Meetings Today LIVE! Savannah

Roger Rickard is the Founder & President of Voices in Advocacy® and author of 7 Actions of Highly Effective Advocates. He has more than 30 years of experience as an advocacy professional, speaker, trainer, consultant, and author. As a recognized expert in advocacy engagement and grassroots activation, Roger works with a wide cross-section of organizations from diverse industries. His vibrant personality and a good sense of humor make for engaging and interactive programming that is packaged and delivered in an easy to understand, easy to apply format combining his education, experience, and enthusiasm to drive advocacy success.

Roger's Session: Ripped from the Headlines!

EIC Approved

Experiential Interactive Program with Content Crowdsourced by Attendees

Every day we hear about fake news. This session will be anything but fake. The reason: YOU drive the content. During this highly interactive program you will examine, deliberate, and discuss meetings industry issues such as: transportation, technology, safety and security, cyber-security, taxes, infrastructure, diversity/inclusion, and education. Then as a group we will prioritize and report out the key issues. 

Learner Outcomes:

• Increase your awareness of the diverse issues in the industry and how they can affect your meetings and events. 
• Make one aware of the key issues and successful strategies that enable you to protect and defend your organization, your industry, and your profession. 
• You will leave with the tools needed to communicate the issues that face meetings and the meetings industry to key stakeholders.

NOTE: This is an attendee crowdsourced interactive session. Everyone will be presented with the key issues and then each table decides on which issue they would like to dive in to. The facilitated process will lead each table to derive a list of issues and areas of concern in their selected topic. Then each table will report their findings, leaving all attendees with a better understanding of the issues and concerns within the topics selected.

Jessie States, CMP, CMM, is the Vice President of the MPI Academy for Meeting Professionals International, where she leads and advances MPI’s professional development strategy, developing and managing MPI’s portfolio of educational products, including live and digital events, educational experiences, professional certificate programs and educational partnerships. Jessie has received the Pacesetter Award from the Events Industry Council, an honor that recognizes emerging leaders and industry supporters. She has also earned spots on the lists of 25 Most Influential People in Meetings and Events (Successful Meetings magazine) and Trendsetters (Meetings Today magazine).

Jessie's Session: The Engagement Equation

EIC Approved

As meeting professionals skill up to greet the new age of meetings and events, it’s more important than ever to re-evaluate and update the defined value proposition for bringing people together.

What is the purpose of a meeting, if not to meet with people (subject matter experts, peers, community members and customers)? And if that is the primary purpose of an event, shouldn’t it be the lens through which we design experiences that matter for our participants, stakeholders, clients and organizations?

As we seek to connect people in meaningful ways, what techniques can be applied to the elements of our events to ensure those connections are purposefully designed and executed? Explore the science to breaking the “hallway conversation” out of its corridor and into the rest of our spaces.

Presented by Jessie States, vice president of the MPI Academy, this presentation will get you ready to re-enter the world of in-person meetings invigorated and equipped with purpose to create meaningful engagement for all attendees and stakeholders.