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Letter from the Chair

Greetings from the road!

Time flies when you are having fun! I can’t believe my two months exploring the globe are almost over. So much more to see.

I want to give a big shout out to Mark Shadwick and all board members who have been working hard on our programming during my absence. Last week, our second virtual Coffee Convo was a success, thanks to all of you who joined and engaged. Stay tuned for additional dates and topics. Our first volunteer day at DC Central Kitchen went really well, and we look forward to seeing even more volunteers at the next opportunity to do good.

Our June educational Luncheon this Friday will speak to many meeting planners and partners. The panel will discuss how to make the most of your event space and overcoming challenges including construction during your event, fragmented housing or event space, geographic obstacles, lack of airlift, and many others. We know it’s summertime, the kids might already be out of school, and/or this might be the day you work from home, but it will be worthwhile to attend and network with fellow colleagues. Register today.

Make sure to mark your calendars to join us in person or virtually for the Chapter’s education and networking sessions for the second half of 2023.

We are also bringing back our Member Spotlight because everyone deserves some time in the limelight. You can read more about it below.

I look forward to supporting the Chapter in person again. In the meantime, enjoy the Summer and stay well!

Your IAEE DC Chapter Chair

Claudia Maurer

Events

Education Programs

June Programs

Love the Venue You're In

Making the most of your space through collaboration with partners, proactively identifying and tackling obstacles, and embracing the unique challenges that come with a less-than-ideal space. Event organizers face a variety of challenges - ongoing construction at the venue, disjointed housing or event space, geographic obstacles (like finding yourself in a Tier 2 city with a smaller airport because of a lack of space in Tier 1 cities), etc. Our panel will include an event organizer, hotel, convention center, and CVB.

Friday, June 9, 2023

11:30 am to 2:00 pm EDT

Attend this panel to learn about how to make the most of the venue and destination!

Learn more and register here by June 8th for early bird pricing!

Technology Transformation Virtual Session

Save time and money on your next event while improving audience engagement. It’s possible with innovative tech solutions that can consolidate data and processes into one platform.

Thursday, June 22, 2023

12:00 pm – 12:45 pm EDT

Do you spend too much time working with multiple systems to manage your event? Are data silos making it more difficult to understand your audience and manage attendee and exhibitor databases and communications? Community Brands and eShow will present case studies and ideas on how to save time and costs by consolidating multiple event processes and data silos into one event solution, and using these powerful platforms to provide better value to your participants.

Grab your lunch and attend this rapid-fire virtual session with your colleagues to explore technologies that can make your job easier and improve attendee and exhibitor satisfaction. This session is FREE for event organizers and event management companies. Register today!

September Program

FERN will host a virtual session on September 28th from 10 – 11 am EDT. Topic: The 7 Simple Habits of Inclusive Leaders. The education team is working with some locations to see if we can combine it with an enticing in-person experience. Stay tuned.

November Program

Our last education session of the year, and our annual business meeting, will be hosted by Freeman at their Alexandria office followed by happy hour and networking. Cathy Breden, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of IAEE, will speak on the state of the industry.

CEM Credits: Attendees can earn one (1) CEU credit for attending in-person or virtual events.

Special Events

Come out for a fun night of singing, laughing, and networking! Our popular Karaoke event will be back this fall. Mark your calendar for Thursday, October 26th.

Stay tuned for more details on these and other education and networking events being planned in the second half of the year. Go to IAEE DC Chapter Events page for more information and to register.

Results Corner

brought to you by mdg, A Freeman Company

Get Specific (or Don't) With Your Event Messaging

In event marketing, generic messaging is generally considered “bad” while specific messaging is “good.” To an extent, that’s true. Messaging that could apply to any show doesn’t usually resonate with audiences, especially Millennials and Gen Z who are used to customized content and skeptical of overly broad promises. But stuffing copy with specifics isn’t always an option — or best practice. The idea of linguistic concreteness can help event marketers understand when detailed language works, and when it’s better to be a little more conceptual.

What is linguistic concreteness?

Concrete language is more specific and refers to tangible qualities, whereas abstract language is more “big picture” and tied to things we experience only through intellect. An Idaho State University tutoring sheet uses this example...

Chapter and Industry News

Member Spotlight

NEW! Member Spotlight of the Month

We want to get to know our members better! Each month a chapter member will be featured on the DC Chapter website, social media, and in the quarterly enewsletter in our new Member Spotlight section.

Whether you’re an event organizer, supplier, or independent contractor, simply complete the short Member Spotlight Form for an opportunity to be featured to other members and our event industry community.

Submit your profile today!

Industry News You Can Use

Want more attendees at your event? Get your speakers to help!

It’s becoming increasingly more difficult for event marketers to break through all the noise and get potential and prior attendees to register for an event, especially register early. “Sure, potential attendees may have seen a social post or email about your event, but did that compel them to drop everything and register for it? Probably not.”

“With travel costs increasing and more people working from home, marketers need to pull out all the stops to deliver attendance and the right audience to their events. Consumer products have been leveraging spokespeople and influencers for decades. It's time for event marketers to tap into the power of word-of-mouth marketing powered by their event's speakers. You will reach more audiences with greater touchpoints and create more FOMO by letting your speakers do the talking. You might find that they’re pretty good at it!“

Check out ideas from Rachel Stephan in the TSNN blog here.

Career Center

Have a job opening? Tell us and we will include it in our next newsletter. Email Karen Vogel, Director of Marketing for the DC Chapter, at karen@eagteam.com with information on your organization’s job openings.

Community Service

Volunteer Event

Many DC Chapter members and friends came out to help prepare and serve food at the DC Central Kitchen in April.

Be sure to sign up for the next volunteer day at the DC Central Kitchen:

Date: Sunday, November 5, 2023

Time: 9:00 am -12:00 pm ET

Location: DC Central Kitchen, 2121 First Street SW, Washington, DC

DC Central Kitchen (DCCK) is an iconic nonprofit and social enterprise that combats hunger and poverty through job training and job creation. The organization provides hands-on culinary job training for individuals facing high barriers to employment while creating living wage jobs and bringing nutritious, dignified food where it is most needed. DCCK’s social ventures include serving scratch-cooked farm-to-school meals in DC schools, delivering fresh, affordable produce to corner stores in neighborhoods without supermarkets, and operating fast-casual cafes throughout the District of Columbia.