MPI Roundup: Planning for the Dems, Asia Office, More

November 15, meeting professionals of all political stripes will come together in Denver to discuss the opportunities and challenges of next summer’s Democratic National Convention, which is expected to draw 35,000 delegates, politicians, members of the media, and political junkies to the region from August 25 to 28.

Meeting Professionals International Rocky Mountain Chapter, working with the Denver Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau has organized an educational forum to bring meeting and hospitality professionals together with the Democratic National Committee’s planning groups.

Among those expected at the November 15 event at the Colorado Convention Center are Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper; Cameron Moody, deputy CEO, operations, 2008 Democratic National Convention Committee; and Mike Dino, CEO, Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee.

In other news from the MPI community:

• The association opened a Singapore office on October 25, complementing its offices in Toronto and Luxembourg, as well as its worldwide headquarters in Dallas. Michael Tay, an adjunct professor at the University of Las Vegas, Singapore campus, has been named MPI’s director of operations, Asia-Pacific.
• The New England Chapter of MPI announced last week that its association management company, Harrington Management Inc., had elected to end its six-year relationship with the chapter. It will be soliciting proposals for an April 2008 management transition.
• At MPI headquarters in Dallas, Junior Tauvaa has been named vice president, member care and chapter business management. Tauvaa had served as senior director, sales operations and market development, at LA Inc., the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau, for the last seven years.