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THE NEWSLETTER OF THE GREATER PHILADELPHIA CHAPTER OF PCMA

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

4A Mecca for Medical Meetings

5Convening Leaders

6The Art of Story Telling

8Journeys

10Supplier & Planner Spotlights

11Negotiating Internet Services

12Community Service Corner

13Sponsorship Committee

14Member News/Calendar of Events

15Welcome New Members

Belinda Keota, CMP, CEMMeeting & Tradeshow ManagerProduce Marketing AssociationGPPCMA President

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “association” as (1) an organized group of people who have the same interest, job, etc., (2) a connection or relationship between things or people, and (3) a feeling, memory, or thought that is connected to a person, place or thing.

When I think of my affiliation with Professional Convention Man-agement Association, I think of all three of these definitions. I’ve built many relationships in the industry, found mentors, and developed friendships. I’m continuously learning about how to improve my planning skills and learning who I am as a leader. PCMA isn’t just a group of people who are in the same industry, for me it’s a place to learn and aspire to be my best self.

Your membership in PCMA is what you make of it. I hope that if you haven’t already, that you will have a chance to build your own meaningful relationship with PCMA. I started out as a student member with the University of Delaware chapter, and upon becoming a “professional,” I was encouraged by my boss to get involved as the student commit-tee chair. I found my passion and have been a volunteer ever since.

During Convening Leaders, the 2016 PCMA Chair, William Reed, posed an important question: How do we better support each other in developing/strengthening our community? The key to my story is that I was encouraged by someone else to step out of my comfort zone to get involved. How can you make a difference in some-one’s career? How can you strengthen your own career? How can GPPCMA help you? Feel free to reach out to any one of the members of the board or commit-tees to learn more about the resources available to you as a member or to find out how you can become more involved.

I’m excited for this upcoming year because we have some great programming ahead. We kicked the year off at the Convening Leaders joint chapter reception at the Pinnacle Harbourfront Hotel (nothing beats the view we had from the 19th floor) followed by the GPPCMA February meeting The Art of Story Telling. Join us on April 14, Global Meeting Industry Day, for our state of the industry discus-sion on disrupters, as well as on June 2 for our annual Phillies Networking Event.

I’d like to sign off with a thank you to our committee members, chairs, and board of directors. Each of you works hard throughout the year to bring this association to life, and I appreciate the opportunity to work with each of you this year.

“How do we better support each other

in developing/strengthening our

community? ”William Reed, PCMA Chair

This Issue Sponsored By:

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BRING YOUR EVENT TO LIFE

A leading hub of life sciences activity, Philadelphia is the perfect place to hold your next convention—like the successful and memorable BIO International Convention held just last summer.

Our region boasts top academic and research institutions, along with major biotech and pharmaceutical companies. Add to that our central location and close proximity to more than 40 percent of the U.S. population and the choice becomes clear. If you’re looking to bring your event to life, make the sensible choice. Make it PHL.

PHLLifeSciences.com or 1-855-MEET-PHL

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Khaila Burke-GreenCommunications ManagerPhiladelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau

Recently designated the first World Her-itage City in the United States, and not too distant from a successful Papal Visit, Philadelphia has plenty to brag about when it comes to attracting meetings and conventions. Especially when it comes to the coveted market of medical meetings.

Philadelphia prides itself on attracting medical and life-sciences related meet-ings. As the birthplace of not only Ameri-can history but also medical history – the first hospital, first medical school, first children’s hospital, first medical library, first college of pharmacy and more – the city and its surrounding regions are rich in medical, health care, biotechnolo-gy, pharmaceutical, higher education, research, and venture capital entities that provide access to a deep pool of talent and partners for life sciences meetings and conventions.

Philadelphia also boasts many medical and science attractions and a variety of venues to hold medical meetings and conventions that both educate and entertain attendees. Venues like The

Franklin Institute, the Barnes Foundation, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Philadelphia College of Physicians and the Mütter Museum, the Physick House and the Chemical Heritage Foundation make ideal spots to host off-site tours and events. Museum treasures include medical artifacts, antiques, art master-pieces and noteworthy architecture relative to science. For medical art enthu-siasts, Philadelphia offers an extensive collections of medical art, ranging from an outdoor mural honoring nurses to Thomas Eakins’ painting The Gross Clinic, in addition to numerous collections at hospitals and medical schools.

Planning and facilitating an event in Philadelphia is a breeze with the Phil-adelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB), and if you’re bringing in a life sciences group, the PHLCVB has a ded-icated department to help planners in-crease attendance and grow sponsorship opportunities. The PHLCVB and its busi-ness development division PHLLife, work seamlessly to provide access to industry experts, hospital systems, biotechnology companies, nursing programs and phar-maceutical firms in the tri-state region as well as to off-site venues and regional attractions.

Lonely Planet just named Philadelphia the number one place to visit in the United States in 2016. Add that love to being ranked No. 3 by the New York Times on their list of “52 Places to Go in 2015”, as well as the fourth most Walkable City in the nation by Redfin’s Walk Score in 2015, Philadelphia is sure to enthrall conven-tion attendees.

Getting to Philadelphia couldn’t be easier either. The city’s sophisticated regional rail and subway network links the Phila-delphia International Airport – which ser-vices 30 airlines offering nearly 550 daily departures to 126 cities, including 39 international destinations – to Amtrak’s 30th Street Station, the Convention Cen-ter and downtown Philadelphia. Phila-delphia is an important hub to American Airlines, which has more than 450 flights to 127 destinations in/out of the city.

A modern global city with historic appeal, Philadelphia continues to write a vibrant story, one that’s sure to make for happy planners, attendees and exhibitors.   To learn more about Philadelphia and hosting a medical meeting at the Penn-sylvania Convention Center or any of the city’s unique off-site venues, visit www.PHLLife.com.

PHILADELPHIA:A Mecca for Medical Meetings

A W O R D F R O M O U R S P O N S O R

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Myriame Dutes Meeting CoordinatorFernley & FernleyGPPCMA Community Service Committee Co-Chair

This year’s Convening Leaders in Van-couver, BC truly inspired me not to only cultivate creative moments but lasting memories. As a first time attendee of Convening Leaders, it will be an experience that will forever remain with me. Let me speak on the location for just a second, Vancouver….what a great way to start my CL experience! This lovely city was a beautiful depiction of the harmony between urban landscape and nature. The breathtaking panoramic views of Vancouver that can easily be seen from the Convention Centre were a wonderful mental escape and pleasant visual as we moved about the conference.

I feared as a first-timer and from what I’ve heard from my colleagues that Conven-ing Leaders can be an overwhelming experience, so I enlisted the assistance of a mentor, a veteran attendee of CL and someone who could provide me tips and suggestions on how to navigate this unknown terrain. Her assistance was so helpful from the opening night reception to the closing session.

Sunday evening’s opening reception was a true celebration of the senses and fully embraced the conference theme. From the delicious food selection to the entertainment throughout the evening, it was truly an amazing evening; so much

so I had to post a clip on Facebook. The highlight for me was the fire dancers (boy, was it hot! Anyone close to the stage could feel the heat) and the talented violinist who was battling the DJ at one point. I even had a moment to speak with the artist who created this amazing 12-foot plus hanging ice chandler. To hear the back-story that went into such a focal piece…what a way to be inspired by the arts!

The opening session was a welcomed format with an intimate conversation with Arne Sorenson, President & CEO of Marri-

ott International, Inc. I believe it provided an opportunity to delve into Mr. Soren-son’s personal side and how his upbring-ing influenced some of decisions made in the positions he held at Marriott. As a hot button item, it was also good to hear more about the merger that has been the talk of industry for the past few months and how this will impact the industry as a whole. The sessions I attended that day spoke much about productivity and having a work/life balance. I was tickled to find out that Julia Funt was our lunch speaker. I’ve played her YouTube clip sev-eral times in the office just for laughs, as any planner can relate to her enactment of a day on-site.

Tuesday’s general session started with an engaging discussion with Jonah Berger

about the power of word of mouth, and I can’t forget to mention the reference to Panda cheese which brought a symphony of laughs throughout the room. If you don’t believe me, check it out on YouTube. Afterwards, I made a quick stop at the Learning Lounge for a brief session on sitting…which is now being coined as the new smoking, who knew? In addition to attending sessions, I made sure to check out Tech Central where I harassed the rep for about one hour on implementing new apps and software to make my job easier. While I was at it, I made sure to get a LinkedIn Profile Makeover, which has already proven to be beneficial as I’ve no-ticed my number of views have increased.

My final day was bittersweet. It started with a breakfast general session on habits from Gretchen Rubin and I must say from that session I learned much about myself professionally and personally. I decided to spend the remainder of my time embrac-ing my creative side by creating a Van-couver-themed key chain and coloring I must say-- what a relaxing activity. It really puts you in a good frame of mind. The closing reception was an adrenaline shot of inspiration from Amy Purdy, an exem-plary example of fulfilling one’s dream. Those who had to leave early missed the unexpected impromptu rap session by Texas native Saul Paul where he created a song on stage with words provided by the crowd. Thanks to the Austin CVB, I had my slouchy during the first snowstorm in Philly. When I put it on it serves as sweet reminder of what Convening Leaders may have in store for 2017 in Austin, TX.

EventsSummaries

Cultivating My Own Creative Moments

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Brendan MorrisseyAssociate Director of SalesHilton Inn at PennGPPCMA Past PresidentGPPCMA Program Committee Co-Chair

On Thursday February 11th, the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of PCMA welcomed Jess Stephens, Vice President of Creative Services for PSAV for the first educational program of 2016. In this session, Jess guided us through the Art of Story Telling and how storytelling is a key component in our organizations and our meetings. Today we find ourselves in an environ-ment where we have members of four generations all working together trying to achieve the same goal. As leaders, we have to somehow find a way to have everyone collaborate collectively so that the desired outcome can be achieved. Mastering this unique art is a key to success.

Telling a story can give the audience a historical perspective while also fore-shadowing a future vision. It helps to create an image or a vision in the listen-

er’s head where they begin to empathize with the story and then want to become part of it. Today, ninety-three percent of all business uses some type of story to communicate their message to the consumer in order to build their brand. Organizations are now using the art of storytelling to strategically streamline their meetings so that they can commu-nicate their message starting immediate-ly with the opening reception, into the general sessions, continuing it through breakout sessions all the way on until the closing session. The story, if communicat-ed properly, will increase collaboration and emotionally connect the generations together. This will allow them to become part of the story and your message will be retained.

Jess highlighted the fact that human beings have been practicing this art ever since the days of the caveman. It started with rudimentary pictures on walls of a cave, continued on with Egyptian Hieroglyphics and through the Bible. It was brought into the modern day with the likes of Charles Dickens, Walt Disney,

George Lucas, and JK Rowling. Today it is vital that as industry leaders, we contin-ue this art throughout our organizations and meetings.

We would like to thank the Doubletree Hotel Philadelphia Airport for hosting our event, a job well done. Also, a sin-cere thank you goes out to our friends at the Austin CVB & PSAV for their generous sponsorship and continued support.

Do not be afraid to become a great storyteller. Use research along with the credibility of others to support your story so that the listener will buy in, and allow others to participate in the story. By increasing collaboration, you can stream-line your message and bridge the gen-erational gap so that it will be retained. Remember, when a listener begins to empathize with a story they then want to become part of that story.

Looking forward to seeing you all again in April….

The Art of Story Telling…

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COMING SOON...an expanded Colorado Convention Center with new

meeting space, spectacular rooftop terrace and major technology upgrades.

New $9 rail service from Denver International Airport to downtown launches

April 22 and gives attendees a fast, affordable option to get to the heart of the city.

Learn More at VISITDENVER.COM/CONVENTIONS

THE BEAR-ER OF GREAT NEWS!

PCMA_PHILLY_2.22.16_Layout 1 2/17/16 10:58 AM Page 1

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Julie Coker GrahamPhiladelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau President & CEO

I’ve been doing several media interviews surrounding my appointment as President & CEO of the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau and the question of how I got to where I am has come up every time. I would say that it all started when I was a teenager in the 11th grade, working as a waitress (as we were called at that time), in a chain restaurant called Mr. Steak. I was a senior in high school and could not be more excited that I could earn cash tips every night just for being nice to people and getting their steak the right temperature. I thoroughly enjoyed that job because it gave me the immediate satisfaction of being a part of special memories, whether it was for someone’s birthday or someone’s date night. The minimum wage was $2.35 an hour at that time and my first “big” purchase was a plane ticket to see my Grandmother in Florida with all my tips.

That experience led to me wanting to own my own restaurant. It made me want to go to school to learn all the ins and outs of the restaurant business and really understand the business side of it. So I applied and got into Johnson & Wales University whose School of Hospitality is truly a leader in hospitality education. There I learned that hospitality was so much more than I thought it could be. I discovered that I could work in a hotel and still be involved with restaurants by being

a food & beverage manager or a restaurant manager. I realized that I didn’t have to be limited to free-standing restaurants and so I made the decision to go into hotels, because I felt it was a broader career path. During my summers in college I worked at a Holiday Inn as a housekeeper and learned there that every job matters. It also taught me about team-work and that we were all instrumental to the experiences of the guests that stayed with us. That was when I knew that it was going to be a great profession.

In 1989 I began my career at the Hyatt Regen-cy Columbus as a corporate management trainee, where I held various positions. In 1994, I was promoted to my first room executive position at Hyatt Deerfield (Chicago) and held the same position at Hyatt Regency Cincinnati before being appointed to join the opening team and lead the rooms division at Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in March 1998. In 1998, I was promoted to General Manager at Hyatt on Printer’s Row in downtown Chicago and from there was again promoted to Gener-al Manager at The Lodge, a Hyatt property in a suburb of Chicago.

I eventually made the decision to move to Philadelphia in 2007 to be closer to my family in Delaware, and as general manager at the Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penn’s Landing (now a Hilton property) immediately became active with the PHLCVB as a board member. As fate would have it, I was asked if I would be interested in the position of Senior Vice President of the Convention Division at the PHLCVB and although I had not previously considered it I was excited to explore the possibilities. I was hired in 2010 to oversee the PHLCVB’s Sales and Services department and after three years was promoted to Executive

Vice President in June 2014 as part of a suc-cession plan in the lead up to my predecessor Jack Ferguson’s retirement. Over the next 18 months I worked with Jack Ferguson and PHLCVB board chairman, Nick DeBenedictis, to transition into the president’s role. During that time we informed our stakeholders, our customers, and the international marketplace that this transition was underway and that as of January 1, 2016 I would become President & CEO. I was always confident in the process and spent a great deal of time with Jack over the last 18 months to prepare for January 1. My 30-year career has also certainly prepared me for this moment. I learned from Jack what great leadership looks like. During our transition he was supportive, agreed to share his time, tal-ent, and knowledge with me and I owe a great deal of my success here at the PHLCVB to him. I also attribute my success to a fantastic support system of business and civic leaders that I can reach out to for advice and feedback, as well as the many role models, both male and female, who were advocates and sponsors on my behalf. Their guidance throughout my career has been invaluable and I will continue their examples by being a role model and paving the way for those that come behind me.

As the sales and marketing agency for the Pennsylvania Convention Center and the tourism promotion agency for Philadelphia in overseas markets it isn’t lost on me that what we do every day supports 67,000 jobs in the hospitality industry. With the changes at the Convention Center and our city’s increasing popularity on the world stage, Philadelphia is moving in the right direction and I’m excited that I’m in a position to make a difference and to leave things better than when I first came.

How did I get here?

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T H E 2 0 1 6 G P P C M A B O A R D O F D I R E C T O R S A N D C O M M I T T E E C H A I R S

NOMINATING Theresa Barrett, PhD, CMP, CAENJ Academy of Family Physicians

PROGRAM Brendan MorrisseyHilton Inn at Penn

Heather Seasholtz, CMPTalley Management Group

SPONSORSHIPDebi Maines, CMP-HCA. Fassano & Company

Donna Young, CMPAmerican College of Physicians

PRESIDENTBelinda Keota, CMP, CEMProduce Marketing Association

PRESIDENT ELECT Robin Geary, CMP Association Headquarters

SECRETARYPat Kraft HilplPhiladelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau

TREASURERClorinda HollandSalt Lake CVB

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENTTheresa Barrett, PhD, CMP, CAENJ Academy of Family Physicians

BOARD OF DIRECTORS(1 YEAR REMAINING)Warren AbrahamPSAV

Allen AndersonDoubleTree Philadelphia Airport

Diane RehielASTM International

COMMUNITY SERVICESMyriame Dutes Fernley & Fernley

Neil R. SchrieverStarwood Hotels & ResortsEMERGING LEADERS Chris Keane, CMPOmni Hotels & ResortsLauren LamSheraton Philadelphia Airport

MEMBERSHIPCheryl Gallagher, CMPTalley Management Group

Sara McWilliamsHelmsBriscoe

BOARD OF DIRECTORS(2 YEAR TERM)Shelby AsenSIAM

Sharon GoodspeedCaesars Entertainment

Greg KamprathIMS Technology Services

GPPCMA COMMITTEE CHAIRSCOMMUNICATIONS Erica A. KeagyGPPCMA

GREATER PHILADELPHIA CHAPTER OF PCMA

Global Meetings Industry DayGPPCMA Chapter Meeting& ReceptionThursday, April 14, 20165:00pm-8:00pmIndependence Seaport Museumwww.regonline.com/Apr14

What now!? Every time we overcome an obstacle, we’re presented with a new one. We’d like to focus on educa-tion, networking, attendee ROI and delivering a great meeting experience, but “disruption” seems to be the industry trend. Today’s space is filled with hotel and airline mergers, meeting consolida-

tions, stories of hotel room block dispersion and constant change to meeting technol-ogy. Join us Thursday, April 14th at the Independence Seaport Museum where we’ve invited industry friends and experts to engage in conver-sation on how these disrup-tive forces are shaping our space today.

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SUPPLIER SPOTLIGHT PLANNER SPOTLIGHT

Penny M. BradyMeetings and Conventions Sales ManagerHershey Harrisburg Regional Visitors Bureau

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Penny Brady. Penny grew up in West Palm Beach, Florida. She caught the hospitality bug at age 17, with her first job working in the gift shop at the West Palm Beach Days Inn. From there

she moved to different jobs at different hotels in different cities, working for Sheraton, Holiday Inn, and Marriott to name a few. She worked at the front desk and in sales. She knew sales was right for her and she never looked back.

I asked how Penny got from Florida to Pennsylvania. She moved here with her former husband and took a job at the Radisson Camp Hill. From there she worked at the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts. When she heard about an opening at the Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitors Bureau she immediately applied. Penny has been at the bureau for four years now and truly enjoys her job. She especially enjoys travel-ing, working with her clients and meeting new people. She enjoys the challenge of selling and sharing the features of the Hershey-Harrisburg area. Penny joined PCMA at the same time she joined the bureau.

Looking back, Penny said her favorite childhood memories were of living in Florida and being near the beach. These days she enjoys traveling, entertaining, and cooking. Penny likes football (she became a Redskins fan while living in DC), music (The Eagles), pizza and movies. Her favorite movie is Robin Hood, with Kevin Costner and it holds a special memory for her because she had the theme song from the movie as her wedding song.

Penny has one daughter and her husband has 3 sons. Be-tween them they have 6 grandchildren who keep things lively. Penny’s husband is a contractor and over the years they have enjoyed working on their home, which was built in 1849.

By Karen Lennert, CASESenior Account ExecutivePSAV, Premier Global Events

Lauren SantaroneSenior Meetings Manager American Association for Can-cer Research (AACR)

I had the pleasure to chat with Lauren Santarone from AACR and can now share with all of you a little bit about Lauren! Lauren recently won the PCMA 20 in their 20’s award, which was announced at Convening Leaders in Vancouver! There will

be an article about Lauren soon in Convene magazine. She said the process to enter this was pretty extensive, as it involved sending in a resume, an application, completing an essay question and video. We are so proud of you for winning this prestigious honor, for representing AACR as well as GPPCMA!   Lauren has been with AACR since November 2011. Lauren started as their conference center manager, was promoted to meetings manager and now is a senior meetings manager. She handles 12 meetings per year and AACR has about 40 meetings annually. Attendance for their annual meeting is over 19,000! Lauren grew up in Montgomery County, has one younger sister and is a graduate of Gwynedd Mercy Academy. She went to the College of Charleston (SC) and was a corporate and organizational communications major. She planned on going to law school after college, but in 2008, with the economy in the tank; she felt that taking on more debt was not the best option. Off to job hunting she went. Her first job was with Independence Blue Cross in Philadelphia managing their conference center. She stayed there just under 2 years, then went onto Max Vantage and worked on the BMS account as project coordinator. During this time she lost a dear friend to cancer and saw the job opening at AACR. She felt this was a “sign” to work with a company that had some meaning to herself and to the memory of her friend. Lauren likes to dine out, enjoys cooking and travel. She also recent-ly ran the Rock and Roll Half Marathon in Philadelphia on October 31, 2015. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and (1) dog, Layla. Her husband John is a Lieutenant in the Philadelphia Fire Department. They are still considered newlyweds with 6 months of marriage under their belts. Their honeymoon was spent recently in St. Lucia. They both love to travel at least once or twice a year and plan to go to Costa Rica this year. Their bucket list trip would be to visit Thailand.

By Sharon GoodspeedRegional Sales ManagerCaesars EntertainmentGPPCMA Board Member

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Greg KamprathAccount ExecutiveIMS Technology ServicesGPPCMA Board Member

It’s Friday night and you’ve decided to eat at a pleasant looking restaurant. You order food, and after putting in the order your server comes back to the table and asks if you’d like to continue to use chairs as well. She lets you know the restaurant is pleased to offer chairs at $.16 per pound of occu-pant. Crazy right? Sure you can eat dinner without a chair, but obviously it’s not the experience you’d like. However, you al-ready picked a place and ordered, changing restaurants now is going to be a hassle…

It’s not unusual for things to go this way when ordering meeting Internet service at many venues. Not only is the location already selected, the client has signed a contract, and only then is there a discus-sion about how much Internet will cost. Sure, you can get by without access or use a cellular hotspot, but it’s less than ideal. I worked several years in full service hotels for the on-site audiovisual companies, and want to share some tips for getting the best value on Internet service.

Recognize the value of Internet serviceFirst off, let’s clarify that Internet service for your meeting (more so than guest rooms) has real value. We talk about getting free Wi-Fi at Starbucks, but if the Wi-Fi doesn’t work the worst-case scenario is you go to Panera and continue browsing Facebook. In a professional setting, reliable, high speed Internet is mission critical. What are you going to do if your presenter’s online demo doesn’t work, or attendees can’t download your organization’s app? The labor and infrastructure that support Inter-net aren’t free, so paying a reasonable price for this service should be expected.

Test coverage when conducting site visitsWhen conducting site visits, use a tablet or laptop to look at the signal strength of the venue’s wireless network. Can you pick it up in the corners of the room? Can you pick it up in that one room that is separate

from the rest of the meeting rooms? Use an online speed test to measure how fast the connection is. (Google “speed test” for a ton of options) The speed test mea-sures bandwidth, which I’ll talk about in a second.

Ask for pricing at each venue before signing a contractAvoid surprises. Ask for the costs in a written form (It doesn’t have to be a formal quote but at least via email). Make sure you understand the information provided and ask for clarification if necessary. It helps to ask if there will be other groups using the same network since that will reduce speed available for you. You can also ask if it’s possible to get “dedicated bandwidth” (i.e., capacity set aside just for your group) although that will have a higher price.

Calculate how much bandwidth you needLook at this CIC bandwidth calculator and estimate how much bandwidth you’ll need. Some venues provide Internet pricing per person, per device, or a flat rate for the entire group. Bandwidth is the preferred measurement. Imagine a pipe with water flowing through it. Bandwidth describes how big that pipe is. Suppose you have 100 attendees and you get a per person price. That won’t give you an accurate picture of usage since your 100 attendees could be sharing from one straw or drinking from a fire hose.

Negotiate on the pricing you received(If you’re satisfied with the price you re-ceived by all means skip this step.)

When I put together an audio visual quote and list a technician for 10 hours, I know how much that technician is going to cost internally in hourly pay, health benefits, training etc. There’s a real cost attached. With venues there is a real cost associated with the bandwidth you’re purchasing, but the people you’re talking with likely don’t know what it is.

Working AV in hotels there was a list price we were supposed to charge. But then there was the price we actually charged, because the hotel partner was offering a lower rate before we started handling Internet, or because a client pushed back on the venue sales person, or pushed back on us, and we wanted to keep the client happy. In my experience, the AV partner doesn’t know how much bandwidth costs the venue, and if they do that cost isn’t on their balance sheet. So an area the AV company is willing to negotiate is Internet. This is why after you’re locked into a hotel you may encounter AV partners offering a big “discount” on Internet if you agree to use them for the rest of your AV needs.

Compare the prices you received at pre-vious meetings, compare between other locations you’re considering, then nego-tiate for the pricing you would like before signing a contract. (Keeping in mind the earlier point about paying a reasonable rate. “Free” isn’t realistic for meeting space, although it may be for guest rooms as expectations are lower).

Ask for report on usage after the eventOnce the meeting is over, ask for a usage report from the venue. This is something they should be able to provide (Depending on location, I wouldn’t be surprised if you get a, “Let me check if we can do that”). It will show how much data was used over the length of your meeting, and potentially the ebb and flow when attendees were using more bandwidth throughout the ses-sions. This will be important for your next event because you will have hard data on how much bandwidth you need and how much that bandwidth cost.

As in most types of negotiation, knowl-edge is power. Knowing the quality of service available at the venue, amount of service you need, and pricing in the market place will serve you well. Finally, negotiating at the right time, before you’re locked into a location, will provide crucial leverage. I hope you find this post helpful, if I can share any other information please don’t hesitate to reach out!

Six tips for NegotiatingInternet Services

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Myriame DutesMeeting CoordinatorFernley & FernleyGPPCMA Community Service Committee Co-Chair

Community Service for Community Engagement is what we are striving for in 2016. Our goal this year is to get our members engaged with organizations/foundations that we partner with throughout the year. We will ask for feedback from members on causes that they are most passionate about. We want members to be just as excited about community service as we are! The Community Service Committee will begin highlighting many of these organizations through the quarterly newsletter.

One of our initiatives as a committee is to bring light to more local organizations/founda-tions that are less known. The first organization of the year that we have chosen to partner with is For Pete’s Sakes. The committee will collect monetary donations to create two “Night on the Town” gift baskets themed for the Greater Philadelphia Area and Atlantic City. These gift baskets will be given as a donation to be auctioned off at For Pete’s Sakes 17th Annual Dinner and Fashion Show in April. Melissa Thomas, CMP of ASTM International will provide you more information about this great organization.

COMMUNITY SERVICE CORNER

Philadelphia Ronald McDonald HouseMyriame DutesMeeting CoordinatorFernley & FernleyGPPCMA Community Service Committee Co-Chair

We are also very excited to announce our participation in this year’s 8th Annual Plane Pull in support of the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House. Yes, you read right…a plane pull! The plane pull is scheduled for Saturday, May 14th at Atlantic Aviation. The committee is looking for 20 participants and donations from all our members, friends and family to meet our fundraising goal to participate.

We are excited to get involved with such a great cause with the first Ron-ald McDonald House in the world here in Philadelphia in 1974. The Philadelphia house now serves as the model for 350 houses. In support of the co-founders, Dr. Audrey Evans and Jimmy Murray vision of a home away from home for families of seriously ill children, “…the Philadel-phia Ronald McDonald House supports families of seriously

ill children by creating a community of comfort and hope” (Ronald McDonald House 2015). GPPCMA Past President 2009, Sharon Kemble, CMP shares her experience participating in a plane pull. “I pulled a 737 airplane! How many of us can say that? For a group of GPPCMA members, we can add this to our resume of life’s unique experi-ences, and we have a shirt to prove it! It’s easy, no experience necessary and was a fun team building morning with fellow chapter members supporting the Ronald McDonald House. It was well worth the hour drive one very early Saturday morn-ing to participate in this once in a lifetime morning pulling an airplane! I’m planning on my third plane pull this May supporting the efforts of the RMH. Hope you’ll join us in May!”

For Pete’s Sakes Melissa Thomas CMPMeeting ManagerASTM International

GPPCMA is partnered with For Pete’s Sake Cancer Respite Foundation (formerly Crossing the Finish Line) for our February 11, 2016 Chapter Breakfast Meeting. For Pete’s Sake is a non-profit organization that assists adult cancer patients, their caregivers and loved ones. Marci Bossow Schankweiler founded For Pete’s Sake Cancer Respite Foundation in memory of her husband, Peter R. Bossow, Jr., whose fifteen-month battle with cancer ended on September 1, 1999.

Eligible patients between the ages of 24-55 years of age, along with their care-givers, receive a one-week expense-paid respite vacation to select locations along the East Coast and in the Caribbean. “Trav-elers” must be nominated by a member of their oncology team. For Pete’s Sake partners with over 325 nominators at 100 hospitals to form their nominating teams. Since its inception in 1999, For Pete’s Sake has helped over 6,000 people take a break from cancer.

For Pete’s Sake is currently the only organization that focuses exclusively on therapeutic respite travel experiences for adult cancer patients, their caregivers and families. For Pete’s Sake aims to give cost-free, care-free respites and thus covers the cost of airfare, car rental, accommoda-tions, and gifts a generous cash stipend to ensure families have to spend little to no money of their own while on their break from cancer. Upon return, For Pete’s Sake creates a special photo keepsake and keeps in touch with the patients and caregivers through their ancillary support program.

The Community Service Committee thanks GPPCMA for their support of this organization and is looking forward to building a long lasting relationship with For Pete’s Sake!

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GPPCMA NEEDS YOU – VOLUNTEER TODAY!Communications CommitteeChair: Erica Keagy (gppcma@comcast.net)The Communications Committee is responsible for ensuring chapter news, activities, and important event information is communicated to members on a timely basis.

Some of the things we do: Design and deliver a quarterly newsletter devoted to content relevant to the profession and GPPCMA; Develop chapter specific communications when necessary for the good of the organization; Plan and execute a social media strategy

What can you do? Volunteer to write for the newsletter, help with proofing and ed-iting content, join the social media team and keep our Facebook and Twitter accounts active.

Community Service CommitteeChairs: Myriame Dutes (mdutes@fernley.com) and Neil Schriever (neil.schriever@starwoodhotels.com)The Community Service Committee exists to build the connection between the Chapter, its members, and the local community, through participation in service activities, donation drives, and fundraising efforts for Greater Philadelphia based charities, non-profits, and community outreach organizations. Some of the things we do: Design Community Service Activi-ties; organize and promote charitable donation drives; promote member wellness by educating our members about community and public health issues that affect us all and provides members information and tools they can use to address these issues.

What can you do?Brainstorm ideas for CS activities; Research and suggest orga-nizations to partner with; Participate in CS activities, and arrives early to assist in facilitation; Attend functions as representative of the committee; Act as a “cheerleader” to boost participation in CS Activities

Education Committee Brendan Morrissey (brendan.morrissey@hilton.com) and Heather Seasholtz (hseasholtz@talley.com)The Education Committee is responsible for planning and exe-cuting high-quality networking, social and educational events that create opportunities for the local industry partners and promote professional development.

Some of the things we do: Develop themes for chapter events; secure presenters; create and promote educational activities

What can you do?Brainstorm ideas for educational events; help find presenters; help find venues

Emerging Professionals CommitteeChairs: Chris Keane (christopher.keane@omnihotels.com) and Lau-ren Lam (llam@sheratonphiladelphiaairport.com)The Emerging Professionals Committee of the GPPCMA exists to provide education and networking opportunities to students and professionals who have been in the industry for less than 10 years. Some of the things we do: Create inexpensive networking opportunities for new/emerging professionals; Provide small education opportunities for students and emerging profession-als; visit student chapters What can you do?Help organize happy hours by contacting potential host loca-tions; Promote the committee to new professionals; Speak at student functions

Finance CommitteeChairs: Clorinda Holland (cholland@visitsaltlake.com) The Finance Committee establishes monetary objectives and limitations for the financial operation of the organization and monitors all accounts

Some of the things we do: If there is money involved we are involved

What can you do?Serve as member-at-large on the committee

Membership CommitteeChairs: Cheryl Gallagher (cgallagher@TALLEY.com) and Sara McWil-liams (smcwilliams@helmsbriscoe.com)The GPPCMA Membership Committee facilitates continued growth of the chapter and ensures that members have an ex-cellent experience so that they achieve maximum benefit from their membership.

Some of the things we do: Foster a welcoming environment for all attendees at GPPCMA events; recruit and retain members

What can you do? Become a GPPCMA Ambassador; Mentor prospective new members; Send welcome letters, birthday cards, and notes

Sponsorship CommitteeChairs: Donna Young (dyoung@acponline.org) and Debi Maines (debimaines63@gmail.com)The Sponsorship Committee solicits support dollars for all chap-ter meetings and events scheduled throughout the year, as well as for the quarterly newsletter.

Some of the things we do: Connect with potential sponsors; promote the organization to sponsors; Build relationships

What can you do?Help find new sponsors; Network with existing sponsors

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As of March 15, 2016Austin CVB

Brulee CateringCaesars Entertainment

Citizens Bank ParkDoubleTree Philadelphia Airport

Field House PhillyFort Worth CVB

Hilton Philadelphia at Penn’s LandingIndependence Seaport Museum

Kalahari Resort & ConventionsLong Beach CVB

Meet ACPhiladelphia CVB

PHL Life Pinnacle Hotel Vancouver Harbourfront

PSAVSan Francisco Travel

Signature Boston and 3-2-1 ConnectSheraton Seattle HotelStarwoods of Seattle Tourism Vancouver

Travel AlbertaVisit DenverVisit Seattle

THANK YOU TO OUR 2016 SPONSORS AND HOSTS!

For more information, contact one of our Sponsorship CommitteeCo-Chairs, Donna Young at dyoung@acp.org or

Debi Maines, debimaines63@gmail.com.

REACH OVER 300 INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS! ADVERTISE IN:

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

2016 EVENTSTHURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016

Chapter MeetingIndependence Seaport Museum

5:00pm-8:00pmwww.regonline.com/Apr14

THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2016Phillies Networking Event

Citizens Bank Park6:00pm-7:30pm - Reception @ Rooftop Terrace

7:05 - Game Start Time

MONDAY/TUESDAY, JULY 18-19, 2016Chapter Retreat

Bally’s Atlantic CityJuly 18 – 6:00pm-8:00pm - Opening Reception

July 19 - 9:00am-4:15pm - Chapter Retreat

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2016Education Day 8:00am-2:30pm

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2016 Chapter Fundraiser

The Field House Philly5:00pm-8:00pm

FIRST WEEK OF NOVEMBERService In Sync Day

Date TBD

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2016Holiday Party/Board and Officer Induction

5:00pm-8:00pm

MEMBER NEWSCongratulations to GPPCMA President, Belinda Keota who recently was engaged to Matt Harvey. Matt proposed while they were in Vancouver at Convening Leaders. Best wishes!

Congratulations to Julie Coker-Graham! In January, Julie became the new head of the Philadelphia CVB, filling the roles of President & CEO.

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Maria Bardos McGuireDirector of Strategic Accounts

Hyatt Hotels

Gina HarriganRegional Sales Manager

Caesars

Lorenz HassensteinGeneral Manager

Pennsylvania Convention Center/SMG

Molly HessManager Convention & Meeting Dept

CSL Behring

Mimi HudachekAccount Director

Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts

Grant KehlerNational Sales ManagerCaesars Entertainment

David KrakowGroup Sales Manager

The Claridge Hotel

Jessica MagazzuHotel Sales Manager

Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa

Sarah NorrisDirector of Sales

Access Destination Services

Scott PattersonCoFounder / CEOThe Knox Corps

Margie PollardExecutive Assistant/Event ManagerThoroughbred Racing Associations

Scott Pullman CMP, CHSE, HMCCExecutive Director, National Accounts, Northeast

Loews Hotels

Kacie SheppeckManager, Meetings and Conferences

Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association

Erica TeddoneStudent

Penn State University

Emily TravisMarketing

FlexLink Systems Inc.

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!through 3/1/16

Sponsor a planner and have lunch, breakfast or cocktails at a Philadelphia PCMA event. It’s a great way to get to know you’re client better, especially if they have not attended a program before.  There are many planners whose companies do not pay for their attendance especially to our social events.  The next time you are coming to a Philadelphia Chapter event, invite a planner to be your guest. What a great way to show your appreciation and solidify your relationship.

Clorinda HollandDirector Convention Sales-NortheastVisit Salt LakeGPPCMA Treasurer

ATTENTION SUPPLIERS:

Executive Editor & GPPCMA Chapter AdministratorErica A. Keagy

Senior EditorTheresa J. Barrett, PhD, CMP, CAE

EditorBelinda Keota, CMP, CEM

Pat Kraft-HilplKathy Smith, CMP, CHCP

Art Direction, Design & ProductionSimmer Creative

Contributing WritersSharon Goodspeed

Greg KamprathBelinda Keota, CMP, CEM

Karen Lennert, CASE

Connections Advertising610-220-1232

gppcma@comcast.net

Connections is a quarterly publication of GPPCMA.

The views, opinions, and advertisements in this publication do not neces-sarily reflect the views and opinions of the Board of Directors, members, or

staff of the Greater Philadelphia PCMA unless otherwise stated.

Thank you to the volunteers who contributed articles to this issue of Connections. The deadline for articles and ads for the next issue is

Friday, May 13.

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