Meeting Planner Careers

Whether you’re in Washington, D.C. or Los Angeles, CA, government entities can be a different breed of client to work with when planning meetings. It’s never an easy task when dealing with multiple entities with different rules. Your goal is to understand the differences between state run agencies and federal agencies and their rules and work your plan around those differences. Following are a few tips to help get you through the quagmire.

State Guidelines vs. Federal Guidelines
One of the most important things to understand is that there are differences between the guidelines that state agencies must follow and the guidelines that federal agencies must follow. In a nutshell, the state is only required to do the minimum federal guidelines, however, states like Texas have their own additional rules that must be followed. The easiest way to ensure that you have the proper guidelines is to utilize the U.S. General Services Administration and check which rules you must follow and what the agencies are required to do. Another option is to take the new designation course offered by the Society of Government Meeting Professionals (SGMP) and become a certified government meeting planner.

Accepted Practices
Most government agencies aren’t allowed to cover the cost of food and drink. However, a savvy meeting planner who understands this can bundle meeting rental and break service rather than itemizing everything separately. Another avenue to explore is a joint project between SGMP, the Convention Industry Council and Meeting Professionals International called the Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX). This group offers standardized contracts, RFPs and other tools that will help you with government meeting planning.

Working as a government planner can be very rewarding. The sealed bids can be worth thousands, but understanding the rules of the game is an incredibly important step on the road to success in this segment of the industry.

What do those acroynms mean? The meeting and event industry has at least four certifications for corporate planners, and many more for the suppliers and vendors who serve them. Here's a glossary of the acronyms you'll find trailing behind the names of  the industry's most dedicated and accomplished professionals.

CMP. The Convention Industry Council's Certified Meeting Professional designation is the most widely recognized in the industry. Started in 1985, meeting professionals — planners and suppliers — who have earned the CMP credential now number 11,269 in 27 countries. Candidates must have three years' experience and a full-time job in the industry; accrue a minimum number of points based on the scope of their responsibilities, education, professional contributions, and so on; and pass a written exam.

CMM. For meeting professionals — planners and suppliers — with at least 10 years' experience, Meeting Professionals International offers a Global Certification for Meeting Management program, focusing on strategic issues and executive decision making. Applicants must be accepted into the program and attend a five-day residency, after which they take an online exam and write a strategic business plan for either a new venture or their department. Now in its eighth year, the program has conferred 373 CMM certifications.

CITE. The Society of Incentive & Travel Executives launched its Certified Incentive Travel Executive certification program in 1980 to recognize high achievement in the field. Opened to non-SITE members in 2005, the designation requires incentive professionals to have a certain level of experience and involvement with SITE, work with a SITE member mentor, pass a three-hour written exam, and write a 3,000-word research paper.

CSEP. The International Special Events Society established the Certified Special Event Professional designation in 1983 to recognize competence and experience in the special event field. The requirements include an exam and portfolio review. Twice yearly exam dates coincide with the Special Event Show and ISES EventWorld.

DMCP. The Destination Management Certified Professional designation, established in 2001 by the Association of Destination Management Executives, is awarded to those who demonstrate expertise, experience, and ethical awareness in destination management. The first exams were held in 2002, and now 94 certified DMCPs are on the books; all but two are from the United States.

CDME. The Destination Marketing Association International, in conjunction with Purdue University, has a program in which convention bureau executives earn a CDME designation — Certified Destination Management Executive.

Sources: http://meetingsnet.com/,  Convention Industry Council,www.conventionindustry.org; Meeting Professionals International,www.mpiweb.org; Society of Incentive & Travel Executives,www.site-intl.org; International Special Events Society,www.ises.com; Association of Destination Management Executives,www.adme.org; Hotel Sales and Marketing Association International,www.hsmai.org; Destination Marketing Association International,www.destinationmarketing.org; American Hotel and Lodging Association,www.ahla.com; Merriam-Webster Online,www.m-w.com

At the recent 2009 Meeting Professionals International (MPI) Southeast Educational Conference at the Edon Roc in Miami Beach we had the opportunity to hear Brad Nickel, VP of Marketing for Landry & Kling, speak. He gave a presentation called “Find Yourself Online”  and agreed to let us publish that presentation here, for those meeting professionals who were unable to attend.

Here is the presentation – let us know if you have questions!

Brad was also excited to tell us a little about the upcoming launch of a new resource for meeting and incentive professionals: Seasite.com.

Seasite.com, a new Landry & Kling company, will be the industry’s first online cruise marketplace for global meetings and events. Mr. Nickel, explained, “Seasite.com puts cruise sourcing on par with hotel site selection along with easy RFP generation for multiple brands and ships.”

The site will be launching in late September but in the meantime they are running a contest to win an inaugural cruise aboard the new Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas, billed as the worlds largest and most innovative cruise ship. To enter simply go to their web site, Seasite.com, and sign up to recieve their newsletter and be notified of the official Seasite.com launch. The contest winner will be selected at random on Sept. 10, 2009.

2009 MPI Southeast Educational Conference was held at the Edon Roc Hotel, Miami Beach, August 13th-15th. For more information visit http://mpisec.org/

Our thanks again to Brad – and here’s his bio: