PCMA's annual meeting, held January 6 to 9 at Gaylord Opryland's Convention Hotel in Nashville, Tenn., drew close to 2,300 registrants (1,239 professional members, 632 suppliers, and the remaining students, faculty, and guests). That's about 700 fewer than the year before in Miami. Among the highlights of the meeting:

• Journalists Cokie and Steve Roberts entertained the audience with insider anecdotes about Washington, while futurist Ed Barlow said in the opening session that the key to success in this century is “staying in alignment with a world that is characterized by complexity, diversity, and rapid pace of change.” The final banquet featured such musical performing stars as the Temptations, Leon Russell, and Sam Moore.

• Six Continents Hotels and PCMA have joined forces in an educational program aimed at helping meeting planners in Latin America. Training curriculum will be developed in Spanish and Portuguese, and educational sessions are planned for key cities in the region. The alliance aims to create a CMP program for Latin American meeting planners.

• PCMA announced a partnership with the American Management Association in which members receive discount pricing on AMA seminars. The AMA will also be offering seminars at PCMA's Learning Center in Chicago. Further programs and curriculum for the center were to be announced shortly after the meeting.

• PCMA has launched two new CMP study group programs.

For more information about any of the PCMA programs mentioned here, contact the association at: (312) 423-7271; or visit www.pcma.org.