i’m all atwitter

Twitter.  Some people get it, some people don’t.  I highly recommend that you “get it”.  Your personal / professional reputation may be resting on it.

i am a cmp, and proud of it!

For those of you who were thinking about taking the July exam, but just didn’t quite get around to signing up for it, I want to tell you – go ahead and register for the next available CMP exam.

I’ve had a few months to live as a CMP, and I gotta tell ya, every time I hand out a business card with those letters on it, or send out an email with my full signature attached, I get a thrill.

tell me what you want

I’m really asking.  I’ve been writing this blog for over a year, and I’ve never asked!

What would you like to know more about?

What subject matter can I research and write about?

What topics do you care about?

Saving money?  Negotiating better contracts?  Working smarter not harder?

Do you need inspiration?  Motivation?  Or just knowledge?

Tell me.

hey, i know you!

Brand name talent.  Ugh.  And, aahhh.  There’s nothing like working with a professional speaker/singer/entertainer, is there?

They’re a pain in the backside, and they’re a blessing.  They know exactly what they’re supposed to do, and they usually do it exceedingly well.  But they can be SO high maintenance, SO expensive, and SO intimidating!  Are they worth the trouble?

Yes.*

small sigh of relief

I breathed a small sigh of relief earlier this week, when I read in MeetingsNet.com that the final TARP rules were published, and that meetings haven’t been totally bashed.  Not a huge sigh, mind you.  But, at least the government types haven’t completely lost their minds.

take action!

The U.S. Travel Association is urging meetings professionals to take action and encourage your senators to vote YES on Travel Promotion THIS WEEK.

avian thief

Not sure when parrots started migrating, but apparently this one didn’t like his own passport photo…

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/28/AR2009052804311.html

meetings mean business

Planners!  We need to step up and speak out against the negative view the government seems to have taken regarding the corporate groups whose legitimate meetings have come under fire.  Visit Meetings Mean Business, a web site designed by the U.S. Travel Association, to get educated on the facts, the steps you can take, and what our industry means to the U.S. economy.

For example, the meetings industry is directly responsible for 1 million jobs in this country – that’s 0.6% of all the jobs in this country.  Not a small industry, and certainly not made up of frivolous events that are completely unnecessary.  If the government steps in and eliminates the ability for businesses to host their meetings, we’ll all be in a world of hurt.

Get out there and spread the word!

Update: You can send an email or a letter to your congressman via this site.  The U.S. Travel Association has pre-written a great letter with pertinent facts and information that your government representative can use to help the cause!

taking a break

I’ll be taking some time off from posting (I’m having a baby any day now), but I do have a lot of great ideas stored up and will be back to posting in the coming months.  Thanks for visiting!

i am a cmp

Congratulations to all of my meeting planning colleagues who took and passed the CMP exam recently!  I received my letter today, and the relief at knowing I passed is huge!  The accomplishment is great, and we should all be very proud of what we have done for ourselves and for our careers.  Congrats!