I am a strong advocate of studying other industries. If we look only at case examples from within our own field, we limit our horizons and run the risk of never fully actualizing our programs, products, and services. (See the September/October...

Occupancy rates are up. Room rates are up. Clearly, the seller's market continues. As a result, meeting planners can't negotiate the same deals they used to. Instead, hotels are imposing early departure charges, tough cancellation provisions, and...

Don't expect to win the title of Most Famous Meeting Planner at Grand Traverse (MI) Resort. That title will probably be held forever by Bill Clinton, who in 1987, while governor of Arkansas, served as meeting planner for the National Governors'...

"Are you kidding?" says Norman B. Kahn, MD, director, division of education, American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) in Kansas City, MO, when asked if specialty society meetings were experiencing an attendance drop-off in today's managed care...

A Graceful Mix at New Hawai'i Convention Center ...

The International Association for Exposition Management (IAEM) drew a record 2,238 registrants to Atlanta for its December 2 to 5 annual conference and trade show. In keeping with the association's efforts to balance representation from members...

CLC has appointed the Resource Center for Associations in Wheat Ridge, CO, headed by Francine Butler, as its new management firm at the meeting in November, the first under the new CLC's governance structure...

Networking with Earplugs After airing meeting planners' gripes for the past several issues, I decided, as the news editor, to take my turn. At a recent industry meeting, I attended a luncheon billed as a networking event--where, as at too many of...

Lanai has changed from the Pineapple Island of the Dole family to a secluded isle best known for its superb golf and outstanding two resorts: the Lodge at Koele and the Manele Bay Hotel. Accessible by boat from Maui, Lanai is part of Maui County...

Sue Ann Capizzi, MBA, has been named chief operating officer, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Deerfield, IL. She was previously president of the National Center for Advanced Medical Edu cation in Chicago and is a past executive of the...