As we participate in the annual Global Meetings Industry Day, it seems so much has changed in the world since the inaugural event on April 14th, 2016. Now more than ever, we need to come together as one voice for our leaders about the value of our business to the world economy.
In 2016, at Orlando’s #GMID we had an epic line up of education and speakers. Unique learning environments and plenty of opportunity to network. Here are 3 of my favorite highlights from last year.
1. On stage learning to mush with my team with help from keynote speaker, Chris Heeter.
2. Disney speaker, Anne Hamilton speaking about communicating the value of meetings to others.
3. MPI Panel – proud to support MPI. It was great to see them partner with everyone and discuss why meetings matter, why #meetingsmeanbusiness.
This year, Exhilarate is proud to be sponsoring speaker Shari Harley of Candid Culture, the presentation giveaway at her keynote address.
Meetings Mean Business encourages you to say your story of why meetings matter. Here is mine:
I’m a small business owner, as many of us are in this industry, and the slightest turn in the economy could mean devastation for business. Personally, I know my company suffered from the uncontrollable effects of the economic recession in 2009-2010. It effected 80% of my clients and in turn, my company took a huge loss in business. With budgets slashed and programs cancelled, it took everything we had to keep the doors open and still many years to turn it around to come back on top. I remember thinking how I felt like I had no voice, no choices, and no control. Then I began to think, the perception of meetings and events needed to change. We needed to emphasis on why they were important, for our communities, relationships, and economy. For this reason, I am proud to stand behind Meetings Mean Business. Meetings matter.
Last year’s event was a great experience for me. I looking forward to following #GMID17 and the journey to furthering our strides into the future of meetings and events. Hope to see you there.