board meeting highlights December Virtual Board Meeting Recap by Christine Irwin, CMP, The Management Office
On December 14, the MPI-CC Board of Directors met for the last time in 2020. I want to start by saying I am SO proud of this resilient group of individuals. This year has easily been one of the most challenging times our industry has ever faced. This Board is comprised of planners who had to rethink the way they held meetings, rebook meetings they had worked months and years to plan, and make last-minute shifts to a virtual world that was uncharted territory for most. This Board is comprised of suppliers who have had to endure cancellation after cancellation with the hopes that a group would simply rebook instead of canceling; suppliers who found themselves doing jobs in a hotel they’ve never had to do; and suppliers who have lived every day in fear of the dreaded “F” word... furlough. This Board is comprised of small business owners who exude the word “pivot” from every ounce of their being—working hard every day to keep their small businesses alive and keep their families afloat. Every single one of our board members has continued to show up. They are living the unimaginable right now--working from home with kids, working longer hours than ever before, attending Zoom meeting after Zoom meeting for their paying jobs, baking cookies into the early hours of the morning (get some of Mica’s Sweet Treats, y’all) and every single one of them continues to show up. They are working hard to serve the membership, keep the chapter financially stable, and continue to look toward the future. Now, let me tell you about some wonderful things they’ve been working on! Easily one of the most important things they have done to date is identifying the need for a 3-5 year strategic plan and the need for a 6-month plan to get us to a better place. During our mid-year retreat in November, the Board outlined areas of strength, areas of weakness, and areas of opportunity for the chapter. They outlined a few key initiatives they want to take on this year and then decided to identify three areas for each department to focus on for the next six months. Our hope is that
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we’ll reengage our members, reignite our chapter’s passion, and, most importantly, recover as an industry. Another important and difficult decision that the Board made is to transition our January meeting into a virtual event. We originally planned to meet at the Raleigh Marriott Crabtree hotel, even if it had to be a hybrid event. However, with the way cases are trending and the proximity to another potentially high holiday case increase, the Board determined it was best to make January an entirely virtual event to focus solely on planning a virtual program. We will be partnering with Live Events Media Group and TechFactory Productions to bring you a program that you will not want to miss. We intend to keep it a two half-day program over the original January 28-29 meeting dates. [Following minutes, event revised to one-day session on January 28.] I want to give a shout out to the Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Hotel for working with us on this last-minute decision. Farrah Staub and her team have been nothing short of wonderful, which I know is not easy during this unsettled business climate. We have some REALLY exciting things planned for this event… mark your calendars! Following our January chapter program, we will be holding our second virtual CMP Bootcamp with Molly Johnson, CMP, QAS, on February 10-11, 2021. Molly has donated her time and energy to the chapter’s success, and we are so thankful she has partnered with us again. Her first Bootcamp was a huge success for attendees and our chapter and pairs well with our quarterly CMP Study Group led by Sasha Armour, CMP, and Tessa Barrier, CMP. On behalf of the Board, I would like to express our extreme gratitude for this team and their commitment to our chapter members’ professional development. Last but certainly not least, I would like to give a huge shout out to our Annual Partners. Without their financial support, we would not be where we are today. Their support allows us to continue to serve our members, offer continuing education, and provide networking experiences. Words are not enough this year.
