Professional Convention Management Association Annual Meeting

PCMA held its 51st Annual Meeting in Toronto from January 7 to 10, 2007 - this is the first time that it was held outside of the U.S.A.!! More than 3,100 meeting industry professionals attended this meeting and it was seen as huge opportunity for the City of Toronto with all these important decision makers in the City of Toronto. The Annual Meeting consisted of day and evening networking activities and parties, educational programs, lunches as well as the PCMA annual meeting itself.

The networking events included:

Opening Welcome Reception: Canada. Keep Exploring;
The PCMA Education Foundation's Party With a Purpose to benefit YOUTHLINK, a Toronto charity whose mission is to support vulnerable youth in making positive life choices. PWAP also supports the PCMA Education Foundation and the PCMA Network for the Needy program.
Muldoon's Saloon Philadelphia Go Bragh! an event to benefit Yonge Street Mission, which provides education, relief, and counseling to Toronto's underserved;
Ontario - A Destination for All Seasons: Discover the sights, sounds and tastes of Ontario - a four season, premier meeting destination.
PCMA Chapter Receptions: for members to network with their own PCMA Chapters;
President's Reception (by invitation) Sponsored by Convene Magazine

On January 10, 2007 at the concluding luncheon, attendees watched and listened to former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien and former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich discuss the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) and other international issues impacting the meetings and convention industry. The main problem facing this industry is the requirement for passports to enter and exit the United States. Newt Gingrich urged the Americans attending the show to " ... reach out to every group and every business you know that relates to travel and tourism ... and collectively communicate to the congress that being systematically stupid is not the same thing as national security." The Honourable Jean Chretien explained his reasons for not going into the Iraq war; namely, he did not believe that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and that the UN had not authorized the war. This may have been his greatest accomplishment beside reducing a 40 billion dollar annual deficit which was left by the Honourable Brian Mulroney's conservative government.

PCMA

"The Professional Convention Management Association is the professional resource and premier educator for the meetings and convention industry. Founded in 1957, PCMA represents the interests of meeting management executives from associations, non-profit organizations, corporations, independent meeting planning companies, multi-management firms and suppliers to the meetings industry. PCMA empowers its over 5,000 members with the tools they need to succeed as meeting professionals and to promote the value of the industry to their organizations and the general public. Headquartered in Chicago, PCMA has 16 chapters throughout the United States and Canada." [pcma.org]

PCMA's annual meeting was a huge success and if you are an event planner and did not attend next year, you can go to Seattle next year!

Steve Porter, Pres., Intercontinental Hotel

PCMA Awards

Ontario Reception

Professional Convention Management Association Annual Meeting

A World of Opportunity

January 7 to 10, 2007

Annual Meeting

PCMA