Convene - August 2015

A
R
T
C
R
E
D
I
T
PCMA.ORG AUGUST 2015 PCMA CONVENE 17

Mark Your Calendar

PCMA Events

2015 Global Professionals Conference (APAC)

Melbourne, Australia

Aug. 31–Sept. 3

2015 North American Advisory Summit

Ixtapan de la Sal, Mexico

Sept. 23–24

2015 Global Medical Meetings Summit

Edinburgh, Scotland

Nov. 13–16

Industry Events ASAE Annual Meeting & Expo

Detroit

Aug. 8–11

14th Annual Meetings Industry Summit

Seattle

Sept. 11

IMEX America

Las Vegas

Oct. 13–15

PCMA SCHOLARSHIPS

Calling All Students

PCMA has three fall scholarships available, with the nomination period running from Aug. 24–Oct. 1:

› The PCMA Chairmen’s Convening Leaders Scholarship, supported by NYC

& Company, offers two PCMA student members registration, housing, and airfare to Convening Leaders 2016 — as well as a $2,500 tuition-based award. › Five PCMA student members will win a PCMA Convening Leaders Scholarship, which provides complimentary registration, housing, and airfare to Convening Leaders 2016.

› The $1,000 Student Chapter of the Year Award goes to two current PCMA student chapters to fund educational, community-service, or membership programs during the 2016 school year.

For more information, visit convn .org/fallscholarships.

CHAPTER CORNER

Canada East Will
Get Innovative

The first year, 250 people showed up. The second
year, it was 360. This November — when the
Canadian Innovation Conference travels to the
Metro Toronto Convention Centre and the Inter-
Continental Toronto Centre — organizers expect
upward of 500 attendees. “It’s gone viral,” said
Chuck Schouwerwou, CMP, CMM, president-elect
of PCMA’s Canada East chapter and a conference
planning committee co-chair. “If we hit 500, we’ve
outgrown our plenary room, so we’re looking for
innovative ways to increase seating capacity.”
Why the bump? Schouwerwou, president of Con-
ferSense Planners, thinks it’s a testament both to
the inspirational programming — “Our keynotes are
amazing, and the networking events are mind-blow-
ing” — as well as Canadian meeting professionals’
thirst for education on their own side of the border.

Given the exchange rate, “more and more Canadian employers will not pay for their staff to be sent to the United States for education,” Schouwerwou said.

“With employers not allowing their staff to go, how
are planners supposed to get their CEUs?”
Keynote speakers will include
Canadian celebrity chef Michael
Smith and authors Nancy Vonk and
Janet Kestin, the minds behind Dove’s
Campaign for Real Beauty. The cost
for two days of programming for plan-
ner members is $125. “It’s an incred-
ible deal,” Schouwerwou said. “We
partner with hotels, airlines, and rail
to make sure this is a very affordable
conference.” One of those partners,
Tourism Toronto, is both sponsoring
the closing party and hosting a pre-
conference fam trip.

For more information, visit convn .org/canadianinnovation2015.

News From
PCMA.org

Keep informed about the latest news and developments in the meetings industry by subscribing to the daily newsletter PCMA News Junkie at pcma.co/ NJsubscribe — and by becoming a regular visitor to pcma.org. Here’s a sampling of recent stories:

› This Is Becoming One of the Most Essential Pieces of Your Job Search What do LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook accounts have in common? They’re part of a social-media presence that employers review when considering new candidates.

› Your Post-Vacation Guide to Feeling Better These five tips might not resurrect your vacation, but they will definitely help ease office reentry.