planner: Know the meeting: It’s not enough to know the company or the hard numbers from the group’s history. In this case, the more you know, the more I know you care. Be up front and honest: We’re going to find out sooner or later, so address the potential shortcomings now and explain how others have successfully dealt with them. Sit first, show later: Don’t be in a big hurry to hike. Take a couple of minutes to find out my needs and share with me what I’m about to experience. Make it a pre-site visit. My RFP is not set in stone: My meeting is a work in progress. Because it worked in one city, doesn’t mean it will work in yours 2 or 3 years from now or that the numbers will be identical. Please allow me some flexibility. Make sure that everybody is on their best behavior: I understand that if I’m treated well, this might be the way I’m treated when I bring my meeting to your property. However, if I’m treated indifferently or poorly, I have to expect that it won’t get any better.
Set the scene: Get the site team to envision the conference as it is happening. Describe to me what this room will look like with my attendees here. Imagine the options that my group might have and paint me a word picture as my event progresses. Walk a mile in the attendee’s shoes: Well, hopefully not a mile, but know the distance from the sleeping room to the meeting room to the restroom to the general session and let me know how long that takes. Personalize: If you’ve asked for a personal resume, be sure to use the information from it. Otherwise, why did I go to the effort? What can you do different to show me that this isn’t just one of several sites you’ve done today? What sets your property apart from all the others I’m seeing today?