The main reason I go to RCMA is for the contacts: exchanging ideas with others in the field; catching up on what's happening so that I don't fall behind. The presentations — most of them excellent — are a bonus. Jeff Tobe's session, for example. I...

SmithBucklin is on a roll. The country's largest association management firm logged one of its best years in 2003 and has parlayed that success into several new initiatives in 2004. Most recently, the firm was awarded the management contract for...

To renew or not to renew, that is the question for Greater Washington Society of Association Executives members. In January, a proposed consolidation of GSWAE into the American Society of Association Executives and the Center For Association...

RCMA 2004 vividly demonstrated the power of envisioning the future and the benefits of following through on a vision. The theme for the 32nd RCMA World Conference and Exposition was Share the Vision, and the conference demonstrated how dynamic and...

“Waste? At my meeting? It's not even on my radar screen!” Those words from an experienced association meeting planner underline just how tough it is to raise awareness about the tremendous volume of waste trade shows and meetings produce every...

A major focus for the newly elected 2004 chairman of the Professional Convention Management Association will be updating the association's strategic plan. Michael Payne, an executive vice president at the association management firm SmithBucklin...

Marketing has become increasingly important in driving attendance at meetings. It's no surprise, then, that a session on attendance promotion at the annual meeting of the Professional Convention Management Association, held in Indianapolis in...

This article was adapted from a tutorial held at a past RCMA conference. The session was led by Stella Beene-Venson, meeting planner, Section of Chaplains, The United Methodist Church, Nashville; Marcia Bullock, manager, Groups and Conventions...

ONCE CONSIDERED THE DREGS of the meetings market, this highly budget-conscious, will-gladly-meet-on-weekends market has gained a new cachet in recent years: facilities and bureaus around the country are courting SMERF meetings following the drop...

Judy Lamborn believes that good meeting planners firmly grasp the vision of their employers...