The Convention Industry Council (CIC) wants nominations for its upcoming Hall of Leaders and Pacesetter Awards program slated in October.
Officials for the CIC seek nominations for the 2013 Hall of Leaders. For the first time, inductees will be selected on an annual basis rather than every other year, adding more stature and continuity to the industry’s premier recognition program. The 27-year-old Hall of Leaders program honors outstanding leaders and innovators in the meetings, conventions and exhibition industry. The 2013 induction celebration is scheduled Oct. 13 at the MGM Resort in Las Vegas prior to the start of IMEX America.
“We are encouraging all industry trade organizations and participants to be heard in the process and come forward with colleagues, mentors and influencers worthy of consideration,” said Karen Kotowski, president and CEO, CIC.
At the same time, CIC is continuing its call for nominations for the recently created Pacesetter Awards, which were launched last year to celebrate achievement and excellence among industry participants.
The CIC introduced the Pacesetter Awards last year and created five categories of distinction: young professionals, sustainability and social responsibility, innovation, friend of the industry, and the chairman’s award. Nominees for the Pacesetters will be measured on individual excellence based on innovation, impact, vision, leadership, influence, collaboration, courage, perseverance and other achievements.
While the CIC seeks nominations for its Pacesetter Awards and Hall of Leaders, several Hall of Leaders inductees recently gathered to discuss the state of the industry. Panel participants included Terri Breining, principal of Breining Group and a Hall of Leaders inductee from 2010; Christine Duffy, president and CEO of Cruise Lines International Association and inducted in 2007; and Christian Mutschlechner, director of the Vienna Convention Bureau and inducted in 2011. The Hall of Leaders has 106 members.
Corporate confidence, new boundaries in professional development, proactive advocacy campaigns and channeling new technology head the list of key issues facing the industry, according the panel of three Hall of Leaders members hosted by the CIC.
“The biggest challenge for the industry is uncertainty – in the economic situation, the outlook for corporate earnings and the implications from the recent U.S. elections,” said Duffy.
Breining emphasized the need for meetings to serve as a key marketing and communications channel and warned that planners have to strike a balance with technology and not employ it simply “as a gimmick that might obscure the real focus of a meeting.”
Mutschlechner pointed to the expanding participation, management and contribution on a global scale of event attendees via virtual formats and new technological means.
The deadline for initial nomination forms for the Hall of Leaders and the Pacesetter Awards is Feb. 1 with complete submission materials due two weeks later. More information and nomination forms are available online at www.conventionindustry.org/HallofLeaders/2013hol/HallofLeadersGala.aspx.
The CIC is comprised of 31 member organizations representing more than 103,000 individuals and 19,500 firms and properties. It was established in 1949 to provide a forum for members seeking to enhance the industry, exchange information, develop programs to promote professionalism and educate the public on the industry’s profound economic impact. Among its initiatives are the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) program, Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX), Economic Impact Study, Hall of Leaders and Pacesetter Awards.
