ASIAN GOLD RIBBON CAMPAIGN: Show Solidarity Against Anti-Asian Racism by Wearing a Gold Ribbon this May Asian Gold Ribbon Day takes place on Thursday, May 20, 2021, corresponding with Asian Heritage month The Asian Gold Ribbon 2021 Campaign is urging individuals, organizations, and communities to demonstrate solidarity against Asian racism and to recognize its profound
B-I-N-G-O led to F-U-N for over 50 players at PCMA Gulf State Chapter’s Virtual Bingo Happy Hour last Thursday. There were 15 individual winners of over $2,500 worth of prizes which included luxury hotel stays, sports event tickets, gift cards and much more.
Mental health and sleep disorder seem to be at the top of many people’s challenges in the meeting and hospitality industry. These were two of the topics focused on by Dr. Taunya Kiefer during her talk, Mind & Body Wellness: Balancing it all in the “New Norm” at a recent PCMA Gulf States Chapter roundtable.
Congratulations to one of our own, Amanda Wells, CMP, currently serving the PCMA Gulf States Board as President-Elect, was recently named the 2021 Colleen Rickenbacher Leadership Award recipient by the MPI Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter at its 19th Annual CMP/CMM Breakfast last week.
Feeling overwhelmed? Feel like your to-do list is just too much to tackle? Well, Sherron Washington, Founder and CEO of P3 Solution, shared some methods and solutions during her high-energy and entertaining presentation, Bite-Sized Goal Setting in our New Reality, last week with the PCMA Gulf States Chapter members. The “Lunch & Learn” session was
Happy Spring, PCMA Gulf States Members! I hope this finds you well and feeling optimistic. Vaccine rollouts are underway, successful GMID celebrations happened last week and hotels & destinations are beginning to see leisure and group travel increase. We’ve come a long way since this time last year!
Congratulations to PCMA Gulf States Chapter member Amy Simon of Dallas who is the March recipient of a free resume review as part of a contest for posting on the Gulf States Chapter social media platforms.
While many groups have already had their first taste of virtual meetings and many have had multiple shots at it, identifying the type of engagement you want for a specific meeting and then creating an accurate budget for that event can be challenging. Cindy Lo, CEO of Red Velvet, a full-service creative events agency based
A New Collective Impact Approach Offers Inclusive Entry-Level Opportunities for the Meetings and Events Industry Our industry is committed to providing more job opportunities for all individuals. For those interested in pursuing a career in event planning or tradeshow management, an apprenticeship program may be your best first stop to gain hands-on experience working with
Contracts with facilities and other vendors are usually the most intimidating part of a meeting planner’s job as it relates to selecting a location and event partners. These same contracts can be difficult for the facilities and vendors as well in working to making a meeting happen. “I really try and pride myself on building
Trying to grab an employer’s attention in today’s world is daunting for most job seekers that’s why Gina Meier says she likes job candidates that make their resumes visually appealing. “I don’t necessarily mean pretty, but I mean something that’s sort of easy to read and gives me your professional background,” said the PCMA Director
Meet Jason Ware, Vice President, Convention Housing Operations & Contracting When interacting with Jason Ware, one can’t miss his upbeat personality, his passions for many things in life and his overall enthusiasm. He is energized positivity personified. Ware has shared this exuberance with others during his over 20 years in the meeting industry and is
Sharing Engagement Successes Shorter sessions, more breaks and chat games were just some of the virtual audience engagement successes Tracy Lake, CMP, shared with the Gulf States viewers at the chapter’s first roundtable of the year last week. Lake, Director of Events for FastSigns, is a veteran meeting planner and is known for her creative
Meet Alicia Miller, Director of Sales and Marketing at Courtyard & Residence Inn, Austin Coming from a family of teachers, educators and family service providers, Alicia Miller saw her future following a similar path as she entered college at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio. Miller, one of the new 2021 PCMA Gulf States Chapter
Using their fingers and phones, participants in PCMA Gulf States Chapter’s first meeting in 2021 enjoyed guessing what each other was drawing as much as their own creation. This activity, along with chapter information and group discussions highlighted Tuesday’s on-line reception held in conjunction with the 2021 PCMA Convening Leaders Conference. New chapter president, Amy
Happy New Year and CHEERS to 2021! I am honored to serve as your President, alongside a phenomenal Board, as we adjust to the changes in our industry and the world. Thank you to Arron Brooks, Immediate Past President for his leadership last year. We’ve all learned so much and as hard as it has
Greetings Gulf States PCMA Members, What a wild ride 2020 has been! Never would I have imagined what the year would have in store, for both our industry and Chapter. As I write my last letter as Chapter President, I’m excited for what we were able to accomplish, and what 2021 will bring. Although we
Charcuterie boards are much more than meats and cheeses as on-line members learned when they took part in last week’s PCMA Gulf States Chapter Happy Hour which was highlighted by a presentation from Inspiration Catering of Arlington, Texas. The audience was treated to Inspiration Catering owners Kristene and Manny Toledo’s visual and descriptive solutions to
PCMA Gulf States Chapter has selected the listed individuals whom we believe have the skills, dedication, and integrity to provide outstanding leadership to our chapter during their term of office. The 2021 Gulf States Board of Directors is excited to lead the chapter to further success and provide our members with a great sense of
PCMA Gulf States Chapter has selected the listed individuals whom we believe have the skills, dedication, and integrity to provide outstanding leadership to our chapter during their term of office. Please be aware that as a member in good standing you have the right to challenge this slate as indicated in the chapter bylaws. If
Start preparing early, have plenty of staff assigned to specific areas, and have a back-up plan were just some of the hot tips put forth by the Red Velvet team of Anna Gryglewska and Jason Sick when discussing executing virtual events last Wednesday during the PCMA Gulf States on-line program. Gryglewska and Sick, who have
Meet Lori A. Carper, Director of Meetings and International, Houston Association of Realtors. Lori Carper is in her 22nd year working for the Houston Association of Realtors. She leads a team which is in charge of 20+ meetings a year, so when her in-person meetings came to a halt and she needed to learn how
Be flexible. Be creative. Expand your knowledge. Show your value. These were just a few of the suggestions put forth by the expert panelists in the PCMA Gulf States Chapter August 27th program: Stay Calm and Make a Plan: Proving your Value and Adapting through Disruption. The program, hosted by Steven Foster, CMP of Foster+Fathom,
Meet Leslie Petro, CMP, Supervisor, People, Growth and Engagement with HORNE LLP. As an event supervisor for her firm, Leslie Petro really enjoys the meetings and conventions she helps plan both internally and externally. And then there is what she calls the “fun stuff.” This is the time of year that Petro gets to enjoy
Meet Marla Roe, Executive Director, Visit Frisco If you will drive seven hours for a baseball game or a football game, you probably are a pretty big sports fan. Marla Roe is just that. Growing up in Brownsville, Roe would need to make that seven-hour, family road trip north to Houston if she wanted to
Meet Sarah Kokernot, CEM, CMP, Director of Meetings & Events for Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care Society. Sarah Kokernot hopes she will be lying on a nice, hot beach in Kawaii in December relaxing after successfully planning and executing a meeting on the Hawaiian island and reflecting on this wild, exhausting year. But for now,
Meet Kimberly Castanuela, Senior Logistics Manager, for Vizient, Inc. Kimberly Castanuela has just finished an hour-and-a-half virtual meeting about clinical skills for her members and later today she will be heading into an internal meeting to discuss a digital platform for her company’s larger meetings that will go on-line later in the year. Such is
Meet Elaine Williams, Director of Sales at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans There is a pretty good chance that if you have ever planned a meeting at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans you have met Elaine Williams. If you haven’t, Williams wants to meet you. Williams, the
Meet Brenda Teichroeb, Director of Sales and Catering, The RK Culinary Group at Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. As San Antonio hits triple digits this week during the usual hot Texas summer, Brenda Teichroeb is right where she wants to be. Like they say, ‘If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.’
Meet Geraldine Bordelon, CMP, Director of Destination Sales at Visit Baton Rouge. Visit Baton Rouge was feeling really good about 2020 when an event it had been preparing for some time was a huge success. “We had a great event, it was a tourism event in March. We worked on it for two years and
Meet Dr. Tracy Ginsburg, Ed. D, CAE, Executive Director for the Texas Association of School Business Officials. Ever since Dr. Tracy Ginsburg went to her first Texas Association of School Business Officials (TASBO) conference in El Paso, she has been a big believer in both the association and the conference environment. “I went to my
Meet Amy Simon, Director of Events for AEG Presents at the Theater at Grand Prairie Social distancing and being apart from family and friends is tough enough for most people during this current environment, but for someone in the meeting planning industry, it is even more of a challenge since most everyone in this business
Meet Melissa Ariate Jarvis, Director, Scientific Conferences and Meetings Programming for the American Heart Association. When her hotel contacts and meeting planning colleagues find out Melissa Jarvis graduated from Cornell University, they just assume she majored in hospitality. Ranked No. 1 in BestSchools.org 2019 rankings of schools producing hospitality management degrees, Cornell has long been
Meet Tonya, Farmer, CMP, Meetings Director, International Association of Venue Managers When Tonya Farmer was ready to go back full-time into the meeting planning business after taking two and a half years off to raise her now four-year-old daughter, she found that the business wasn’t quite ready for her. “I had a lot of experience,
Karen Aytes has a dream of being a meeting planner. As a new member of PCMA and the Gulf States Chapter, Aytes has been taking the steps to hopefully one day work in the industry that she feels fulfills her natural traits of planning and making people happy. “I love planning things – meetings, weddings,
Jennifer Brown is a student again. She is not back in school per se like her time as a Speech Communication major at University of California-Fresno or Fresno Pacific University where she received her Master of Arts in Organizational Development. No, this time Brown, like most everyone in the meetings world, is navigating the galaxy
Feeding her creative juices and her zest for innovation, Samantha Vogel, CMP, loves her position at GameStop where she is able to utilize her talents to the fullest. Innovation, however, has had a whole new meaning in this COVID-19 world as this Sr. Manager of Meetings and Travel and her GameStop (the video game store
Last week the chapter hosted our final in person education event for 2019 at Live! by Loews Arlington. A very special thank you to Visit Denver and the PCMA Education Foundation for making the luncheon possible. Our PCMA Best in Class Speaker, Sourabh Kothari, presented on Building on Neuroscience Princes for Storytelling. His presentation touched
Member Name Victor Fernandez 2020 Gulf States Board of Director at Large Current Position & Company Sales Executive – Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority The first concert I went to was? Ozzy & Motley Crue! What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Peanut Butter/Chocolate What would people be surprised to know about you?
Join us in recognizing our new and renewing PCMA Gulf States Chapter members! Welcome to all the new and renewing members of the Gulf States Chapter this month: Katherine Putnam Patrick Espinoza Melanie Hoover Amy Tran Susan Booth Jennifer Gustafson Melissa Read Jason Purifoy Liz Polom Laura Garcia Kristina Elizondo Nathan Joel Kasselder Lisa Jackson
Attention Suppliers and Planners! Are you planning to attend the November Lunch and Learn? Bring a Supplier or Planner friend and be entered in a drawing for fabulous prizes! Suppliers who bring at least one Planner (PCMA member or nonmember) will be entered into the prize drawing. Planners attending with a Supplier (PCMA Member or
Member Name: Nann S. Philips CMP, CMM, DES Current Position & Company: Owner & CEO, Scurry Street Meeting Management Current Involvement with Gulf States Chapter: 2019 Programs Committee Co-Chair The first concert I went to was? Olivia Newton-John, the “Physical” tour! What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? I don’t
Join us in recognizing our members’ achievements and welcome our new or renewing Gulf States members! Welcome to all the new or renewing Gulf States PCMA Members this month: Jason Purifoy Arron Brooks Kristina Elizondo Lisa Jackson Bree Busse Christine McInnis Do you have a promotion or special announcement that you’d like to share
Members are what make our chapter run. We are starting a new feature in our newsletter, that highlights the many members of PCMA Gulf States. Would you like to be included in an upcoming spotlight? Please take a moment to complete the form, and you may be spotlighted in an upcoming newsletter! Complete Your Member
The PCMA (Chapter) nominating committee met to determine the final slate of 2020 board officers and directors for open positions. PCMA bylaws require the official announcement of the proposed slate to be sent to its membership. The nominating process, according to the bylaws, allows for additional nominations for any officer or director position by members
The PCMA Gulf States Chapter, representing more than 300 members throughout Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, is seeking applications for its 2019 Board of Directors. We are seeking: (1) President-Elect (1) Treasurer (1) Secretary (2) Directors-at-Large Click here for full committee descriptions and responsibilities. Applications due Monday, September 9, 2018 To apply, complete the online application
The Gulf States Chapter of the Professional Convention Management Association is seeking proposals to provide support to the chapter fulfilling the role of Chapter Administrator.
Free registration now available for Business Events Professional members for all educational and networking events, all year!
Thank you to everyone who was able to join us for our chapter reception and silent auction at Convening Leaders. With your support, we were able to raise more than $3,200 for educational and member engagement initiatives.
Exciting news! In 2019, we will have TWO silent auction events to help the chapter continue to provide the best educational and networking resources for our members. Donate your items today!