2008 Meetings
Exploration Conference
Cobb Galleria Centre
Two Galleria Parkway
Atlanta, GA 30339

Speakers

Tuesday General Sessions Keynote

Angie Morgan & Courtney Lynch

Angie Morgan:
Angie's foundation for success was built during her nine years as a Marine Corps officer. Following her time in uniform, Angie pursued a career in pharmaceutical sales, where she was quickly promoted and recruited within the industry based on her exceptional sales performance and leadership. After working with corporate giants like Pfizer and Novartis, Angie changed course to dedicate her efforts and energies toward her passion: leadership training.

Angie Morgan and Courtney Lynch

She co-founded Lead Star with Courtney and co-authored their best-selling book Leading from the Front to share leadership best practices with professionals everywhere. Since 2004, Lead Star has become one of the foremost leadership consulting firms in the U.S. and a frequent media resource on the subject.

Angie's own entrepreneurial efforts and business expertise have been highlighted by AOL, where she is a business coach, and also the Marine Corps, where she serves as a Fellow to the Lejeune Leadership Institute. Service has always been an integral part of Angie's life. When she is not mentoring a future leader, she volunteers her time with local women's charitable organizations to help their members succeed as leaders.

As the wife of an active-duty Marine, and a mother to a very active toddler, Angie is always a woman on the go. She believes her strong leadership skills allow her to embrace change and challenge with an open mind and a positive attitude.

Courtney Lynch:
Notable achievements include her nine years of service as a Marine Corps officer, managing a top-notch sales team for Rational Software, earning her law degree at William & Mary, practicing at one of the nation's leading law firms, and creating Lead Star. Along with Angie, Courtney has led Lead Star to extensive revenue growth. Lead Star's success highlights the demand corporations and organizations have for practical, inspiring ways to grow and develop leaders.

Beyond Courtney's government and private sector accomplishments, she is an entrepreneur, business owner, and best-selling author. Her success has been recognized throughout her professional career, but most recently she was awarded the 2006 National Stevie Award for Best Female Entrepreneur, and BusinessWeek profiled her achievements as a leadership expert.

Courtney also works to positively impact the lives of others through her volunteer efforts. She is a member of Wal-Mart's board for a national outreach initiative focused on understanding the needs of working families; she provides leadership development and mentoring opportunities for fellow business owners; and she uses her law degree to assist those needing legal services on a pro-bono basis.

As the mother of twin toddlers, the primary caregiver of her 95-year-old grandmother, and the wife of a firefighter, Courtney manages all of her demanding roles by living her life as a leader.

Wednesday General Session Keynote

Linda Armstrong Kelly

Linda Armstrong

Linda Armstrong Kelly's life story is captivating audiences everywhere. Her son, seven-time Tour de France Champion Lance Armstrong, credits her as the unsung hero who assisted him in reaching his spectacular cycling victories - and in his triumph over cancer. Lance says Linda is his role model.

Linda's mission is to inspire, motivate, challenge and entertain others. In her book NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH (Doubleday, 2005), she writes about her early life as a teenage mother, living in poverty, trying her best do the right thing while raising an unstoppable 10-lb. baby boy. Her early life experiences helped form the values and positive attitudes that both she and Lance carried forward into adulthood. Her life is a lesson in self-determination and the far-reaching impact of a parent's positive involvement with a child. Linda fills her speeches with insight, wisdom, and warmth. She speaks about the philosophy that helped her meet life's obstacles and overcome them. A tireless advocate for children and survivors, she tells powerful and humorous stories about how children become who they are; what parents can do to inspire, support and challenge their children; what it really means to kids to set goals and achieve them; and, why accountability is so important.

She can also speak powerfully to timely and tough issues like teen pregnancy, single motherhood, domestic abuse and substance abuse. She often challenges working parents to better support each other and work toward a corporate environment that better nurtures families. Linda believes that living with love and joy, maintaining focus and risk-taking are at the heart of every successful endeavor - and that these things are the foundation for a life well lived. Linda is a loyal supporter of the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF). She has represented the LAF at several events and frequently makes appearances at LAF fundraisers. Linda has also conducted media interviews on the LAF's behalf.

After spending 15 years with Ericsson Microelectronics as a global account manager, Linda is now dedicating her time to writing, public speaking, assisting nonprofit organizations and fundraising. In 1999, she was the recipient of Ericsson's Mother of the Year award and was recognized as one of "America's most fascinating women" in Ladies Home Journal magazine. Her recent television appearances include "The Dr. Phil Show," CNN, and ESPN. Linda's biography recently aired on The Learning Channel. She's been featured in national magazines such as People, The New Yorker, USA Today, Ladies Home Journal, Us, and Texas Monthly, as well as many local newspaper, radio programs, and television news shows.


Sessions Speakers

Albert, Paul

National Account Director – Corporate Accounts

Bio: Paul is responsible for business development and account management for corporate tradeshows and event marketing clients. He brings over 20 years of corporate, agency and non-profit experience managing face to face marketing programs for companies in the healthcare, telecommunications, computer, automotive and food industries to help them achieve their marketing and sales objectives through high impact tradeshow and event marketing programs. He has been an active member of GAMPI for 8 years and currently serves on the curriculum committee.

Brandau, Karla

President, People Skills International

Topic: Professional Brand: Six Steps to Distinguishing and Branding Yourself in the Meeting Industry

There are six crucial steps for you to take to distinguish yourself in the meetings industry. The six steps begin with learning to work from your strengths, then gathering people around you with individual strengths that minimize your limitations, or blind spots. There is great power in identifying your strengths while at the same time understanding your limitations. For instance, golfer Tiger Woods is great at the long shot and at putting, but is not so good in the sand trap. Tiger's secret to greatness, other than unbelievable talent, is that his coach made him work on the sand trap until it was no longer a liability, then together they went right back to work improving his strengths. You can do the same with the principles taught in this program. You will be coached through the six step process to leaving a lasting impression on the people you meet and want to do business with.

Through the six step process, you will learn to increase personal influence as you identify your preferred communication patterns and learn how to flex your communication style to relate better to "different" individuals. Some of the differences explored are: (1) Logic vs. emotion (2) Directness vs. subtlety (3) Results vs. process orientation (4)"Get it done now" vs. "Get is done right" (5) Intensity vs. steadiness (6) Verbose vs. succinct verbal skills. From the list above, which are you? As you gain unique insights into your strengths and communication preferences, you'll innately improve how you brand and distinguish yourself in the meetings industry. You'll also discover that how you think you project yourself may not be the way others perceive you. With this valuable information, you can learn how to flex to the people around you for more impact and influence on their behavior and the outcomes of their work. As you implement the principles taught, you'll stand out in your crowd of competitors.

Learning Objectives:

Bio: For the past twenty years, Karla Brandau, CSP, has customized energizing and educational presentations on leadership and professional development. She is a Certified Speaking Professional, an earned designation given by the National Speakers Association. To her credit, 85% of her clients have her back for repeat engagements. Those clients include Motorola, SAP and Panasonic.

Duncan, Peggy

Personal Productivity Expert, PSC Press & Productivity

Topic: Computer Lab I - Basic to Intermediate Applications on Microsoft Office Suites
Topic: Computer Lab II - Intermediate to Advance Applications on Microsoft Office Suites

So much to do, so little time! You can work smarter if you make better use of technology you already have. Word, Excel, Outlook, and Adobe Acrobat can perform magic once you discover which buttons to click. Even if you've been using this software for years, you'll discover new ways to produce your event from beginning to end, and how to streamline running your business or job. Note: This session is hands-on so bring your laptop.

Learning Objectives:

Bio: Peggy Duncan is a personal productivity expert and helps busy people spend less time working but get more done. Training topics covering organization, time management, and computer tips and strategies in Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. She is a 2008-2009 MPI Platinum Speaker, and she's on a national rotation for HSMAI's Affordable Meetings conference series.

Endress, Paul

President & CEO, Maximum Advantage International

Topic: I Think I Know What I Think You Said - Power MAXIMUM Communication Tools for Business and for Life

Have you ever wondered why some people just don't "hear" what you're saying? Have you ever "heard" someone else say one thing, only to find out they really meant something else? What if everyone in your office could communicate effectively? It would make your organization run more efficiently, wouldn't it? What if you could "read" another person's nonverbal communication and automatically know the best way to respond? The best way to train to motivate? Following this session you will be able to automatically and effortlessly use a superior set of communication skills that will give you (and your organization) a competitive advantage by enabling smoother and improved relationships, supercharged negotiations, more productive meetings, revitalized recruitment and retention, enhanced customer service, and more.

Using computer-generated visuals and sound, speaker-audience interaction, interactive surveys, group role playing and other exercises, this fast-paced MAXIMUM Communication program includes learning the ways different people absorb and store information; personality typing for outstanding communication results; building rapport with anyone anywhere at anytime; and speaking in the mental and emotional language of others so your real message and intent come across loud and clear, and your desired result occurs. By the end of the program you will know how to seamlessly blend these skills into your daily routine both in the office and at home.

Learning Objectives:

Bio: Paul Endress, with a quarter-century of entrepreneurial experience and certifications in psychology and linguistics, is an expert in the application of psychology to business communication and team-building. Paul has created nine companies, and been quoted in A-list publications such as the New York Times, USA TODAY, Entrepreneur and Forbes.

Hess, Vicki

Principal, Catalyst Consulting, LLC

Topic: Work/Life Balance: Do you Work in a Professional Prison or a Professional Paradise?

Do you work in Professional Prison or Professional Paradise? Evidence indicates that as many as 25% of people feel stuck in their jobs, and in many offices, it's considered "cool" to be just getting by at work. This high-energy, engaging keynote presentation will quickly dispel the notion that "work" is a four-letter word and show how participants can achieve results and fulfillment at work. Using the proven, proprietary and simple SHIFT methodology, audience members will learn to turn POWs into WOWs and walk away with the skills and the tools to create a Professional Paradise they have only imagined until now.

Learning Objectives:

Bio: Vicki Hess, RN, MS is an Escape Artist. She helps people escape from a Professional Prison and provides their passport to Professional Paradise. She brings hands on business and healthcare experience as well as substantial training expertise to her projects. In addition to over 23 years of professional experience, Vicki is a registered nurse and holds a masters degree from Towson University in Human Resource Development. Vicki provides motivating keynote presentations and is an expert on using her proprietary SHIFT Strategies to be of service - service to ourselves, service to our coworkers, and service to our customers. Vicki is the author of several books including SHIFT to Professional Paradise: 6 Strategies for Living the Good Life at Work (to be published 1/08).

Howe, Jonathan

President/Senior Partner of Howe & Hutton, Ltd.

Topic: Legal IQ: Compliance to Meeting Laws in Today's World

We are living in complex times, new legal issues seem to arise daily (as they relate to planning events and apply to the organizations who plan them). Everything you do, everything you say has legal implications. This session cuts across all disciplines to help you protect, prevent and preserve your legal rights and limits, including Contracts, Hot Issues and Trends, Attrition & Cancellation, Force Majeure, Intellectual Property, Internet Issues, Corporate Responsibility (Green, Sarbanes-Oxley), and Liability/Risk Management. This most interactive session offers both time and opportunity for attendees to discuss the issues concerning them right now during these unconventional times. Meetings and events may risk being impacted by changes: locally, nationally, internationally ... some due to abrupt changes real and imagined to the economy and/or the political temperature worldwide. What are your most pressing concerns? This session will give you an opportunity to raise them as well as your Legal IQ concerning laws which can and do affect meeting professionals.

Learner Objectives:

Bio:JONATHAN T. HOWE, ESQ. is the President/Senior Partner of Howe & Hutton, Ltd., a law firm with offices in Chicago, St. Louis and Washington, D.C. He has written hundreds of articles, papers and books, and has spoken to organizations all over the world on all manner of legal issues. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in diplomatic history and international political science with honors from Northwestern University and his Juris Doctorate from Duke University where he was first in his graduating class. He serves as general counsel for Meeting Professionals International and the International Special Events Society, among others. He also is general counsel for the Society of Incentive and Travel Executives and for the prestigious Association Committee of 100 sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He is a fellow and member of the International Forum of Travel and Tourism Advocates and is a founder, immediate past President and board member of the Academy of Hospitality Industry Attorneys. He is the legal editor for MEETINGS & CONVENTIONS and THE MEETING PROFESSIONAL magazines. His M&C column, Law and the Planner, was named the best monthly trade publication column by the Society of Business Publication Editors. He is the special advisor to the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Meetings and Travel and served as a member of its Task Force on Membership Benefits for Disabled Lawyers. He served as the first chair of the Convention Industry Council APEX panel on industry contracts. He is the recipient of the prestigious Meeting Professionals International Industry Award for his service to and advancement of the meetings industry. The Chicago Area Chapter of MPI awarded Jon its industry award for his dedicated and significant contribution to the meetings industry. On its 15th anniversary of publishing, he was named in 1992 by MEETING NEWS as one of 15 leaders who have made the difference in the meetings industry. The Chicago Society of Association Executives selected Jon as its Associate Member of the Year. He is the first and only nonmember to receive the President's Award of the Religious Conference Management Association for his dedicated and professional services to the meetings, conventions, tradeshow and travel industry. Since 1995 when MEETING NEWS began to list the 25 most influential people in the meetings industry, Jon has been named almost every year. He is also a Fellow of the American Society of Association Executives. The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International honored Jon as the recipient of its HSMAI Foundation PaceSetters Award for vision and cutting edge accomplishments that have inspired countless others to think “outside the box.” He is one of the few lawyers in the United States to have argued before the United States Supreme Court

Hubrich, Mark


Bio:Mark Hubrich is a technology entrepreneur with over 13 years experience in developing software solutions for the meetings and events industry. He began this career path by initially developing a hotel block module application for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games in 1995. After the Olympics, he applied his knowledge of software development and web applications to create the meetings technology company SignUp4. With SignUp4, he has been actively engaged in providing software technology solutions to the industry for the past 9 years. He has helped to develop a suite of software products designed to assist meetings consolidation and strategic meetings management initiatives for the Fortune 1000 and currently counts 12 of the Fortune 100 as clients. He has been a board director for the Georgia Chapter of Meeting Professionals International for the past 5 years. He has also been a speaker presenter with MPI's PEC conference, the Summer Education Alliance, and a guest lecturer on meetings technology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Kennesaw State University.

Hunt, Todd

President, The Hunt Company

Topic: What Time is the Noon Lunch? Maintaining Your Sanity in Our Wonderful World of Meetings.

A high-energy, interactive presentation that teaches valuable communication lessons wrapped in laughter. Not jokes, but true (and hilarious) stories of miscommunication and how we can fix it to become more successful. After the presentation, each attendee receives a free copy of Todd's smile-guide for overworked meeting professionals: "What Time is the Noon Lunch" FROM TODD - I don't use PowerPoint (which often elicits applause). Just me talking...with a few funny props and audience interaction. When I say communication is the biggest problem in the meeting industry today, people cheer in agreement. We also have fun discovering who's anal retentive, who's merely organized and who's obsessive compulsive!

Learning Objectives:

Bio: Todd Hunt, business humorist, has spoken for MPI chapters in Chicago, Houston and Kentucky...the MPI-Southern California Trade Show...SGMP chapters in Michigan, Oregon and DC...and other organizations -- from CPAs and auto dealers to association executives and funeral directors (really). His books include "Does Anal Retentive Have a Hyphen?" and "Pardon Me, but That's a Really Stupid Sign!"

Johnston, Brian J

Founder, EVOLUTIONS Total Wellness

Topic: EVOLUTIONS Total Wellness: Get Physically Fit or Get Fiscally Flat: 3 Keys to Corporate Fitness Success

A National No-No: Over 80 percent of Americans are trying to crack the weight loss code at any given time. Heart disease is the #1 killer in America, responsible for over 40 percent of all deaths. 60 Million Americans have been diagnosed with some form of cardiovascular disease. Over 50 Million people have high cholesterol. Over 29 Million people have high blood pressure. Over 20 Million people have diabetes. 800,000 new cases of diabetes are diagnosed each year. 300,000 people die annually due to obesity-related diseases such as hypertension, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and some cancers. 1 out of every 3 women gets cancer.1 out of every 2 men do too. Some 80 percent of cancers are related to diet. Life expectancy is decreased by six months for each extra and unnecessary pound a person weighs. 70 percent of American adults are overweight. 31 percent are further classified as obese. If that’s not shameful enough—childhood obesity is now an epidemic!

Of Corporate Concern: 7 out of 10 workers say job stress is the leading cause of frequent absenteeism and related health problems. Obesity-related medical costs add up to more than $40 billion annually. 65 percent of hospital admissions are directly related to poor lifestyle habits. Smokers generate 41 percent more claim costs than those who don’t. Poor eating habits generate 31 percent more claim costs than those who follow a healthy, balanced nutrition program. A fatal heart attack suffered by a top executive can cost a company anywhere between $500,000 to $1 Million in lost business, contracts, experience and can increase insurance, recruitment and training costs!

Are you ready for the good news? The solution to these weighty woes is entirely within your reach – and responsibility – in both personal and professional spheres of influence. Research from every sensible angle touts Nutrition & Exercise as proven methods of reducing America’s leading killers: Heart disease, Cancer, Stroke and Diabetes. The problem is there’s too much information regarding what to do/not do, or what to eat/not eat… UGH! Not to worry, Brian delivers a message of hope – not hype. Get ready for a visually stimulating, highly entertaining (and yes, educational) presentation on the how, what, when, where, and WHY of fad-free fitness and nutrition.

Learning Objectives:

Bio: Brian J. Johnston, CFT, SPN, is sick and tired! Frustrated by the growing numbers of unhealthy statistics who are continually fed a smorgasbord of confusion and marketing hype, Brian created the SMART START System: A Common Sense Approach to Personal Fitness Success ™. With over 15 years of experience in the fitness industry as a speaker, author, trainer, nutritionist, and educator, Brian has become known as "The Trainer's Trainer" among fitness professionals. In 2004, he was named one of the "TOP 55 Trainers in the World" by the American Association of Personal Trainers. From a passion to speak, teach, and lead others, Brian shares peak performance training and nutrition “secrets” with corporations, colleges and kids through an informative and entertaining series of Common Sense-inars ™. Upcoming projects include co-hosting a home fitness makeover television show, and co-authoring a book in the best-selling series Wake Up…Live the Life You Love with Anthony Robbins, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Gregory Scott Reid, and others: an early 2008 release.

Klett, Karen

National Account Manager, Freeman

Topic: Latest Tradeshow Trends: DeMystify the General Services Contractor

Discuss the roles and responsibilities of the general services contractor. Illustrate ways to partner with a general services contractor to add value to your show. Forecast and how the general services contractors are keeping pace with your needs. We will discuss: development of floor plans, floor plan management, target floor plans, design “general décor, sponsorship opportunities, local fire code issues, service kit preparation, general education, facility communication, consultation production schedules, transportation, cleaning, maintaining production schedule, meeting room requirements, carpet & furnishings, labor (I&D), rental, exhibits, transportation & freight, rigging overhead, signage installation & equipment material handling

Learning Objectives:

A chance to walk away with a better understanding of the "other side" of trade show / convention planning

Bio: Karen Klett's career in the Convention / Trade Show Business started in 1990. She started in Customer Service where she learned about all areas of the show floor from freight to furniture planning / distribution. In 1995, she was promoted to Production as a project coordinator which in turn led her in to managing major conventions around the United States.

Larkin, Lyndal

Topic: Authentic Sales Leadership (Non-Exhibiting Suppliers)

If we are going to sell to customers with integrity and credibility, we need to lead with the highest of these values. Being committed to the team will give employees a sense of sincerity, which in the long run will be responsible for helping everyone make their goals. If you look the word “authentic” up in the dictionary - it is about trust, being genuine and reliable. A new generation of leaders is needed to work with the new generation of employees. This session will combine the fundamentals of leadership, coaching and motivating with the cornerstones of values, leadership style and coaching employees to have a balanced and productive life.

Learning Objectives:

Bio: As a facilitator, consultant and speaker, Lyndal's ability to effectively relate to diverse audiences with a pragmatic, hands-on approach is the result of fourteen years of hospitality experience. Lyndal has a solid background in hotel operations, including experience in the Rooms and Food & Beverage Divisions.

Schulte, Tom

CEO, Recalibrate Professional Development

Topic: Creating a Culture of Leadership

In his presentation called Creating a Culture of Leadership, Tom Schulte highlights what it takes to create, maintain, and foster an environment that grows better bottom line results through values-based leadership behaviors. Participants in this session will know the steps needed to increase their personal leadership effectiveness and learn how to multiply those behaviors with the people around them through values-based relationships. This program will help participants increase their level of influence within their own organization, within their network of clients and suppliers, and also within their personal lives. In addition to increasing personal leadership effectiveness, participants will understand how to control the elements of their environment in which they work to see how to best provide what is needed for organizational effectiveness. It’s the “economic greenhouse” effect – a process to keep their people green and growing.

This area of leadership and influence training targets and helps in the most difficult area of leading people: getting better results through values-based relationships. In this entertaining and powerful presentation, Tom will walk you through a simulated version of what participants in his Leadership PowerLabs™ experience as they discover their own flaws and mistakes in leading others and how their results were turned around with simple behavioral changes. You will experience stories of personal enlightenment that have propelled people to higher levels of understanding what is really going on around them and how they changed to reap better bottom-line results.

Learning Objectives:

Bio: Tom Schulte, CEO and CRO (Chief Recalibration Officer) of Recalibrate Professional Development in Atlanta, GA fine-tunes professionals for better leadership performance through his interactive values card-sorting exercise. Tom has years of leadership development experience working with Fortune 500 leaders and customizing programs to meet their unique needs. He has compressed his offering to include the most essential nuggets based on extensive discussions with leaders in major corporations. As a result, he has created effective Leadership PowerLabs&™ designed for breakout sessions, private training, manager’s meetings, or interactive keynotes that are fast, fun, and highly interactive. Tom’s PowerLabs&™ offer short-format “High Impact Leadership Training fit for the Blackberry-Attention-Span."

Vitaligano, Bob

Topic: Trends in Today's Incentive Market

Incentive travel is faced with numerous challenges in this ever-changing world. As a global industry, it is impacted by world affairs, environmental issues, the economy, and social changes. With this as a background, this presentation will look at the trends most common in the US incentive market today and how to work with them.

Learning Objectives:

Bio: Bob Vitagliano's broad-based background qualifies him as a true incentive renaissance man. He has experience as both a buyer and a provider of incentive rewards as well as having diverse expertise on the financial and marketing side of the business.

Vitagliano served as Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the Society of Incentive & Travel Executives (SITE) for six years conducting the Society's business in 30 countries. He now operates his own incentive marketing consulting company, V Associates, headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina and he is a partner in fourCE.org.

He has instructed and consulted on matters of incentive marketing in Argentina, Austria, Barbados, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, England, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Kenya, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, St. Maarten, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, and, of course, the United States.

Vitagliano began his career in the incentive industry on the buyer's side with the conglomerate, SCM Corporation. He later moved to the supplier side of the incentive travel industry associated with destination management companies and a full-service incentive marketing company in New York and California.

He earned the designation Certified Incentive Travel Executive (CITE) demonstrating his depth of experience and broad range of knowledge of the incentive travel industry.

In addition to his consulting practice, he currently serves as Executive Director of the International SITE Foundation.

Wierzgac, Michele, CMM

President, Michele & Company

Topic: Word of Mouth: A Powerful Marketing Strategy
Topic: Portrait of a True Leader: What it Takes to Lead

Bio: Michele began her career in college administration before moving on to found Michele & Company®, a meeting management and consulting firm. An educator at heart and in deed, Michele restructured the business in 2002 to focus on speaking, training, and facilitating. She is well known for her "get to the point" presentations which cover a broad range of important business issues in leadership, marketing, brand management, communications, and organizational strategy.


Panels

Meeting Management 101:

McClung, Kit, CMP

National Corporate Sales Manager, Callaway Gardens Resort Bio: Hotel executive, enthusiastic volunteer and former business owner, Kit knows the key to living a healthy lifestyle is to embrace your past experience and focus on your "Inner Supply of Magic". Her presentation offers an uplifting discovery into your untapped potential and better prepares you for life's next challenge. 		Morgenstern, Katja

Corporate Sales Manager, Georgia World Congress Center Bio: Katja Morgenstern spent over seven years as an independent event planner and small business consultant in Charleston, SC before relocating to Atlanta, GA in 2005. Katja's clients included businesses from small independently owned to large franchises such as Muzak- IPMA. She was nominated for Who's Who of Entrepreneurs in 2002, cited in the Charleston Regional Business Journal (2001, 2003), Post and Courier Business Section (2001), and USA Today- Money Section (2004). 		Whitehead, Christina, CMP

Event Director, eventAcuity Bio: Christina M. Whitehead, CMP began her 10 year professional career as an in-house trade show and events manager in the software industry. In 2002 she made the move to other side of the fence and has established herself as a successful third-party planner. Christina is currently the Event Director for eventAcuity, Inc. 		Whitney, Jeff

President, Event Transportation Atlanta Bio: Jeff Whitney is a 23+ year industry professional with extensive experience in transportation management services for both corporate and association meetings. Jeff formed his destination management company, Event Transportation/Atlanta in 2002, after serving as PGI-Atlanta's Director of Transportation. This position exposed Jeff to 12+ Super Bowls, 5 Masters programs, and management of major transportation programs in many of the largest US meeting destinations.

Strategic Meetings Management Program

The goal of this presentation is to provide our audience with an overview of the benefits when a Strategic Meetings Management Program is developed and implemented for their company. This presentation provides the audience with the ability to return to their companies and justify why they need a SMMP. We realize that many Fortune 2000 companies do not have the HR resources, either in personnel or the expertise to develop or implement a SMMP independently.

Based on many key performance indicators, a Strategic Meetings Management Program can provide significant benefits and a ROI your executives will be very interested in learning more about. Takeaway: We have four ideas the audience will take away from our presentation: Understand the amount of time that it takes to develop and implement a Strategic Meetings Management Program Understand the potential cost savings, cost avoidance, and risk management improvements that have been recognized by other companies and are available to all companies through a Strategic Meetings Management Program Understand the information provided by a SMMP can allow Meetings to become a greater role in the Corporate Strategy A SMMP will allow you the meeting planner to have an greater opportunity to have a seat at the table

Learning Objectives:

A SMMP will allow you the meeting planner to have an greater opportunity to have a seat at the table

Meetings 101 – Basic Tips & Tricks from the Experts

Get the meeting planning groundwork done with inside information from a planner, a hotelier, a transportation expert, and convention center representative. In this session we will approach the basics including:

Meetings 102 – Situational Analysis and Preparation Strategies

You know the basics; how do you prepare for particular situations? Hear the approach from different perspectives (a planner, a hotelier, a transportation expert and a convention center representative.) In addition to the importance of effective communication during a crisis, this participatory session will offer:

Giuliani, Rich
Currently Rich is Vice President of Business Development for Meeting Consultants, starting July of 2006. Rich was Worldwide Team leader for Events for IBM Global Procurement, Integrated Supply Chain, and is responsible for leading the team that procured all event services worldwide. Rich has spoke recently at MPI’s MEC event in Montreal, at the Event Marketer Magazine event in Chicago, and, the ANA conference in New York, on chronicling the success of the IBM event programs, from both a marketing and procurement point of view. Rich has been in event related Procurement positions since 1996. In 2001 IBM created the Marketing Communications Procurement team and Rich became the procurement leader for newly centralized IBM Global Events. Prior to that, Rich has spent 21 of his 22 years at IBM in various production procurement related positions. Rich’s responsibility included managing the worldwide procurement team, including savings, agency/supplier and client relationships, fee and rate negotiations, supply chain management, as well as other procurement responsibilities. 		Hubrich, Mark
Mark Hubrich is a technology entrepreneur with over 13 years experience in developing software solutions for the meetings and events industry. He began this career path by initially developing a hotel block module application for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games in 1995. After the Olympics, he applied his knowledge of software development and web applications to create the meetings technology company SignUp4. With SignUp4, he has been actively engaged in providing software technology solutions to the industry for the past 9 years. He has helped to develop a suite of software products designed to assist meetings consolidation and strategic meetings management initiatives for the Fortune 1000 and currently counts 12 of the Fortune 100 as clients. He has been a board director for the Georgia Chapter of Meeting Professionals International for the past 5 years. He has also been a speaker presenter with MPI’s PEC conference, the Summer Education Alliance, and a guest lecturer on meetings technology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Kennesaw State University.		 Kelley, Bob, CMM

Sr. VP, Business Development, Meeting Consultants, Inc.
Bob Kelley, CMM, CEM is the Senior Vice President, Business Development, for Meeting Consultants, Inc. Meeting Consultants is a meeting and event management company focused on listening to the needs of the client to ensure their success and becoming an extension of their staff. Additionally, Meeting Consultants provides a consultancy focused on Strategic Meetings Management Solutions. Meeting Consultants is a WBENC Certified women-owned corporation. Bob is recognized for his professional accomplishments in the trade show and meetings industry, his interest in Strategic Meetings Management Solutions and his ongoing interest in continuing and maintaining the highest possible standards and the best practices of the industry. He is a charter member of the Georgia Chapter of MPI (GaMPI). He has been awarded the National Merit Award and the Distinguished Service Award by IAEE for his contributions to the industry and he currently serves on the Board of Directors of International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE). 		Lastinger, Kate, CMM

Metaphrasis Group
Bio: Kate Lastinger is a well seasoned corporate strategist. She recently started a new consulting firm for corporate meeting divisions after a successful career in corporate meeting and incentive management. Kate has worked with several Fortune 500 companies including The Coca-Cola Company, SunTrust, AT&T, Lucent Technologies and Xerox Corporation. Her experience managing corporate meeting consolidation plans, technology for meetings, developing valuable ROO/ROI models and facilitating Sarbanes Oxley compliance, provides a wide range of experience that will benefit all levels of meeting professional interested in Strategic Meetings Management.


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