PLENARY Florida Encounter
CONVENE ON SITE
An Encounter With
Old Florida
Now in its 34th year, Florida Encounter brings meeting planners and Florida-based suppliers together for three days of face-to-face appointments, educational
sessions, and local activities. For many participants, it’s also
a much-anticipated reunion with comrades and colleagues,
as well as an excuse to get better acquainted with the show’s
host city.
“It was like speed dating meets meeting planning ... in a
good way,” said Mike Broder, president of Super Conventions,
which produces Florida Supercon, Magic City Comicon, and
ANIMATE! MIAMI, who attended Florida Encounter 2015
on Nov. 30–Dec. 2. “It’s interesting to be able to meet with
so many CVBs and properties in a short amount of time. We
have a few strong leads that will hopefully bear fruit for future
events, so it was worth the trip, and it’s fun to hang out and get
to know other meeting planners in a comfortable atmosphere.”
This year, Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort hosted
the VISIT FLORIDA–sponsored event — which was
especially fitting, because the AAA Four Diamond resort
completed an $85-million renovation in 2013 and is still
rolling out new elements throughout its 1,350-acre property.
Florida Encounter guests were first treated to a close-up of
the resort’s prime oceanfront location during the opening
evening reception, which took over the large stretch of beach
fronting its main pools. Guests were asked to stick to an all-
white dress code, and a live band singing top- 40 hits made
the setup — comfortable lounge areas mixed with multiple
food and drink stations — lively and warm.
The first day of Florida Encounter brought the 85 meeting
planners and 95 suppliers in attendance together for morning
appointments, followed by a keynote lunch featuring Cheryl
Cecchetto, founder and president of Sequoia Productions,
who has produced the Academy Awards Governors Ball for
more than 25 years. Cecchetto left the crowd motivated and
chatty after sharing stories of event-planning highs and high
jinks, in addition to gifting the crowd copies of her book,
Passion to Create: Your Invitation to Celebrate.
That afternoon, the Omni’s executive chef, Daven Wardyn-ski, gave our group of 10 journalists a personal tour of one of
the resort’s new additions, The Sprouting Project. A storage-shed-turned-greenhouse, The Sprouting Project grows
everything from strawberries to mint. A few feet away, several
beehives churn out more than 1,400 pounds of palmetto
honey annually, a small jar of which we received as a parting
gift. The greenhouse and the space around it also serve as an
