The Meetings Group magazines, Primedia Business & Media held the Beyond Borders Conference during The Motivation Show on September 17 at Chicago’s McCormick Place. The conference focused on issues and challenges of interest to planners of events outside the U.S., complementing the annual Beyond Borders supplement, which is published with the June and July issues of Corporate Meetings & Incentives, Association Meetings, Medical Meetings, Insurance Conference Planner, and Religious Conference Manager.
The morning session, BBC World Roundtables, featured the following topics and experts:
Cross-Cultural Communications: Harith Wickrema, president, Harith Productions, harith@harithproductions.com; Jeffrey Newman, director, meetings and exhibits dept., American Oil Chemists Society, jeffn@aocs.org; and Michael Wynne, president, International Management Consulting Associates, mykwyn@aol.com
Contracts/Negotiations: Attorney Kevin Kenny, Carlson Marketing, kkenny@carlson.com; and Attorney Lisa Stegink, Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg, LStegink@ngelaw.com
Budgeting/Currency: Guido Schulz, regional director, Ruesch International and Glen Ramsborg, president, Ramsborg Group Ltd., gramsborg@ramsborg.com
Shipping/Customs: Jeannette Mucha, national sales director, R.E. Rodgers Inc., jmucha@rerogers.com
Insurance: Paulette Norman, assistant vice president, Marsh Affinity Group, paulette.norman@marshpm.com
On-Site: Laurie Fitzgerald, convention manager, Allstate Insurance, lfitzger@allstate.com.
The afternoon session, called On High Alert: Crisis Control for Meetings--Blackouts, SARS, Terrorism: Are You Prepared for the Next Crisis?, featured the following panelists:
Laurie Fitzgerald, convention manager, Allstate Insurance Co., Northbrook, IL;
Robert W. Guy, managing director. Pacific World Destination Management (S) Pte Ltd, Singapore;
Attorney Jonathan T. Howe, Howe & Hutton, Ltd., Chicago, IL; jth@howehutton.com
Ed Kinne, director, industry relations, Carlson Marketing Group, Minneapolis, MN ; ekinne@carlson.com and
Richard Werth, CPP, Event & Meeting Security Services, Franklin, Tenn.
We would also like to thank our partners Hall-Erickson, organizers of The Motivation Show; Attendee Management Inc., for online registration services, and software powered by Reg 123, a product of Certain Software; and PQH Productions, our Webcasting company.