Meeting Planner Mascots

Democrats have donkeys, Republicans have elephants, but what animal would be represent meeting planners? We recently asked readers to nominate their favorite mascot candidates.

The most nominations went to the octopus, which one reader described as “agreed upon universally as the seafood most able to multitask.”

The runner-up mascot prize goes to the kangaroo, which is planner-like because, as one reader said, “We carry the gestating meeting(s) with us wherever we go, hopping from one aspect of planning to another and always trying to stay balanced.”

Also on the Ticket:

The chimpanzee: Why? “We have to pretend to be human when we're totally fried and having to function with what's left on the break table; although we are civil and courteous to ignorant attendees, we then turn around and stick out our tongues and make faces at our co-workers; we wear the same clothes for 18-plus hours — so no wonder we may occasionally have to scratch ourselves! And with all of the above, we are really quite lovable.”
— Joanna Ward, CMP, Pennsylvania Association of Realtors

The bumble bee: “We buzz around from task to task looking for the perfect venue to hold our events. We build the event, much like the honeycomb is built, until we have perfection. We then bottle that honey, build on it, and carry it with us, using bits of it sparingly until the process starts all over again.”
— Jill M. Sigler

The penguin: We not only look good in formal wear for fine dining events, but we also have “happy feet” and are in it for the long haul.
— Kay E. Hathaway, administrator, American Society of Civil Engineers

The chameleon: “Because we have to be everything to everybody.”
— April L. Coles, CMP, IEEE Meeting & Conference Management

Many thanks to all who contributed their nominations and got out the vote!