Meetings

Thursday Buzz: North America Loves Its Meetings

Three different countries are taking part in Thursday's North American Meetings Industry Day. Plus: Are you a small organization with little time to blog? No worries.

Canada’s already done it for 20 years, and now the meetings love is heading down south.

This year, the United States and Mexico are joining in on the newly christened North American Meetings Industry Day (NAMID).

Meetings Mean Business (MMB), an industry advocacy group, is joining the Convention Industry Council (CIC) and other groups in pushing the new industry event, which they hope is the first of many to come.

“Across the continent we are demonstrating how meetings build personal relationships, drive positive outcomes, and support strong communities,” said MMB Co-Chair Michael Dominguez, who is also senior vice president of corporate sales for MGM Resorts International.

The 65 events scheduled today cover wide geographic ground—from educational sessions in Wisconsin to social media efforts in New York City to a press rally in Las Vegas—as well as a broad range of subject matter.

Oh, yeah: If you find yourself in NYC today, you might spot a NAMID ad in Times Square, funded by NYC & Company.

Outside of the the United States, Canada—which inspired the new event—and Mexico are also showing off their meeting prowess.

“Today is not just about executing an event. It is about raising awareness of the power of meetings in shaping local communities; economically, environmentally, socially and intellectually,” Stuart Taylor, business manager for Canada’s chapter of Meeting Professionals International, said in a statement.

Taylor cited a statistic showing that organized meetings added $27.5 billion to the country’s GDP in 2012.

“We are excited to be involved in such a meaningful day that unites our industry not only across the United States, but also across Canada and Mexico, communicating the critical role in connecting people and driving positive business results through face-to-face interaction,” Dominguez said.

Can’t get to an event today? Don’t fret. There are also a couple of places online to participate. American Express Meetings and Events hosted some morning sessions, with some to come later in the day. And you can get some highlights on Twitter from the #NAMID and #NAMID15 hashtags.

Blog Starting Points

For small-staff organizations, blogging can be just another item on an already long list of things to accomplish.

While marketing and advertising is a priority in retaining and obtaining members, blogging can often feel like an added stress, particularly for those organizations with an already overburdened staff. Lucky for you, CallieWalker  of MemberClicks has 25 blogging ideas that small-staff associations can take on themselves.

Among the more notable: “Write about how your association or association chapter got started,” “feature a new member,” and “conduct a poll and post the results on your blog.”

Other Links of Note

In today’s world, making humanizing associations is key, especially since social media and websites can sometimes do the opposite of what they set out to do and make groups look impersonal. At SocialFish, Scott Huntington highlights ways to make your organization feel human to members.

Had an unproductive day? So what? Kristin Wong at Lifehacker shows a few smart strategies for successfully tackling a huge workload after a day of binging on Netflix. (Hey, it’s normal, and Daredevil is a good show.)

(iStock/Thinkstock)

Patrick deHahn

By Patrick deHahn

Patrick deHahn is a contributor to Associations Now. MORE

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