Our Chapter’s inaugural education and networking event on Thursday, April 28th did not disappoint. Incentive industry suppliers and meeting professionals were welcomed to the Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis on a beautiful, spring afternoon with the Amphitheater as the perfect setting for our jammed-packed education. After a warm welcome from Stan Hershenow, Chapter President and Director of Group Sales, Hawaii Region for Starwood Resorts and Hotels; Greg Bogue, VP of Experience Design at Maritz Travel Company kicked the education session off by sharing 12 Steps to a Successful Incentive Program. Greg’s information was insightful and well-received, appropriate for industry veterans and rookies alike. Along with having a reward strategy, setting business objectives and making the rules simple and fair; Greg reminded us all that we create life defining moments for our participants. An incentive program is more about the journey and all about the experience! We thank Greg for his energetic delivery of valuable content. 

The session continued with a panel discussion including several industry leaders; Tim Bruins, VP of Sales and Business Development at Maritz Travel Company, Michael Farmer, VP Group Travel Sales at Meridian Enterprises and Grant Stiff, Senior VP Business Development at FUSION Marketing. Panel moderator, Jim Adams, President/CEO at Performance Strategies, Inc., facilitated great dialogue stemming from questions pertaining to current world issues like the Zika Virus, international terrorism and new government regulations effecting the financial sector to what is trending; emerging destinations and strategies for competing against luxury all-inclusive resorts and their lower price points. The discussion concluded with Q&A from the audience. Our panelists were a wealth of knowledge and experience; everyone in the room benefited from the information they shared.    

The session concluded with a visit from SITE CEO, Kevin Hinton, who came from the Chicago Headquarters to spend time with our new Chapter. He gave a great overview of SITE; the resources and events available to all members along with information on industry research SITE continues to pioneer. It was an honor to welcome Kevin.

After the education concluded; participants were treated to a fabulous reception. The ladies and gentleman at the Ritz-Carlton passed wonderful hors de oeuvres and great conversation was flowing as much as the drinks at the open bar. Many reconnected with old colleagues while some met new. The reception lingered way past the scheduled event time so we know everyone had a good time! We thank the Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis for hosting us.

A special thank you to our event sponsors; The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe, The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay and Vail Resorts Meetings & Events. Unlike many industry events; our event was planner heavy with a ratio of almost 3 planners to 1 supplier. If you are a supplier and interested in sponsoring an event, please email Laurie Lukasek at laurie.lukasej@maritz.com. And if you are interested in hosting a future chapter event, please contact Liz Vinsand at lvinsand@vailresorts.com. To have a successful chapter, the support from the incentive supplier community is much needed and appreciated!