Through personal stories and Improv games from over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Judi Holler will help you understand why an authentic personal brand is critical to success in life and business.

Learning Objectives:

• An understanding of why your personal brand is the best job security on the planet.
• Creative ways to generate new leads, retain customers, and show value to your leadership.
• The framework to build a personalized value proposition statement as well as a yearlong goal setting tool.

This session was not approved for CMP-IS clock hours, but may count towards other industry designations such as the CAE.

Does it seem like every single person attending your events is either allergic to a particular food or abstaining from an entire food group? This session will help explain the big eight food allergens as well touch on the most common dietary restrictions.

Learning Objectives:

• Examine the most common food allergens and identify common foods that may contain them.
• Plan menus to address common dietary restrictions and allergies, while working within your budget.
• Learn tips on how to manage dietary restrictions and requests in the planning phase.

Room block poaching, suitcasing, guns in meetings, network hacking – these are just some of the latest challenges facing the meetings industry. Join hospitality attorney Josh Grimes and experienced planners and suppliers in an interactive and thought provoking review of the year’s hottest issues.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the latest trends in meeting contracts and adapt your contracts and addendums for your benefit.
• Implement policies to utilize social media to benefit your event and to protect your organization and attendees.
• Develop contract provisions to protect your organization from the latest threats to successful meetings.

From rookies to experienced planners, comparing Audio Visual (AV) bids can make your eyes hurt. It’s time for a little AV 101 to help cut through the jargon. This attendee-driven town hall style session will help you know what you're getting into before you sign on the dotted line.

Learning Objectives:

• Better understand and negotiate your audiovisual contracts.
• Communicate with AV providers your needs, wants, and concerns.
• Provide greater value to your organization or clients by explaining audiovisual needs and costs effectively.

From rookies to experienced planners, comparing Audio Visual (AV) bids can make your eyes hurt. It’s time for a little AV 101 to help cut through the jargon. This attendee-driven town hall style session will help you know what you're getting into before you sign on the dotted line.

Learning Objectives:

• Better understand and negotiate your audiovisual contracts.
• Communicate with AV providers your needs, wants, and concerns.
• Provide greater value to your organization or clients by explaining audiovisual needs and costs effectively.

Human Resources does not have to be mysterious in small business. Leaders know how important compliance and employee management is – but who has the time? This session gives you the answers you need to implement changes that will transform your business. Walk away with tools you can use tomorrow!

Learning Objectives:

• Access to Internet resources that are available to leaders to streamline HR.
• Understand critical forms and tools needed for documentation in all aspects of HR.
• Embrace technology to ease the administrative burden.

Meeting professionals may face unanticipated or unexpected taxes from their meetings and conferences. This session will show you what to look for and how to avoid getting into trouble with the IRS and state taxing agencies. Yes, there are tax implications to organizing and presenting an event or meeting.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize and address tax obligations that meeting professionals can face – and how to avoid dealing with the IRS.
• Learn the tax requirements of gifts and awards given during meetings.
• Register with the IRS and learn what to do after you get your IRS identification number. Learn when and how to make payments to the IRS.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to produce some of the largest and most high profile events? In this session, a panel of executives will answer your burning questions about everything from what takes place behind the scenes, working with televised production, and much more.

Learning Objectives:

• Gain insight into what takes place behind the scenes of high profile events.
• Learn how televised production actually works with large events.
• Obtain answers to your questions about producing big events like SXSW.

Introverts often deliver better results than extroverts. Yet when it comes to introverts our leadership strategy consists of asking them to act like extroverts. This is a serious waste of talent. Susan Cain shows us that introverts think and work in ways that are crucial to today’s organizations.

Annually, the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) forms a blue-chip panel of global exhibition professionals who analyze current and future trends of the exhibitions and events industry. This session will cover the Highlights of the 2015 research produced by the IAEE Future Trends Task Force.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn the trends that will shape how you organize exhibitions and events in the future.
• Identify trends that can impact your show or event.
• Engage in discussions about how organizers can better prepare for the future.