PCMA Donation Drive – WOW Results!

Posted by:
Christine Melendes, CAE
Director, Member Relations, PCMA



WOW! That is simply the only word I can say when I think of the results of the 2011 Convening Leaders Donation Drive. What started off as a HUGE goal of collecting 10,000 cards (a goal I thought we would struggle to reach) – we ended up donating almost 16,000 cards!

WOW! What support we had from the meeting planning community for this drive…our most successful one to date. Throughout the event people just kept coming and coming with cards to donate. When I checked on the “counting” we had over 10 boxes of cards counted and bundled by Tuesday afternoon. By the close of the meeting we had 12 boxes of cards ready to ship off to St. Jude’s.

WOW! What an amazing collection of cards – from holiday cards to note cards – there was enough variety that the charity will not know what to do with it!

WOW! How easy was this? Well, if you’ve never had a charitable component to your meeting before, you could simply add this and with little effort you could have a lasting and meaningful impact on a charity in your host city.

It was so easy to pull off with these simple steps: 1) Pick a charity where your attendees can easily pack or purchase a donation; 2) promote, promote, promote; 3) Make it easy to find the donation bin and make sure you have volunteers gather and record the donations; 4) Work with the local charity to pick up the donation.

This year’s donation drive benefited St. Jude’s Ranch for Children. St. Jude’s Ranch for Children serves all abused, abandoned and neglected children and families, creating new chances, new choices and new hope in a safe, homelike environment.

About PCMA’s Network For the Needy (NFTN) Initiatives

Founded in 1990, NFTN started a simple initiative to donate leftover food from conventions. NFTN has now grown into an organization-wide educational program for industry professionals to become educated in how to give back to their communities through meetings. Sponsored by a generous grant from Global Experience Specialists, NFTN is available throughout the United States and Canada at no cost and involves a wide range of programs and activities.

Why use the Network for the Needy to plan convention volunteerism?

Why not? The benefits are limitless, but here are just a few of the reasons why you should:

• Create goodwill - give your attendees the opportunity to help others in need and demonstrate that your organization cares about the community.
• Foster teamwork among your attendees by working together on a project for those in need.
• Develop positive community relations by publicizing your volunteer efforts to your members and customers.
• Help to demonstrate the value of the meetings and trade show industry to the community at large.

Learn more about PCMA’s NFTN initiatives.

Looking Back: My Reflections on Convening Leaders

Posted by:
Alisha Ernst
Student, Kansas State University







PCMA Student Union: Character Counts

WOW! That’s really the only word that comes close to justifying my experience this past week at PCMA Annual Meeting: Convening Leaders in Las Vegas. I again want to thank PCMA for providing me with the scholarship that allowed me to attend this meeting.

As far as my three objectives I am happy to report I met all of them.

1. Meet an individual who holds a position in the industry that I have not even fathomed

I met one attendee who I believe their position is focused on creating introductory music to help set the mood for opening events.

2. Attend a lecture that intimidates me and see what I can gain from it

On Monday, I attended “International Incident: Prepare for the Unexpected”. I have had the opportunity to study abroad, but I have never worked abroad. I was blown away by international challenges that had actually occurred to the panel. I found the round table session, where we worked with meeting professionals to address different international scenarios, very beneficial.

3. Learn what the industry is doing to go green (as this is one of my major passions)

One of the most unique features I learned in this area was not from a session, but from the MGM Grand itself. On one of the trash cans I saw a sign that indicated that all of the trash was sorted for recycling. This meant the MGM Grand was not leaving it up to the guests they had already made the commitment to going green itself. I was excited that PCMA had picked a venue that was committed to the environment.



PCMA Student Union: Character Counts


Overall I had an amazing time meeting many people and attending amazing events. Everything from Party With a Purpose to the Opening Ceremony to hearing the conference start with the Jersey Boys truly was incredible! It was amazing first meeting I look forward to many more including San Diego next year!

Photography by Jacob Slaton

Giving Back and Having Fun

Posted by:
Danielle Babilino
Senior Vice President, Hotel Sales, Wynn Las Vegas

It’s really not a “Trip to the Strip” without a stop at one of the hottest nightclubs in Vegas! Something PCMA Convening Leaders attendees learned last night.

Tryst at Wynn was thrilled to host the PCMA Education Foundation’s Party With a Purpose (PWAP) at Tryst – last night. We sold out of tickets and had a great time dancing the night away!

We're so glad you were able to join us last night, having some fun in Las Vegas, experiencing the Wynn, Encore and Tryst and helping out two great causes.

When we heard PWAP selected the St. Jude’s Ranch for Children as their charity, Wynn decided we wanted to do our part to support the Foundation and an organization that’s doing great work in the Las Vegas Valley – protecting its most vulnerable children.

We threw our full support behind this effort and subsidized not only the venue but also the beverages (which we hope you all enjoyed)! Along with the Founding Partner, GES, any many other fantasic partners – Wynn was proud to be the Venue Partner.
We'd love to hear from you - What was your favorite part of last night? Post a comment or let us know on Twitter at @wynnlasvegas - be sure to use hastag #pcma11.

Photography by Jacob Slaton

What Happens at Party With a Purpose...

Roy Benear
Senior Vice President
Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau




In our industry, we all know that conventions inject their host communities with a significant economic boost, which drives the local economy, supports public programs and keeps hotels busy. What’s special about the PCMA Annual Meeting: Convening Leaders, though, is that through Party With a Purpose (PWAP), which takes place tonight from 9:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m. at Tryst, at the Wynn, we’re all able to directly impact the lives of real people in each community.

How do we do it? PCMA donates proceeds of ticket sales to a local charity; this year, it’s St. Jude’s Ranch for Children, dedicated to healing and caring for abused, abandoned, and neglected children. And every year, through PWAP, we also raise money for the PCMA Education Foundation, PCMA’s Network for the Needy.

It’s a good cause, and it’s a great party - so great this year that it's already sold out! The Austin CVB is signing on again in 2011 as the official live music sponsor, and Austin rockers, Skyrocket, are back by popular demand. Skyrocket will perform your favorite hits from the 70s and 80s (got a request? Tweet it to @MeetAustin, using the hashtag #AustinRocks, and you could win a call-out from the stage before Skyrocket plays your song! Careful, though – you sure you want everyone knowing that you love Devo?). We’ve created a campaign this year to help you get to know Skyrocket; they’re blogging from the road as they drive their vintage bus from Austin to Vegas. Check it out.

By participating in PWAP, we’re proud to say that the Austin CVB has helped to grow this annual event and increase the amount PCMA donates to each charity.

This year, you can benefit, too. Austin CVB representatives and our partners (Continental Airlines, Radisson Austin Hotel & Suites, Austin Convention Center, Marriott Courtyard and Residence Inn Austin Downtown, Hilton Austin, and Hyatt Regency Austin Downtown on the Lake) will be on site at PWAP, handing out a limited number of poker chips. Find and collect a chip from each of us, then bring your chips to the Austin area at PWAP and you’ll be entered to win a weekend in Austin, an Amazon Kindle, and more. Talk about a win-win.

Onsite: What I Hope to Gain

Alisha Ernst
Student
Kansaa State University

I want to take a moment to introduce myself and thank PCMA. I am a senior at Kansas State University majoring in Hotel and Restaurant Management. PCMA has blessed me with an amazing scholarship opportunity that is allowing me to attend the Annual Meeting: Convening Leaders for the first time. I think many would agree I could not ask for a better location for my first meeting!

Which brings me to my next task, I was asked to give the students perspective on my expectations for Convening Leaders. I did not want to develop any unrealistic expectations on what this meeting will entails. However, based on what I have heard from previous attendees and what i'm seeing already, I do not think I could come up with any unrealistic expectations. It's only Sunday, but it appears it is going to be an absolutely amazing event filled with extraordinary attendees and speakers.

While this event is so important for industry professionals to continue their education and see new ideas and thoughts, it is equally important for students. Through our classes we gain a really good base knowledge of the industry, but this meeting allows us to see beyond just the face of the industry and to see what it really means to plan meetings and conventions. I look forward to learning about the nitty gritty details of the business, the good, the bad, and the ugly. So I have established 3 specific goals for the conference:

1. Meet an individual who holds a position in the industry that I have not even fathomed
2. Attend a lecture that intimidates me and see what I can gain from it
3. Learn what the industry is doing to go green (as this is one of my major passions)

On a more general note, during the next few days I look forward to hearing from wonderful speakers who are experts in the field. I hope to meet attendees at all levels of their careers and hear about their paths and current positions.

As far as preparing for the next few days goes, I think we can say the meeting planners at PCMA have done it all for us! I've used the PCMA 365 Portal to schedule my classes and create an itinerary. I read about the amazing evening events and receptions (and I bought my Party With a Purpose ticket!). I look forward to meeting all of you during our time here!