MPI Potomac’s mission is to build a rich global meeting industry community in the Maryland, Washington, DC, and Northern Virginia areas. To accomplish this mission MPI Potomac serves as a catalyst for discussion, learning, and innovation.
MPI Potomac offers educational programming to its members through three key initiatives. All of our educational opportunities provide meeting professionals with unique opportunities to advance their careers, impact the community, and champion the meetings industry.
ReConEx provides meeting professionals from the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond an unrivaled opportunity to learn from industry leaders, advance careers, and impact organizations. ReConEx 2022 focused on building strategic business relationships in a unique format providing a hybrid delivery to address all attendees’ level of comfort in today’s event environment. All sessions were live streamed and are approved for clock hours by the Events Industry Council.
As a CMP Preferred Provider*, MPI Potomac is proud to bring you quality education to further your professional development and career. We will load your participation in sessions you purchased in the On Demand Content Library to the EIC portal. Please email
info@mpipotomac.org if the email you have for your account with EIC is not the email used to register here. Once your attendance is logged, you will receive an email from EIC to go into your account and add the credit hours for this session.
*MPI Potomac has been accepted by the Events Industry Council (EIC) as a Preferred Provider of the below-listed continuing education courses, which courses qualify for CMP continuing education credit. Determination of continuing education credit eligibility or Preferred Provider status does not implies EIC endorsement or assessment of education quality.”
Join us for interactive dialogue to discuss upgrading your Awareness to Action. We’ll share how to engage authentically, plan strategically and measure for impact. Our conversation will address current events that have impacted the way we think, work and engage. No topic is off limits as we reflect on protests, polarization and politics to achieve a sustainable plan of action.
Learn how to make a smooth transition by developing the right mindset, the necessary competencies and personality to excel. We’ll provide you with the practical tools and skills to reconnect now and into the future.
In this practical and timely presentation I will discuss the qualities of an emotionally intelligent person, emotional intelligence landmines, and how to practice EQ in daily living.
Join this conversation as we discuss the Event Canvas and how using the Event Design methodology (developed by the Event Design Collective edco.global) can transform your approach to events, enhance your strategic contribution, and deliver measurable event outcomes.
Join us for an interactive session that will elevate your data Bingo card to a whole new level. Joe and Vinnu will share how one association rose to the new Ultimate Bingo Challenge.
By working together we will build a show flow, anticipate challenges, manage timelines, and learn how to interact with the talented engineers behind the behind the scenes. We’ll even build worst-case-scenarios where we will build a strategy to adjust our event in real-time so no audience member is the wiser whether in person or online.
In this session, Carlos Gil, best-selling author of The End of Marketing, will teach you how to remain digitally relevant in a pandemic world where algorithms dominate, organic reach is dwindling, and consumers don’t want to be sold to; they want to be engaged.
Attendee Key Take-Aways: • How to master multiple competencies and soft skills • Polishing your personal brand • Navigating the ongoing expansion of your career tool kit • The mindset necessary to make a shift to succeed in making a smooth transition between career goals
Join us for a discussion of current cleaning standards, how these are implemented, what suppliers and planners need to look for and how these impact offering food and beverage to your in-person attendees.
This interactive compelling presentation will show how to confidently use your voice in your career and STAND tall and not shrink in your role as a meeting planner or supplier despite the current condition of the industry.
In this presentation, I intend to inspire participants, whether they joined the great resignation or not, to take their career to the next height by going for the next level of leadership. I’ll encourage them: If you were just part of a team, why don’t you go for a job hunt to become a team leader? If you were a supervisor, why not seek a managerial position? If you were a middle-level manager, why not apply for an executive position?
The question is no longer what is hybrid, but should I hybrid. Brian Monahan, explores the top 10 questions you must ask of yourself and your event before you move forward with a hybrid event.
Using the FORD (family, occupation, recreation, dreams) framework, you will participate in four 1:1 breakout sessions to practice getting to know the people around you. Afterwards, you will know how to form connections for a stronger sense of belonging, more empathy and future opportunities from both personal and professional standpoints!
Attendee Key Take-Aways: • Learn the secrets of understanding your audience, which can be used in every aspect of event design. • Discover a strategic yet practical model to follow as you design for omnichannel and hybrid events • Receive instructions for interactive formats to implement immediately at your own events
First impressions are paramount in establishing yourself successfully as a new professional. First impressions tell your story, whether it is the one you wish to tell or not. Within 7 seconds of meeting someone, we shape our opinions, biases and make assumptions based upon what we see and hear. Learn tips to master your 7 seconds and beyond with Kristin Shoop, Certified Image Consultant. We will explore the Yin/Yang elements of the 6 Personalities of Style and how they grow confidence to new and sustainable levels. That newly found confidence will ensure your 7 seconds are consistently successful.
Learner Objectives: – Participants will do interactive exercises to learn the DNA of First Impressions: nonverbal messaging and the importance of sending the correct message the first time – Participants will learn the basic Yin/Yang components of the 6 Personalities of Style and where they might relate along the continuum. – Participants will experiment with the 6 Personalities of Style using props and gauge their confidence levels before and after the session.
Over the past decade, digital clutter has infiltrated our lives; emails, social media, and other tasks diverting our attention on a consistent basis. Whether in-person, hybrid or on-line, meeting organizers are constantly fighting to maintain attendee focus from other digital distractions pulling at their attention. In this session, I will offer ways to better engage your virtual and live meeting audience. Learn how to use your current e-learning systems (Zoom, Go-to-Webinar, Teams etc.) as well as in-person engagement practices to ensure that your attendees are hanging on your every word even when distractions are calling them away. Use basic concepts of andragogy to filter how adults learn and better retain information. Real-life examples of how similar information presented differently will have differing effects on its learners.
Learner Objectives: – Learn virtual and in person strategies keep attendees engaged – Learn strategies to bring back disengaged participants – Understand basics of andragogy and how adults learn differently
Have you always wished you could predict the future? Well now you can. Join us for a look into the future with Meeting Professionals International Meetings Outlook. This meeting industry forecast educates you on the status of the meetings industry with the most up to date information from Meeting Professionals International’s Meetings Outlook quarterly report. From job vacancy challenges, business projections, attendance forecasts to the current market landscape, gain insight to guide your organizations to success in the coming future.
Learner Objectives: – Acquire knowledge of the future state of the meetings industry – Learn quantifiable data based on historical trends and professionally informed projections regarding employment, event attendance, and business conditions. – Understand how to navigate in the current meetings landscape in the scope of risk management and strategic planning.
What is really going on in the hospitality industry? The meeting planning environment has changed a lot over the last few years. We experienced and, in some regards, are still experiencing a pandemic. Businesses like Air BnB are positioning themselves and continually impacting event housing. Hotel leisure numbers and rates have had major impact on group rates. The supply chain became volatile from labor shortages to escalating food and beverage costs. Michael Dominguez, a leading expert in the industry, will take the audience on a journey of current trends and how they will impact meeting design and performance in the coming years. He will engage with the audience to evaluate the temperature of how they are feeling the impact of the current landscape and ways they have learned to navigate toward success.
Learning Objectives: – Learn how the hospitality industry is changing and how the change is impacting the performance of meetings. – Gain statically supported knowledge of current industry trends and the impact on the industry. – Learn about things to consider to be successful given the current industry landscape.
In this session, we will focus on 3 main topics as the attendees answer their inner questions:
1. Lifetime Self Mastery – Is this a job or a calling? – In what ways are you trading perks + points for purpose and impact? – How is not giving your full potential actually hurting you?
2. Reason on Earth & Impact – Are you letting Buy your compliance – 24/7 access? – How does The Law of Reciprocity affect what you do? You give/sacrifice something to get something. – What does fulfillment mean to you? – What is being available [24/7] actually costing you? – Where are you sacrificing?
3. Being the experiment of the Universe – the consciousness of all beings – How can you start living as an experiment? – How does your body work? How is your body working for you? – In what ways is it working? In what ways could it be working even better? – If you worked for you… what would you say about the experience? – How is your mind working for you?
Learner Objectives: – Discover the more profound impact they can make as a planner so that they can live a more purposeful life. – Actionable communication skills and energetic tools that they can use to increase their self-worth – Attain the knowledge of their emotions, mind & body so that they can create a stress-free environment in their daily life.
Contract negotiations don’t need to be a battle. The understanding of the “why” behind the “no” by each party can open conversations. Through these transparencies the win-win can be accomplished. Hear from accomplished planner and supplier as they share real-life experiences when executing contracts and best ways for each party to communicate their respective needs.
Learner Outcomes: – Recognizing the needs of each party when planners and suppliers come to the contract negotiating table. – Best practices on what to ask for in your contracts from the perspective of both parties involved. – Understanding of financial needs from both parties to execute meetings/events.
AI and ChatGPT is transforming many business and personal activities and expect to do so to our industry. While we know its usefulness and easy to use, how AI can transform our industry is an immediate question to think about and reflect to our profession. Professors of event technology and computer science engineering will share current research and an opportunity to collaborate on the topic with practitioners’ languages in mind.
Learner Objectives: – Learn how AI can streamline event planning phases so to build up a Computer Integrated Event Management (CIEM). – Learn about cases of fairness, bias, and ethical problems in AI and how to prevent it. – How to access university research centers/faculty in technology related collaborations
What is going on in this crazy DMV job market? What do you need to do TODAY to develop professionally while also achieving/maintaining the flexibility you desire? In this session, a local recruiter who has worked with thousands a job seekers and employers alike will give you job market insights as well as lots of practical job search tips for showing your value in resumes, interviews, and networking. You will leave this info-packed session energized, motivated, and confident to develop professionally.
Learner Objectives: – How to get clear on your value and communicate it. – Effective networking strategies that will result in deeper professional relationships and lead to opportunities. – How to make networking a natural part of what you do, not just for the purpose of finding a job. – Tips for finding, negotiating, and maintaining flexibility. – Possible career paths for meeting planning professionals and how to evaluate which ones might be best for you
Do the first-time attendees at your meeting get a ribbon and a reception? Are they then expected to fall in love with your meeting and come back year after year? Jillian Cardinal says, “Networking is more than a cocktail and a nametag.” So let us get engaged and talk about ways our groups can better cater to this often-forgotten (and very valuable) group.
Learner Objectives: – Distinguish why first-time attendees are a valuable group – Examine programs that engage first-time attendees at meetings – Discuss new engagement ideas that can be applied to future event
The event industry and its professionals are committing more than ever to eco-friendly initiatives. Whether the decision is based is corporate commitments to sustainability or attendee expectations, producing truly sustainable events that still bring the “wow factor” takes thoughtful consideration in preparation and execution. Lowering the carbon footprint of a notoriously unsustainable industry is no small feat, and it often impacts every part of the decision-making process. Many brands struggle to incorporate green initiatives due to a lack of resources and guidance. Some brands may even feel the pressure to pull off a 100% green event, but the real difference comes in attainable goals that impact big. In this session, our speaker will share realistic, creative ways to implement sustainable practices in all areas of event production to help solidify brands’ commitments to climate action without cutting corners on design and attendee experience.
Learner Objectives – Become inspired to embark on making meetings more sustainable while curating a boutique experience – Discover ways to communicate the importance of having sustainable meetings and events to stakeholders and partners – Learn how to control costs while implementing green strategies
In our current environment, we must acknowledge the importance of the intersection of creative conceptualization, and innovative thought and technologies with the current meeting planning landscape. How will creative new ways of doing things and the use of new technologies impact the industry and keep people wanting to convene in ways that they had not done before? This panel of experts will discuss the connections between the creative design, innovative technologies, industry trends, and changes in the meeting planning landscape from the planner and supplier perspectives.
Learning Objectives: – Learn to navigate in the current meeting environment using creativity, innovation, and technology. – Learn about industry developments to watch to help the attendee be successful given current trends. – Gain an understanding of how to prepare now for a successful next year.
For any questions, please contact us at mpipotomac@evareg.com
Team EVA is proud to partner with MPI Potomac to create an online library of virtual content that qualifies for CMP credits. Learning is a lifelong process and devoting time to continuing education is important. Whether you want to explore a new topic or learn new skills, you can use continuing education to your advantage. At EVA, we believe in supporting the meetings industry and the professionals who make this industry shine.