Capping another year of unprecedented innovation and achievement, the IACC America’s Connect annual conference took place earlier this month. IACC introduced a ground-breaking new conference format, which attracted record attendance and was the first centralized New York City conference in the association’s 35-year history.
“At the end of last year’s annual members’ conference, we promised radical change to this much-loved event and we were delighted with the attendance and feedback we received from our delegates who attended from throughout the Americas and globally,” said Mark Cooper, IACC’s CEO. “Our goals were to stage an affordable event, in an innovative and accessible destination, offering education that is relevant to the needs of our members today. Our chapter board, our annual conference planning committee and the IACC staff took this to heart from day one in planning this year’s members meeting.”
Keynote and educational workshops took place over three locations in Midtown Manhattan, including Convene Midtown East, Convene 101 Park Ave and Davios Restaurant. The final awards presentation event took place at Current, Pier 59, on the Hudson River.
The educational sessions, panel discussions and new campfire workshops were aligned to the conference theme of ‘What it takes to deliver an exceptional meeting experience’. A 100% increase in first-time attendees was reported.
“Everybody involved in this event proved that they are not only the best at hosting meetings at their own venues, but that they can come together and organize an exceptional conference for their peers in the industry,” commented TJ Fimmano, IACC-Americas president. “The sun shone and the ideas flowed last week and being a native New Yorker, I was proud to welcome the IACC family to my home city. I am confident that many ideas were exchanged and powerful connections made from our time together.”
The well attended panel discussion on Wednesday morning looked at all of the influencing factors in delivering exceptional meeting experiences. The panel was made up of Terry Bickham, Deloitte Learning; Chris Kelly, Convene; Tessa Horovitz, Chateauform’; Anthony Kinney, Microsoft and David Adler, Biz Bash. The project combines innovation and entrepreneurialism. Robyn Domber, from Development Councillors International, introduced the research. The research highlights that the meetings industry is transitioning at a rapid pace. As the meetings industry landscape continues to evolve and expand, meeting planners must continually evaluate all elements of the meeting experience in order to ensure they are providing the most relevant environments to foster collaboration, ideas exchange and relationship building among attendees. A full copy of the report can be downloaded from the IACC website here.
The conference’s awards segment also paid homage to important industry leaders whose dedication, expertise and vision have defined IACC’s past and formed its future.
The 2016 IACC Awards and their Recipients:
Mel Hosansky Award for Distinguished Service
IACC-Americas presented its most prestigious honor, the coveted Mel Hosansky Award for Distinguished Service to IACC and the meetings industry, to the late James Mahon, IACC’s Director of Public Relations. Over 20 years, James has strategically and successfully built IACC’s communications strategy and media outreach by using his outstanding writing and interpersonal skills and in-depth knowledge of the meetings industry. This was a well-deserved honor for James and homage to IACC’s immense appreciation for his service and contributions. James’ wife, Mary, and his daughter, Kathleen, were present to receive the award.
Pyramid Award
The IACC Pyramid Award, established in 2000 to recognize members who show a true and long-lasting commitment to IACC education, was presented to Dan Techman, director of sales and marketing for Doubletree Suites by Hilton Conference Center, Chicago, Downers Grove. As a member of the IACC Americas Board of Directors, Techman served on IACC’s conference planning committee over many years and recently worked tirelessly to generate sponsorships to support the conference.
Award of Excellence
The Award of Excellence was established 16 years ago to underscore IACC’s commitment to education, and to recognize those who give of their time, talent and resources to expand and enhance IACC’s educational offerings. This year’s two winners were Mark Woodworth, senior managing director of CBRE Hotels | Americas Research, and Ron Stoddard, executive chef, The Summits Executive Centres, Chicago. Under Mark Woodworth’s direction, IACC’s annual conference center trends report has developed successfully over the last 19 years. RonStoddard was honored for his leadership and contributions to the popular Copper Skillet competitions and his role in promoting IACC’s food & beverage programs.
IACC concluded the 2016 Connect event with a unique gathering of past Global and Chapter Presidents.The past leaders represent the historic evolution of IACC. They gathered to lend their support, experience and expertise to the new generation of organizational leaders as they further IACC’s growth and evolution to maintain strategic relevance and significance in the small-to-medium-sized meetings industry.
