SeaWorld’s dolphin exhibit allowed planners to come face to face with the friendly locals by feeding them ice chips over top of the glass enclosure.

The main stage set in Hall E of the San Diego Convention Center offered compelling visuals and lighting for the conference’s 4,200 in-person attendees.

PCMA President & CEO Sherrif Karamat opened the conference by speaking about issues that are critical to the meetings and events industry: Artificial intelligence and climate change.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former U.S. President Bill Clinton spoke for 45 minutes with Convening Leaders moderator Holly Ransom during the keynote session on day two. They addressed recent challenges around the world but also drew upon their deep experience to give meeting planners good advice on leading teams and making tough decisions. (Read more in this article.) Photo by Jacob Slaton, Whatever Media Group

The San Diego Convention Center’s terraces that overlook the bay were popular with attendees.

Storycraft Labs and Google Xi demonstrated their “Designing Belonging” hands-on program to help planners better understand the difference between diversity and inclusion, and how to make every one of their attendees feel like they belong. (Read MeetingsNet’s recent article on the topic here.)

On the show floor, Visit Seattle set up a pickleball court for attendees to give the game a try. And when PCMA President & CEO Sherrif Karamat (in foreground) faced off against PCMA Board Chair Leonard Hoops in a charity match, hundreds of attendees gathered to watch.

After their pickleball match, Sherrif Karamat and Leonard Hoops (the victor) shook hands and crossed paddles for a photo op.

At the Caesars Entertainment booth, planners were offered sarongs of many different designs that were made by women from around the world who have been rescued from human trafficking.

In the prefunction space, meetings agency MCI set up a small office and offered planners a complementary 30-minute strategy session about an event program or portfolio they manage.

During the final-night party held at the outdoor Rady Bandshell behind the convention center on San Diego Bay, a drone show displayed the PCMA logo in grandiose fashion.

For the more than 4,200 event participants, PCMA featured the famed R&B group Boyz II Men for a one-hour show at the Rady Bandshell, which is walking distance from several hotels.

PCMA brought its MashUp Studio back to Convening Leaders this year so that influential industry players could be interviewed live in the prefunction space. Meanwhile, each segment was recorded for online-event participants and for on-demand viewing in the future.

A recent host of Jeopardy as well as an actress, accredited neuroscientist, and health podcaster, Mayim Bialik had a 45-minute conversation with moderator Holly Ransom during the final keynote session of Convening Leaders. Bialik’s main message to planners: Science shows that maintaining job performance and overall mental health requires good nutrition, sufficient sleep, and moments of disconnect and deep breathing during each day.