Excitement is building as hundreds of meeting planners and exhibitors plan to head to the 40th Religious Conference Management Association’s World Conference & Expo, January 24-27, Kansas City, Mo. There’s still time to register.

The opening general session will kick off with speaker Juliet Funt. She’ll talk about how to find practical solutions to the problem of “too much to do with too little time.”

Funt is the daughter of Allen Funt of the long-running “Candid Camera” television series. Funt, who lives in Los Angeles, has spoken at many meeting industry association conferences, including Meeting Professionals International, the American Society of Association Executives, and the Financial and Insurance Conference Planners.

We asked her how she deals with stage jitters. “The best way I know is to adopt a mindset of service. I look at audience members and imagine them personally benefiting from my program and that gets me off of thinking about whether they will like me.”

Drawing on her years of experience as a performer, as a human resource trainer for the Los Angeles Police Department, and as a liaison for a Palestinian/Israeli peace project, she brings an astute understanding of what makes people tick, and how they can be more productive.

“I’m looking forward to speaking at RCMA. It’s a great organization and the job members do is very important.”

Among the conference’s highlights will be a special tribute for Dr. DeWayne Woodring, who has retired as RCMA’s executive director after 30 years of service with the association. The tribute will take place at 6:15 p.m. at the Marriott Hotel Downtown, kicking off the final night gala banquet. The 12 Irish Tenors will perform an exclusive show for RCMA during the banquet.