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AWARD-WINNING YEAR FOR THE VANCOUVER CONVENTION CENTRE

The Vancouver Convention Centre’s leadership in environmental sustainability, venue management and innovative programs is in the spotlight. These efforts have earned the Centre many prestigious awards over the past year, including the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM)’s 2011 Venue Excellence Award, presented last week in Phoenix, Arizona during its Annual Convention and Trade Show.

“We’re extremely honoured to be recognized with the IAVM Venue Excellence Award in the Convention Centre category,” says Ken Cretney, General Manager, Vancouver Convention Centre. “This award speaks to our team’s commitment to operational excellence while continuing to deliver exceptional service to our guests, community and other stakeholders.”

The IAVM Venue Excellence Awards recognizes venues that demonstrate excellence in the management and operation of public assembly venues, which were assessed on four criteria: service to the community, team building/professional development, safety and security, and operational excellence.

“These awards were created to recognize outstanding venues. The venues that have been chosen this year have demonstrated exceptional leadership, innovation, and unsurpassed commitment of the highest standards within our industry. They are most deserving of this recognition,” says IAVM Chairman of the Board, John Siehl.

The Vancouver Convention Centre also won the International Association of Congress Centres’ (AIPC) 2011 Innovation Award as the Overall Winner in late June, an award that recognizes initiatives that represent “innovation”– the development of a new, more creative or more effective approach to any aspect of convention centre management, operations or marketing.

The award recognizes the Centre’s Service Excellence Program, a program launched to coincide with the opening of its West building expansion in 2009. The program is multifaceted, including daily service line-up meetings, guest service training, a Guest Ambassador Team and innovative delegate resources to ensure that every guest experiences unparalleled service at every touch point.

“We’re very proud of the impact of our Service Excellence Program and to be recognized by AIPC for this team effort,” adds Cretney. “We want to ensure that our guests are not only inspired by the glass, wood and spectacular views of our effective approach to any aspect of convention centre management, operations or marketing.

“We’re very proud of the impact of our Service Excellence Program and to be recognized by AIPC for this team effort,” adds Cretney. “We want to ensure that our guests are not only inspired by the glass, wood and spectacular views of our stunning West building, but also by our incredible service. The program is a success because it has truly been embraced by every employee along with all of our official suppliers.”

From all of us here at WTTC.com, congratulations Vancouver Convention Center on a job well done.

Chicago: McCormick Place Unveils Phase II Of Changes To Convention Center
Vancouver Convention Centre Goes Platinum (cvent.com)
Photo of the Week: Vancouver Convention Centre (lonelyplanet.com)

Tagged conference services, convention center, cvb, green meetings, news, vancouver, wttc.com

PCMA’s Sherrif Karamat Earns Highest Credential in Association Industry

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September 28 | meeting and event industry news | staff

Sherrif Karamat, chief operating officer of the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), recently earned the Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential from ASAE - the highest professional credential in the association industry.

Karamat is one of 55 association executives who earned the CAE this summer. He joins 3,900 industry leaders worldwide with the CAE distinction, representing just 5 percent of all association professionals.

“We’re extremely proud of Sherrif as he joins this prestigious group of association leaders throughout the world,” said Deborah Sexton, PCMA president and CEO. “This distinction is recognition in a way of all of Sherrif’s outstanding work not only in helping make PCMA such a successful organization but also in serving PCMA’s members in the association community and aiding the meetings industry as a whole.”

At PCMA, Karamat oversees PCMA’s major revenue streams including membership, chapter development and growth, strategic partnerships, and Convene magazine. A 22-year veteran of the meetings and convention industry, he previously was vice president of business sales and services for the Toronto Convention and Visitors Association and has also held several senior sales and marketing positions in the hotel industry.

Karamat is active in the meetings industry, and has served on the Meetings and Convention Industry roundtable, TravelCom Board of Advisors, Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) Business Partner Advisory Council and the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) steering committee. He is a frequent lecturer at various colleges and universities in North America and for IEG at their Advance Level Sponsorship Sales Program.

The CAE program serves to elevate professional standards in the association community, enhance individual performance, and designate those who have demonstrated knowledge essential to the practice of association management. To earn the CAE credential, applicants must have a minimum of three years experience in nonprofit management, complete a minimum of 100 hours of specialized professional development, pass a stringent examination in association management, and pledge to uphold a code of ethics.

To maintain the certification, individuals must demonstrate ongoing studies and leadership activities.

Tagged ASAE, CAE distinction, cvb, pcma, Sherrif Karamat

Meetings and Events Updates for Areas Affected by Hurricane Irene

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August 29 | meeting and event industry news, wttc our cities | staff

For meetings and events occurring on the eastern seaboard the worst seems to be over for most parts affected by hurricane Irene. Right now the system is a tropical depression situated over Québec and moving northeast. As we have seen from the news footage most of the damage seems to have occurred from the large amounts of rainfall as a result of the hurricane. New York City, for the first time, issued a mandatory evacuation order in the lead up to the storm. As always there are those voices saying that the news agencies overreacted. However most of our readers would agree that it’s better to err on the side of caution – especially with hurricanes. Does the word Katrina need anything?

For those of you that have meetings or conventions scheduled on the East Coast then I’m sure you’re busy just trying to get to those meetings (if there even occurring at all). All three major airports around New York City were closed but are now slowly getting back to normal. Boston, Philadelphia and Washington DC, like New York City, are all slowly working through their backlog of flights.

Where to Find Updates If You Are Meeting’s Been Affected by Hurricane Irene

Here at WTTC.com we’ve been keeping our eye on the situation as it’s been unfolding in the areas represented on our website (Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington DC). For up-to-date information you can refer to Huffington Post’s hurricane Irene page. Each cities convention and visitors Bureau (CVB) websites are great ways to find up-to-date information. If you have a meeting or need to travel to Boston you can check out their updates here. New York City’s official visitor site did an excellent job at keeping their information up to date throughout the storm. A look at Philadelphia’s site indicates that business is pretty much normal there. Washington DC’s site is still providing weather related updates and cancellations. Pretty good considering that DC was still recovering from the earthquake a few days earlier. Our hats go off to the tourism officials as they have done an outstanding job throughout this trying week.

So don’t despair as life is slowly getting back to normal on the East Coast. Many people are still without power (CMP is reporting that 275,000 customers had lost power on Sunday) as work crews are working around-the-clock to get customer’s power back. It seems the tricky part remaining is to get air traffic moving at a normal pace. So if you’re one of those persons stuck in an airport waiting for a flight to get to your destination hold tight as with each passing hour more and more flights are heading to affected areas.

Tagged boston, cmp, cvb, hotel news, hurricane irene, meeting planners, new york, philadelphia, transportation, washington dc, wttc.com

WTTC City Spotlight: New York City

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July 28 | wttc our cities | staff

Welcome to WTTC – New York City! Planning a trip to the five boroughs can be part of the fun, but there’s also a lot of ground to cover—how to get here, what to expect from the weather, how to hail a taxi and much more. At WTTC – New York City you’ll find essential information to help you make the most of your visit.

NYC. Where Meeting Planners Meet Value. With diverse neighborhoods citywide and a different experience waiting around every corner, New York City offers up a feeling of energy, excitement and value that is unmatched. In fact, there’s never been a better time to book NYC now for your meeting or convention.

NYC & Company is New York City’s official marketing, tourism and partnership organization. NYC & Company’s sales and services teams are available to help you take advantage of exclusive offers that mean greater savings for your attendees and organization.

Whether you’re looking for NYC hotels, NYC restaurants, or NYC attractions, WTTC New York City is the place to start your local search.