Members of the Convention Industry Council (CIC) met in April prior to its board of directors meeting to focus on strategic initiatives and opportunities for collaboration. Following on the heels of several successful CIC member collaborations, including the “Face Time. It Matters” campaign, and the Economic Impact Study, CIC members with active foundations met for the first time to discuss ways those foundations can collaborate. In addition, CIC’s Strategy Committee met to develop a new strategic plan, which will guide the staff and volunteers in achieving CIC’s strategic mission.
“We refined CIC’s current mission statement to align with our existing activities as well as future activities as identified in the planning process,” said Deborah Sexton, 2010 chair of the CIC board and president of the Professional Conference Management Association (PCMA). “The committee defined the primary mission of CIC as a forum for member organizations to exchange information and address global issues. In addition, CIC is the best place for the industry to come together to promulgate best practices, collaborate on industry issues and advocate the value of the meetings and events industry.”
The activities of CIC and the strategies in the plan will align with those four areas. The committee identified specific activities around those strategies, which the CIC staff and leadership will further develop and prioritize over the coming weeks.
“The plan will give the staff the road map that it needs to ensure we are spending our time and resources on mission,” said Karen Kotowski, CAE, CMP, CEO for CIC. “The last plan was developed in 2005, and it was much more inwardly focused on CIC programs. The CIC and the industry have both changed since then. We also need to be outwardly focused and bringing the industry together on collaborative issues, as we have done with the messaging campaign and economic impact study.”
The two days of meetings held at the Gaylord National Resort also included the Council of Delegates and Board of Directors meetings. The CIC Council, composed of one representative from each of the 31 CIC member organizations, will be the primary forum for identifying industry trends and issues for consideration for collaboration under the CIC.
