SITE Midwest USA Open Forum Educational Webinar Series (Part 2)
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
“The Supplier's Guide to Best Practices in Incentives”
Presented by:
Mary Albert, CMP, Senior Event Purchasing Manager, One10.
Darcy Andry, VP Product Development, Performance Strategies, Inc.
Melissa Daniels, Global Director - Americas, Hyatt Sales Force
Moderated by:
James T. Adams, CRO, Performance Strategies, Inc.
Midwest USA "Show Me State" Roadshow
STUDIO Dan Meiners Kansas City, MO - April 18, 2018
Oliva on the Hill St. Louis, MO - April 19, 2018
April 18 and April 19 SITE Midwest USA kicked off its annual Road Show event stopping off at two fantastic cities in the "Show Me State" of Missouri: Kansas City and St. Louis. Industry professionals gathered to learn more about the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence as well as hot industry topics during our peer to peer educational hour before meeting with exhibitors from around the world in our mini trade show. Thanks to the generous donations made by each exhibiting sponsor, we ended our event on a high note with a door prize drawing filled with tons of great prizes.
A special thank you to the following for making this 2 part event such a huge success:
Exhibiting Sponsors: CSI DMC, Destination Asia, Emirates, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Haven Resorts & Spas, The Hotel Emma, International Group Sales, Links Unlimited, Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Bureau, Pacific World, Paradisus Cabo, Melia Hotels International, Sandals Resorts, Vail Resorts Meetings & Events
Venues: The wonderful teams at both STUDIO Dan Meiners in Kansas City and Oliva on the Hill in St. Louis
Educational Panel in Kansas City (Peer to Peer Hot Industry Topic Moderators):
David Schwartz - Director of Group and Event Sales at Haven Riviera Cancun Resort & Spa
Educational Speaker in St. Louis (Peer to Peer Hot Industry Topic Moderators):
David Schwartz - Director of Group and Event Sales at Haven Riviera Cancun Resort & Spa
Mike Farmer - V.P., Group Travel Business Development at Meridian Enterprises Corp.
SITE Midwest USA Open Forum Educational Webinar Series (Part 1)
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
“The Customer's Guide to Best Practices in Incentives”
Presented by:
Dana Weaver, CIS, Senior Manager, Marketing Services, GROWMARK, INC.
Mark Stried, CIS, Account Executive, Maritz Travel
Moderated by:
James T. Adams, CEO, Performance Strategies, Inc.
Our third annual SITE Midwest USA's Happy Hour during IMEX America in Las Vegas was a big hit! With over 55 members and nonmembers alike in attendance ranging from suppliers to planners to students we had a great group and many opportunities to network.
A special thank you to our sponsor: Vail Resorts Meetings & Events
SITE Midwest USA's Happy Hour at IMEX America - Las Vegas
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Our Chapter’s A Fair To Remember event at the Des Moines, Iowa State Fair on Thursday, August 17th was a blast! Incentive industry suppliers and meeting professionals were welcomed to the Master Jack's on the Iowa State Fairgrounds for dinner, libations and networking. After, we kicked off our first cityHUNT scavenger hunt by dividing into teams and looking for clues hidden throughout the Iowa State Fair and returned victorious to announce winners and collect door prizes. Many reconnected with old colleagues while some met new.
We thank Master Jacks for hosting us and would like to extend a special thank you to Liz Vinsand, our Vice President of Events and Director of National Accounts at Vail Resorts as well Mandy Espey, Supervisor-Purchasing with ITA Group for their time and effort in making this event happen. A special thank you to our event sponsors; Vail Resorts Meetings & Events, cityHUNT, Cultivate, DSC, Marriott Caribbean & Latin America Resorts for their generous donations that allowed this event to take place.
SITE Midwest USA A Fair To Remember Event
Thursday, August 17, 2017
SITE Midwest USA Open Forum Educational Webinar Trilogy (Part 3)
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
“Social Media Landscape 2017”
Presented by:
Andrew Knapp, Senior Vice President of Sales, Performance Strategies.com
Christian & Katalina Absolon, Co-Owners, Mind Tripping Show
Tyler Schario, Director of Strategy & Insights, FUSION Marketing
Moderated by:
James T. Adams, CEO, Performance Strategies, Inc.
Midwest USA "Show Me State" Roadshow
InterContinental in Kansas City, MO - June 6, 2017
Moonrise Hotel in St. Louis, MO - June 7, 2017
Congratulations To Our Door Prize Winners!
In addition to networking and hearing from our diverse panel of industry experts in Kansas City on June 6 as well as our educational speaker in St. Louis on June 7, attendees had the chance to win a variety of excellent door prizes courtesy of our generous exhibiting sponsors!
Donated prizes ranged from gift certificates worth $250 to a 7 day all expense paid Caribbean cruise!
Kansas City Prize Winners:
Stephanie Clifton
Dan Gassel
Inge Hafkemeyer
Sue Heley
Teresa Hellman
Jamie Kofoid
Kendra Murray
Tracy Orphin
St. Louis Winners:
Sarah Bradley
Brad Bronenkamp
Megan Campos
Tom Carrow
Mary Clare Darland
Kathy Fitzgibbons
Maggie Halliday
Susan Hankins
Heather Heidbrink
Lindsey Jaeger
Andy Knapp
Kate Minnelli
Cindy Minner
Karen Newberry
Nikki Spotto
June 6 and June 7 SITE Midwest USA kicked off its first ever Road Show event stopping off at two fantastic cities in the "Show Me State" of Missouri: Kansas City and St. Louis. Industry professionals from 3 states gather to learn more about the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence during our educational hour before meeting with exhibitors from around the world in our mini trade show. Thanks to the generous donations made by each exhibiting sponsor, we ended our event on a high note with a door prize drawing filled with tons of great prizes.
A special thank you to the following for making this 2 part event such a huge success:
Exhibiting Sponsors: AMResorts, Azamara Club Cruises, Benchmark, Carnival Cruise Line, Connect DMC, CSI DMC, Inspiration India, Israel Land of Creation, Melia Hotels International, Newport Beach Inc., Sandals All-Inclusive Resorts, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, Terramar, Vail Resorts Meetings & Events, Viceroy Hotels and Resorts
Venues: The wonderful teams at both the InterContinental Hotel in Kansas City and the Moonrise Hotel in St. Louis
Educational Panel in Kansas City (State of the Industry Address):
Brian Mordecai - Regional Director of Group Sales at Viceroy Hotel Group
Enrique Paulo - National Account Director at Visit Newport Beach Inc.
Julia Trejo, CMP, CIS, DCMP - Director of Business Development at Terramar
Kendra Murray, CMM, CIS - Vice President of Meetings & Incentives at Bishop-McCann
Educational Speaker in St. Louis (State of the Industry Address):
David Peckinpaugh - President at Maritz Global Events
SITE Midwest USA Open Forum Educational Webinar Trilogy (Part 2)
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
“Contract Trends in Meetings & Incentives”
Presented by:
Lisa Sommer Devlin, Founder, Devlin Law Firm, P.C.
Moderated by:
James T. Adams, President & CEO, Performance Strategies, Inc.
SITE Midwest USA Open Forum Educational Webinar Trilogy (Part 1)
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
“Ethics of Incentive Travel”
Presented by:
Jacqueline A. Goldy, CIS, Vice President, Incentive Sales and Strategic Partnerships, MGM Resorts International
Jill Anonson, Manager, Event Solutions, ITA Group, Inc.
Terry Epton, CIS, CITE, DMCP, President, Hosts New Orleans
Moderated by:
James T. Adams, President & CEO, Performance Strategies, Inc.
A Wonderful Time Was Had By All!
SITE Midwest USA kicked off the holiday season with our first annual holiday party on November 30th at the beautiful Westin St. Louis. Meeting planners and suppliers enjoyed festive music, food and cocktails while experiencing Fish Eye Fun’s photo booth, shopping with a purpose and lots of candy from the candy bar! Party-goers put together gift bags for young women rescued from human trafficking. These young women are currently staying at Refuge, a local safe home sponsored by Crisis Aid International. Proceeds from Monarch Jewelry purchased at the party went to Crisis Aid and help make it possible to continue the effort in eradicating human trafficking, a cause supported by SITE Global and our Chapter.
Our fabulous party was made possible with the support of our valued sponsors; Viceroy, CSI DMC and Vail Resorts Meetings & Events.
SITE Midwest USA's Holiday Party
St. Louis, Missouri
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Our second annual SITE Midwest USA's Happy Hour during IMEX America in Las Vegas was largely successful. With over 75 members and nonmembers alike in attendance ranging from suppliers to planners to students we had a great group and many opportunities to network.
A special thank you to our sponsors: Loews Hotels & Resorts, ECO Destination Management Services, MC&A Inc., RMC, Gateway Canyons Colorado Resort & Spa, Vail Resorts, Terramar, and Cultivate. Our buyers love their new watches!
SITE Midwest USA's Happy Hour at IMEX America - Las Vegas
Tuesday, October18, 2016
SITE Midwest USA Open Forum Educational Webinar Trilogy (Part 3)
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
“Making the Most of the Cruise/Airline-Client Relationship”
Presented by:
Michael Beale, President, Beale Travel Group, Inc.
Julieta Kalinowski, Account Executive, Copa Airlines
Freddy Muller, Director of Sales, Charter and Incentive Sales, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings
Moderated by:
James T. Adams, President & CEO, Performance Strategies, Inc.
Our Chapter’s A Fair To Remember event at the Des Moines, Iowa State Fair on Monday, August 15th was knee-slappin' fun. Incentive industry suppliers and meeting professionals were welcomed to the Old West Bar BQ on the Iowa State Fairgrounds for dinner, libations and networking. Many reconnected with old colleagues while some met new. We thank the Old West Bar BQ for hosting us and would like to extend a special thank you to Liz Vinsand, our Vice President of Events and Director of National Accounts at Vail Resorts as well Mandy Espey, Supervisor-Purchasing with ITA Group for their time and effort in making this event happen.
After a warm welcome from Stan Hershenow, Chapter President and Director of Group Sales, Hawaii Region for Starwood Resorts and Hotels; we heard from Deanna Jensen-Valliere with Braking Traffik who shared with us the ways in which we as meeting planners and suppliers can help combat human trafficking. We were delighted to contribute a $500 donation to Braking Traffik on behalf of the SITE Midwest USA chapter and thank Deanna for her informative presentation and valuable content. After the event's conclusion, participants were treated to a concert held by Dierks Bentley at the grand stadium on the Iowa State Fairgrounds where attendees danced the night away!
A special thank you to our event sponsors; Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Loews Hotels and Resorts, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Hawaii, Southwest Conference Planners Inc., and Event Experiences by Incentive Concepts for their generous donations that allowed this event to take place. 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!
SITE Midwest USA A Fair To Remember Event
Monday, August 15, 2016
SITE Midwest USA Open Forum Educational Webinar Trilogy (Part 2)
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
“Making the Most of the DMC-Client Relationship”
Presented by:
Kevin Funke, Director of Business Development, RMC DMC
Lori Rippstein, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Destination Services Corporation
Vic Laxson, Vice President/General Manager, Hello! Florida Destination Management
Moderated by:
James T. Adams, President & CEO, Performance Strategies, Inc.
SITE Midwest USA Open Forum Educational Webinar Trilogy (Part 1)
Friday, June17, 2016
“Making the Most of the Hotel-Client Relationship”
Presented by:
Patrick Smith, Senior Director of Group Sales - North America, The Leading Hotels of the World
Lulu Stribling, Director of Global Accounts, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C
John Iannini, CTC, CIS, Vice President, Melia Hotels International
Moderated by:
James T. Adams, President & CEO, Performance Strategies, Inc.
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!
SITE Midwest USA Spring Education & Networking Event
Thursday, April 28, 2016
SITE Midwest USA Educational Webinar
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
“How to Gain and Sell Destination Knowledge”
Presented by:
James Adams, President & CEO, Performance Strategies, Inc.
Midwest USA Inaugural Event
Ballpark Village in Saint Louis, MO
President of SITE International, Rhonda Brewer.
On June 17 we kicked off the Midwest USA chapter with a smashing success. Thanks to donations by the Ballpark Village, Westin Hotels, and Loews Resorts, industry professionals from 3 states gathered to learn more about the Society for Inventive Travel Excellence and network with peers in their field.
Congratulations To Our Raffle Winners!
In addition to networking and hearing from Site International BOD President Rhonda Brewer, attendees had the chance to win some excellent raffle prizes!
Donated prizes ranged from gift certificates worth $100 to free hotel nights in Maui!
And the best part... raffle tickets only cost $1 each! The money raised will help the SITE Midwest chapter put on future networking and educational programs.
Raffle Winners:
Hillary Beale
Beth Castle
Erica DeBarr
Suzi Hallas
Michelle Metler
Dick O'Connor
Special thanks to the suppliers who donated raffle items!
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Sheraton Maui
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OMNI Hotels & Resorts
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Doubletree Union Station
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Four Season Saint Louis
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Hilton Ballpark Village
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Vail Resorts