Letter from the Chair

Spring Greetings,


Can you believe that the first quarter of 2023 is already over? Time flies when you are having fun … or trade shows to manage. Our board directors are in the midst of their Spring events, and so are many of you. So great to see all the success stories on social media. 


Spring is also a time for change. As days are getting longer, plants beginning to grow, flowers blooming, and animals awakening from hibernation, industry colleagues are also changing jobs or exploring new avenues. I’m the latter. Yes, yours truly is making a change in her life. For the next couple of months, I’ll be fulfilling a lifelong dream – traveling the world! Well, at least parts of this beautiful planet. Do not fear – the Chapter will be in very good hands while I’m on travel. Mark Shadwick, your Vice Chair, has agreed to step up in the interim to lead the Chapter. Thank you, Mark. 


While I’m excited about my journey, I know I’ll have FOMO when it comes to the events planned for the next three months:


  • April: Volunteer at DC Central Kitchen on Sunday, April 30. Sign up here.
  • May: We appreciate every single one of our members and what you are doing for the exhibitions and events industry. To show our gratitude, we are working hard to organize members-only social events across the DMW during Member Appreciation Month. Stay tuned for more details. 
  • June: Our Q2 Education session will take place on Friday, June 9th with the topic, “Love the Venue You’re In.“ Intrigued? Check out our events page for more information.



Please join your fellow board members, DC Chapter members, and industry colleagues at one or many of these events. The best meetings are nothing without you, our attendees. 


Read more about our new Membership Committee and more here…

Events

Education Programs


June Program

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.


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 Freeman at their Alexandria office followed by happy hour and networking. Cathy Breden already committed as a speaker. More to come soon.

Technology Transformation Virtual Series


Our popular Technology Virtual Series is back!

 

Our first session will be held on Thursday, June 22 at 12 noon EDT. Community Brands and eShow will present their ideas on how event organizers can save time and costs by consolidating multiple event processes into one event platform, while providing better value to participants through digital engagement and other programs. These are rapid fire sessions during lunch with a live Q&A session with the providers after brief presentations.         

 

These virtual sessions are FREE to attend for event organizers and event management companies.


Call for Presentations from Technology Providers

If your technology company has solved challenges for event organizers and helped them to achieve better results. Complete the submission form for an opportunity to present to our members and industry professionals interested in learning more about how to transform their technologies.

Virtual Coffee Convo Series


Rob Hamlin, our Past Chair, hosted the successful launch of our new Virtual Coffee Convo series in March. Rob led a lively discussion with event organizers on whether digital has a role in events moving forward.


Mark Shadwick, the Chapter’s Vice Chair, will host the next Coffee Virtual Chat series in May. Join these 30-minute discussions to share your thoughts, ideas, and challenges with fellow event organizers and suppliers! More details coming soon.

Special Events


SAVE THE DATE! A Member Appreciation event is scheduled for Thursday, May 18. The board is planning fun events in three destinations at the same time – VA, DC, and MD. This is our opportunity to appreciate YOU, our members across the DMW area!


Come out for a fun night of singing, laughing, and networking! Our popular Karaoke event will be back in October.

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


Stay tuned for more details on these and other events throughout the year. Go to IAEE DC Chapter Events page for more information and to register for these and other events.

Results Corner

brought to you by mdg, A Freeman Company

Four Ways to Build a Verification Campaign

There’s nothing we love better than early bird registrants for our events. But how do you keep them engaged between registration and opening reception to make sure they actually attend?

 

If your event is free or low cost, or you have a lenient cancellation policy, you may be accustomed to low verification rates — which means that large numbers of registrants don’t show up. There are several ways to keep your registrants excited and prepared for the event so that their participation proves to be fruitful and productive, and they return for next year’s show.


READ MORE

Chapter and Industry News

Member Spotlight


Congratulations to our own board member, Karen Vogel, on launching her new company, Event Performance Group (EPG)! EPG is an event management firm focused on government, association, and corporate events, as well as helping companies plan and execute their exhibit and sponsorship strategies. She will remain as an advisor to Event Advisory Group (EAG), an affiliate partner of EPG.

Industry News You Can Use

WHAT DOES CHATGPT MEAN FOR THE EVENTS INDUSTRY?


“As soon as I heard about ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer) – an AI chatbot program from a company called OpenAI that gives detailed answers to questions in a matter of seconds – my interest was instantly piqued.”

 

While the jury is out on the benefits of AI chatbots, see what happened when Rachel Wimberly, Executive Vice President of Business Development at Tarsus Group, tried ChatGPT on a simple event planning challenge and the response she got in about 5 seconds.



Read the full 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


IAEE DC Chapter is hosting its first volunteer day at DC Central Kitchen on April 30th. Plan to come and network with friends while you are preparing food at the DC Central Kitchen to serve to those in need. Space is limited so sign up today to volunteer!

 

Date: Sunday, April 30, 2023

Time: 8:30 am -12:00 pm ET

Location: The Klein Center is located at 2121 1st Street SW, 20024

 

Sign up here to provide help to this important organization fighting hunger in our community.

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.

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Thank You to our Sponsors

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Administration

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Virtual Event Technology and A/V

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Registration and Tech Series Virtual Platform

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Newsletter

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Expo! Expo! Reception

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Website


New DC Chapter Sponsorship Opportunities for 2023!

Contact Kasey McNeil at kmcneil@smfm.org to learn more about how your company can reach thousands of

event organizers cost-effectively.

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