At this year’s Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) Convening Leaders conference held Jan. 12-15 at George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, PCMA announced the 2025 Visionary Awards Lifetime Achievement honorees and Professional Excellence finalists. The awards honor and celebrate leaders in the global business events community. The honorees and finalists will be officially recognized at the 2025 Visionary Awards ceremony on April 10 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., as part of Business Events Industry Week.
Lifetime Achievement honorees include:
- Elliott Ferguson: president and CEO, Destination DC (Washington, D.C.)
- Donald Getz: professor emeritus, University of Calgary (Calgary, Alberta)
- Lyn Lewis-Smith: CEO, Business Events Sydney (Sydney, Australia)
- Carol McGury: retired executive vice president of event and education services, Smithbucklin (Chicago, Illinois, and Washington, D.C.)
- David Peckinpaugh: president and CEO, Maritz (St. Louis, Missouri)
The annual celebration also will recognize and celebrate Professional Excellence finalists across seven categories for extraordinary contributions to their respective organizations and their impact on the professional development of others.
Professional Excellence finalists include, by category:
Business Events Strategist of the Year
- Lisa Astorga: director of meetings, International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis, (Carrboro, North Carolina)
- Jennifer Ragan-Fore: chief experience officer, International Society for Technology in Education (Arlington, Virginia) and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (Alexandria, Virginia)
- Nneka St. Gerard: chief strategy officer of meetings, membership and marketing, Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (Washington, D.C.)
Business Events Supplier of the Year
- Carrie Ferenac: co-founder and president, Convention News Television (Winter Park, Florida)
- Alison LaFollette: director of mid-Atlantic region, Visit Seattle (Seattle, Washington)
- Ronnette Phillips: director of Hilton Direct, Hilton Worldwide Sales (McLean, Virginia)
Digital Experience Strategist of the Year
- Sina Bünte: founder, DigitalMind.events
- Mahoganey Jones: founder and CEO, Event Specialists Inc. (Brampton, Ontario)
- Brian Zambotti: vice president of business development, association, and societies; Conexiant (Tampa, Florida)
Experience Design of the Year
- AAPA team:led by Anthony Maggiore, senior director of conference and meetings, American Academy of Physician Associates (Alexandria, Virginia)
- Katie McCormick: executive director of meetings, events, and convention; National Electrical Contractors Association (Washington, D.C.)
- RIMS team: led by Stuart Ruff-Lyon, chief events and sales officer, Risk and Insurance Management Society Inc. (New York, New York)
Groundbreaker
- Jeffrey Fehr: client engagement manager of business events, Destination Canada (Vancouver, British Columbia)
- Lori Jenaire: vice president of global accounts, ConferenceDirect (Folsom, California)
- Laurie Nelson-Choice: director of diversity and national sales, Visit Baltimore (Baltimore, Maryland)
Impact Award
- Christine Cleaver: associate professor of instruction, event, and entertainment management; School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management; Temple University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
- Mackenzie Loy: founder and CEO, Homemade in DC (Washington, D.C.)
- Visit Detroit Team: led by Claude Molinari, president and CEO, Visit Detroit, and co-chair of the Detroit Local Organizing Committee for the NFL Draft (Detroit, Michigan)
Outstanding Service to a Chapter or Region
- Krista Cameron: vice president of industry relations, Encore Canada (Mississauga, Ontario), PCMA Canada East Chapter
- Sara McWilliams: senior director of global accounts, HelmsBriscoe (Scottsdale, Arizona), PCMA Greater Philadelphia Chapter
- Annette Suriani: principal and chief meeting strategist, AMS Meetings Solutions (Fairfax, Virginia), PCMA Capital Chapter
“We look forward to celebrating and honoring the 2025 Lifetime Achievement honorees and Professional Excellence finalists, as they represent unmatched dedication and remarkable impact for the future of the global business events industry,” says Sherrif Karamat, PCMA president and CEO, in a prepared statement.
The 2025 PCMA Visionary Awards is presented by Visit Austin and the Austin Convention Center in Texas. Proceeds from the awards will benefit the PCMA Foundation, which funds more than $1 million annually to initiatives that propel the global business events community forward, including more than 200 annual scholarships benefiting emerging leaders, students, faculty, and professionals to advance in their profession.