FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Karin P. Koser * KPK & Co. * 404-636-9311 * karin@kpkco.com
Muminah Henderson * KPK & Co. * 404-636-9311 * Muminah@kpkco.com
Top Industry Educators Present
at 2008 GaMPI Meetings Exploration Conference
Atlanta, GA, March 14, 2008 – Meeting professionals- get set to be engaged and inspired to become your best now! Meeting Professionals International, Georgia chapter hopes to do all that with its 2008 Meetings Exploration Conference (MEC), which will be held April 15-16 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, Georgia.
Opening this year’s Conference are former U.S. Marine captains and leadership strategists Angie Morgan and Courtney Lynch. This duo authored the book Leading from the Front (McGraw-Hill), prior to founding Lead Star, an organization committed to inspiring and developing leaders. Their presentations are engaging, informative, challenging and rewarding.
An array of educational workshops are scheduled to be held which will be relevant to all levels of meeting industry professionals; topics include: Meeting Management, Technology, Marketing, Legal IQ and Leadership.
Featured workshops and presenters are:
"What it takes to Lead" by Michele Wierzgac, MS, CMM and MPI Platinum Speaker. Michele is the founder of Michele & Company, a meeting management and consulting firm, restructured in 2002 to focus on speaking, training and facilitating.
"Trends in Today's Incentive Market" by Bob Vitaligano, CITE, who has served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the Society of Incentive & Travel Executives (SITE) for six years and conducted the Society's business in 30 countries.
Tom Schulte, CEO or Recalibrate Professional Development presenting "Creating a Culture of Leadership" based on his years of leadership development experience working with Fortune 500 leaders.
"What Time is the Noon Lunch? Maintaining Your Sanity in Our Wonderful World of Meetings" by Todd Hunt, President of The Hunt Company and author of "Does Anal Retentive Have a Hyphen?" and "Pardon Me, But That's a Really Stupid Sign!"
"Legal IQ: Compliance to Meeting Laws in today's World" by Jonathan T. Howe, Esq, President and Senior Partner of Howe & Hutton, Ltd. Mr. Howe serves as general counsel for Meeting Professional International and the International Special Events Society, among others. He is one of the few lawyers in the United States to have argued before the United States Supreme Court.
"Work/Life Balance: Do you Work in a Professional Prison or a Professional Paradise?" presented by Vicki Hess, Principal, Catalysts Consulting, LLC. Vicki calls herself an “Escape Artist” who helps people “escape” from Professional Prison and provides their passport to Professional Paradise.
The closing session, in partnership with Georgia Society of Association Executives (GSAE), will feature keynote speaker Linda Armstrong-Kelly, mother of seven-time Tour de France Champion Lance Armstrong, who credits her as the unsung hero who assisted him in reaching his spectacular cycling victories - and in his triumph over cancer.
“By having Linda as our keynoter, we hope her story will captivate and inspire our attendees, as she shares her meaningful life-solutions for maintaining a positive attitude, setting and reaching goals and how to turn bad choices into life-learning opportunities,” said Cynthia Alford, CMP, GaMPI President.
Workshop topics during the two-day event include marketing, maximizing Microsoft Outlook, Meetings Management 101 and 102, Strategic Meetings Management and Trends in Today’s Incentive Market. In addition, a comprehensive trade show of meeting suppliers is accessible to all registrants.
The MEC is open to meetings professionals, industry suppliers and anyone interested in the meetings industry; registrants may sign up at www.gampi.org under the Events tab.
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About GaMPI
Meeting Professionals International (MPI) is the premier organization devoted to the educational and professional needs of people in the meeting industry. With over 20,000 members globally, MPI serves both meeting planners and suppliers to the industry.
The Georgia Chapter of MPI (GaMPI), 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 Chapter of the Year, is currently the 5th largest chapter, with over 900 members. Throughout the year, GaMPI offers superior educational opportunities including retreats and workshops, coordinates several social outings annually, as well as networking receptions prior to each monthly meeting.
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