MPI REDEFINES THE POWER OF MEETINGS The value of meetings and events to organizations around the world has only one way to go: up. That's the word from Meeting Professional International's World Education Congress 2000 in Los Angeles, held from July 9 to 11. From the special-effects-filled opening general session, at which MPI rolled out its new brand to some 3,500 attendees, to the gala closing party at Universal Studios, MPI positioned the importance of meetings not only to members, but to CEOs and managers, industry sponsors, and business partners alike. Throughout the conference, MPI made visual its promise to shape and define the meeting and event industry with its new multicolored globe logo and tagline, MPI: Defining the Power of Meetings.

The new logo is only a part of MPI's two-year, volunteer-run branding effort, which includes a revamped mission statement, key messages, and an updated Web site, www.mpiweb.org, unveiled at the conference. What does it all mean to members and the organizations that employ them? According to its new mission statement, MPI's commitment to the meeting industry worldwide will continue to empower its members and supply global resources for the meeting industry. It also intends to shape the future of meetings through trend analysis and other research, as well as to define and promote a return on investment.