Gathering during the FICP Midwest Regional Meeting were (top row, from left): Michele Skolnick, Doral Golf Resort; Amanda Boller, Banker’s Life & Casualty; Melissa Chamber, Aviva USA; Colleen Brzozowski, Grand Traverse Resort; Tina Chambers, Sol Meliá Hotels; and Lindsay Conway, Kuoni Destination Management; (bottom row, from left): Kathy Kozminske, Hinton + Grusich; Kelly Clement, The Townsend Hotel; J.J. Barlow, The Coeur d’Alene Resort; and Jen Klosner, Thrivent Financial.

Hosted by the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park, September 22–23, the FICP Midwest Region Meeting drew 50 planners and hospitality partners for education on topics including trends, personal development, work/life balance, and generational diversity.

Keynote speaker Andy Core, a “lifestyle realist,” provided an action plan for life balance, sharing 10 core principles for living a successful, healthy life. The meeting’s second keynote speaker, Michelle Lapierre, titled her presentation “Generation Wise,” and provided an engaging look at the differences in Baby Boomers, Gen-X, and Gen-Y, and how to manage the multiple generations represented in today’s workplace.

Two panel discussions also highlighted the agenda. The first focused on overcoming perceptions of extravagance with regard to destinations and other negative media attention projected on the meetings industry. The second session, “Understanding Your Counterparts,” gave planners and hospitality partners an open forum in which to cover everyday questions that often go unasked.

To close the meeting, Brad Parsons, Fairmont executive chef, prepared lunch while demonstrating cooking techniques and menus that use locally grown, sustainable products. He encouraged planners to think outside the box and try customized menus for their catered events. To give back to the community, attendees brought books to give to the local children’s hospital and Ronald McDonald House.