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MPI Chapter Leader Newsletter

June 2024

June 13


Leadership and Engagement

Volunteer Pathway

Who wants to volunteer at MPI? Now there is a new guide to help those who are interested in learning about what volunteer opportunities are available at MPI.  

This new resource can help facilitate and answer:  

- What volunteer opportunities are available?  

- What experience or skills do I need to get where I want to go?  

- Succession planning 

- Chapter volunteer options & International volunteer options.  


Congratulations to the 2024 RISE Award Recipients

At WEC Louisville, the 2024 RISE Award recipients were announced, and we want to continue celebrating their spirit of leadership, impact, and innovation across MPI.  

Congratulations to the 2024 recipients and welcome to the Community of Honorees: 

Young Professional Achievement: Evan Nielson, CMP, MPI Potomac Chapter 

Member of the Year: Jenny Dao, MPI Ottawa Chapter 

Meeting Industry Leadership: Steven Foster, CMP, MPI Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter 

Innovative Educational Programming: MPI Tennessee Chapter 

Industry Advocate: MPI Indiana Chapter 

Marketplace Excellence: MPI Wisconsin Chapter 

Membership Achievement: MPI Pittsburgh Chapter 

Check out their accomplishments!


2025 IBOD/GBOT Applications Opening Soon!

International Board of Directors (IBOD) and Global Board of Trustees (GBOT) applications will open on July 1, 2024. 
 
Consider applying for a position to serve on the 2025 MPI International Board of Directors or MPI Foundation Global Board of Trustees. 
 
We are looking for members to apply who are strategic thinkers, have a demonstrated knowledge of sound business practices, and have a passion for our community. Look out for more information as the applications open officially next month. 


WEC 2025 St. Louis Volunteer Chapter Leader Registration

All FY2025 Volunteer Chapter Leaders and Chapter Administrators will be offered the registration rate of $729.00. A dedicated registration link will be circulated in August 2024 which can be provided to your FY2025 Board of Directors. 

Reminder: Board Slate Process 

As a reminder, all board positions are on a 1-year term. All current Board members who are interested in serving in 2025 need to re-apply for the Board and complete the nominations process. The only exceptions are the President Elect and President who ascend to the next roles automatically. If you have any questions about the nominations process, visit the CLRP > Office of the President > Nominations or contact your Regional Operations Manager. 

 

Chapter Leadership Summit 2024 

All FY2025 Chapter Leaders will be invited to attend the virtual Chapter Leadership Summit on Thursday, September 12, 2024.  Please mark your calendars now and include this date in your Nomination Process to ensure new Board members attend this important training session. Complete details will be shared as they are finalized in the Chapter Leader Newsletter.  

 

All Hands Call 2024 

MPI Chapter Leader All Hands Calls inform Volunteer Chapter Leaders with crucial information and updates about our organization. All Board Members are encouraged to attend and ask questions directly to MPI Senior Leadership. Register online for the Zoom calendar invite. 


Board Nomination Reminders

Per MPI Chapter Policy Manual, Article IV, Section 2.2, “… The Chapter will allow a minimum of 30 days for the membership to contest prior to the submission deadline as stated by MPI”. In summary, the last possible date to send your slate to your membership is July 1, 2024. A template is provided: CLRP > Compliance > August 1 Compliance > document titled “Chapter Slate to Membership distribution – Template” 

All FY2025 slates are due to your MPI Regional Operations Manager no later than August 1, 2024, using the template provided on the CLRP > Compliance > August 1 Compliance > document titled “Chapter Slate for Next Board To Global.” 

Important Deadlines & Reminders 

June Board Meeting – The Governance & Nominating Committee submits slate to Board of Directors to approve the motion to submit it to the membership for approval by acclamation. 

July 1 – Final day to send your FY2025 Board of Directors Slate to Membership for the 30-day contest period 

August 1 – FY2025 Board of Directors Slates are due to MPI 

September 12 – Virtual Chapter Leadership Summit to help prepare your FY2025 Board of Directors. Invitations will be emailed to everyone on your 2025 slate. 


MPI Verified Facilitators for Annual Retreats/Summits

Annual retreats/summits should take place in September-October-November to ensure compliance documents (business plan, budget, event/marketing calendar, etc.) are ready for submission to MPI no later than December 1, 2024. 

As per the MPI Chapter Policy Manual, Article IV Board of Directors/Officers, Section 2 Board Election and Service and Item 2.4, chapters are required to hold an annual Board planning retreat between two and three months prior to the fiscal year. Chapters are recommended to hold a mid-year assessment retreat mid-fiscal year. Chapters are required to utilize an MPI-verified Chapter Facilitator during annual retreats to oversee the process and flow of the retreat. The MPI-verified Chapter Facilitator cannot be a current member of the home Chapter, have served on the Board in the last two (2) fiscal years or be a Chapter Administrator. 

Please note that as per MPI Chapter Policy Manual, Article IX Miscellaneous, Section 3 Non-Compliance, Item 3.1., Chapters may not be eligible for annual chapter performance awards and metrics incentives if they are not compliant with MPI Chapter Bylaws and the MPI Chapter Policy Manual. 

A list of MPI-verified Chapter Facilitators is available in the CLRP > Facilitator Program > Supporting Documents > MPI Verified Facilitator Catalog 2024 


European Calls

European Presidents – June 19 

European Membership – July 2 


Marketing and Communications

2024 WEC Chapter Challenge Winners and Runner Up

With more than 70 social media posts submitted for the 2024 WEC Chapter Challenge, the competition was fierce. Thank you to ALL who helped drive awareness and increase the engagement of your members to our largest gathering of the MPI Community each year. 

Award Category: Most Creative 

Award Category: Best Inclusion of Theme “Craft Your Experience”  

Notable Achievements based on Judging 


Membership

Annual Chapter Membership Campaign

Have your largest event coming up? Want to develop a 30-day campaign to increase Chapter membership? All MPI Chapters can request a discount code for New Preferred or Premier Members. The discount is 20% off new members and will be available for a 30-day period. For more details visit CLRP > Membership > Member Recruitment > Annual Chapter Membership Campaign document


Membership Update


Administration and Finance

FY2023-2024 Annual Fixed Expenses

With the extended term for FY2023-2024, the Annual Fixed Expenses amount in your dashboard must be updated to reflect 18 months. As a reminder, fixed expenses include chapter administrator fees, fees paid for platforms used by the chapter (Zoom, registration, email, CRM, etc.), accounting/bookkeeping/auditor fees, etc. Please do not include event related expenses (speaker fees, food, beverage, décor, audio-visual, etc.). 


Education

Anti-Human Trafficking Awareness Requirement Adjusted Effective Immediately

MPI has adjusted the annual Chapter requirement to provide Anti-Human Trafficking Awareness. Effective immediately, the requirement must be fulfilled at least once per calendar year. The requirement is no longer restricted to a minimum 30-minute education session but allows more flexibility to choose how you educate your members.  

REVISED REQUIREMENT: Each calendar year, Chapters are required to implement one new effort to raise awareness on Anti-Human Trafficking to your members and audience. Chapters may not repeat an initiative used in the past two years to fulfill the annual requirement. Review the Chapter Education toolkit for ideas. Keep in mind that Chapters are not restricted to the initiatives on this list – creativity is encouraged. We will begin tracking the requirement on the 2025 Chapter Metrics Dashboard. More information on how to track in the dashboard will be provided as we near the new year.  

View the June 6 recording from the Volunteer Chapter Leader Webinar: Anti-Human Trafficking Resources and Information for Chapters.

 


MPI Foundation

Share MPI Foundation Scholarships with your Chapter Members!

The MPI Foundation will be accepting scholarship applications for new and renewing members June through September! Starting June, and through July 19, EMEA and US planners should apply for notification of their award status in early August. In August and September, planners from Latin America, Canada, and the US, along with student members, may apply for a membership scholarship, and will receive notification of their award status by mid-October.  

You can insert this suggested copy into your chapter communications to spread the news: 

Membership scholarships are available from MPI Foundation! Apply here: https://us.grantrequest.com/application.aspx?sid=6233&fid=35065 New and renewing planners are eligible for a year of membership at the Preferred Level! 

Professional development scholarships are also being accepted for a variety of MPI Academy courses, including the HMCC and Women in Leadership! Here is copy you can share with your audience:  

Professional development scholarships can help you take your knowledge and skillset to the next level. Apply to receive an MPI Academy Certificate Course scholarship from the MPI Foundation here: https://us.grantrequest.com/application.aspx?sid=6233&fid=35161 Learn more about what’s available on the MPI Foundation scholarships page. 


Regional Council

Regional Council Updates Shared at WEC

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The Regional Council Chairs gathered during WEC for a session in the Chapter Leader Lounge. This was the first time the Regional Chairs shared the work and collaboration being done to support Chapters and Volunteer Chapter Leaders since the Regional Councils begin in January 2024.  Here is a summary of the projects by region: 

Regional Council Canada, Chair, Helene Moberg: Established a webinar for all Volunteer Chapter Leaders which will share best practices on increasing member retention amongst 1–3 year members. 

Regional Council EMEA & APAC, Chair, Thijs Peters: The Regional Council is creating one common message each month for all chapters to push out in various Chapter communications which will help raise brand awareness and provide cross promotion of chapter events 

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Regional Council LATAM, Chair, Ricardo Magana Navarrete: To help increase brand awareness and support the growing Chapters and Clubs, one common education topic is being brought to each regional Chapter and Club. The “Roadshow” kicked off at MPI Peru Club on May 31 in Lima with 125 in attendance. 

Regional Council Pacific US, Chair, MaryAnne Bobrow: The Regional Council collected and is reviewing all Sponsorship Guides from its Chapters to identify best practices. Once these are identified, they will be brought back to the Chapters for consideration. 

Regional Council Northeast US, Chair, Pam Kammerer: The biggest success for the Council has been the coming together of all Chapters to Connect, Communicate and Collaborate within the region (the 3 Cs). This resulted in a regional campaign involving every Chapter to promote WEC, organize Chapter meetups at WEC, schedule a virtual educational meeting on Human Trafficking hosted by several of the region’s Chapters and sharing sponsorship ideas and educational speakers. 

Regional Council Midwest US, Chair, Bill Kubiak: The Regional Council has developed a Top MPI Chapter Speaker database that will allow each Chapter to submit a speaker who has rated high in surveys. The list includes all necessary details an education team would need to contact the speaker and copy/paste the session title, description and other marketing information.  The list is being circulated among the Chapters and will launch worldwide later this year. 

Regional Council Southeast US, Chair, Shannon Jones: Prior to WEC in May, Chapters hosted meet-ups for registered attendees to meet each other so they had an onsite connection. The meet-ups varied in format (virtual or in-person) and allowed those going to ask questions about travel, onsite schedules, and review sessions of interest. This successful effort was well received by everyone, especially first-time attendees and new members of the Chapter. 

Regional Council Southwest US, Chair, Steven Foster: Rather than each Chapter organize a Meet-Up at WEC, all Chapters came together for one gathering during WEC.  Participating chapters contributed $100 each and three sponsors were secured to pay for the event food and beverage.  More than 125 attendees enjoyed an hour of networking with colleagues and new friends on Tuesday evening during WEC. 


Special Committees

MPI Global’s Anti-Human Trafficking Committee hosts breakout session at WEC

On Monday, May 20, MPI’s Anti-Human Trafficking Committee hosted a successful breakout session at WEC in Louisville.  Attendees heard from representatives from PATH Coalition of Kentucky (People Against Trafficking Humans, PATH Coalition of Kentucky) detail the myths and facts about human trafficking, and how professionals in the meetings & event industry can raise awareness and fight this crime.  Attendees were intently engaged and extended the Q&A after the session end.  We are thankful for the opportunity to present this crucial topic to our national and global members!