Nearly 700 MPI members gathered in Grapevine for Meeting Professionals International’s World Education Congress (WEC). Held at Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center, the hybrid convention’s in-person attendees were joined virtually by 1,000-plus additional participants, all coming together under the theme “Reunite for Recovery.” The 2020 WEC set the tone for future events and raised the bar with its Duty of Care health and safety procedures. These included sending name badges, lanyards, masks and personal hand sanitizers in advance to attendees, requiring temperature checks each day as delegates entered the event, incorporating responsible F&B/seating/ barriers precautions, and having social activities with made-to-order and individually packaged food items.
2020 was on track to be a record year. For some catering companies across the state, continuous growth year-over-year had set them up for success, and they thought it would be their best 365 days yet.
And a record year it was—but not for good reasons. Layoffs and furloughs, major losses in sales, and too many cancellations and postponed events to count made 2020 a year that catering companies will never forget.