September Education Program & Networking Luncheon

Registration for this event is now closed. We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday, September 19.

Session Description: Risk Management and Mitigation is top of mind in any business, more particularly how you can manage risk by being proactive about preventing loss. This session will explore how this impacts meeting and event planning professionals and how incorporating an overall situational awareness strategy allows you to protect people, property, business, and convenience/comfort. Our panel of safety and security experts will address how having situational awareness provides information and knowledge required to react and respond to a situation as routine as the air conditioning going out or a leak in the bathroom to a weather emergency or fire, or as extreme and rare as an armed intruder. Regardless of the situation, all people in a particular building, on campus, or across an entire organization need to be aware of what’s going on when it’s going on to be able to respond accordingly and reduce the severity of the incident and the impact it could have on people, property, business, and event operations.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand the importance of integrating formalized risk management processes into event planning teams.
• Identify potential high-risk issues related to the event industry to inform event design.
• Develop event contingency plans to facilitate a coordinated response to emergencies and lower overall risk levels.

Panel Information: 

Moderator: Amy Jeffs, President, Status Solutions

Amy Jeffs has more than 25 years of experience in business operations and marketing. Over the last 17 years, she has worked her way from a Director of Marketing to the President of Status Solutions. Status Solutions is the premiere provider of situational awareness in North America helping schools, municipalities, healthcare providers, manufacturers and retailers improve life safety, security, environmental monitoring and mass notification.  Her expertise lies in assisting organizations in crafting solutions to meet the outcomes that will ensure worker and patron safety.

Panelist: Paul Breslin, CHA, CHE, ISHC, HAMA

Paul Breslin, Managing Director of the Atlanta office of Horwath HTL, is a 35-year veteran of the hospitality industry. His background within the industry is all-encompassing, with extensive experience in hotel operations, development, and asset management with major branded hotels as well as independent and smaller luxury hotels. He has provided hospitality consulting services to many Fortune 500 companies, including The Coca-Cola Company, BB&T Corp., Marriott International, and Hilton Worldwide Holdings. Mr. Breslin is a member of the prestigious International Society of Hospitality Consultants and the Hotel Asset Managers Association. He is a Certified Hotel Administrator by the Educational Institute of AHLA. He is a founding member and immediate past president of the Atlanta Hospitality Alliance and currently serves on its Board. Paul also serves on the Governmental Affairs Committee of the Georgia Hotels & Lodging Association. As a Certified Hospitality Educator (CHE), Paul served as the Executive-‐in-‐Residence in Lodging for the J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Cecil B. Day School of Hospitality at Georgia State University. In addition, Mr. Breslin provides hotel expert witness services to attorneys specializing in hospitality law. His caseload as an expert witness includes work with both plaintiffs and defendants.

Panelist: Shawn Buchanan, MBA, MPA

Chief Buchanan has been with the East Point Police Department for 25 years, beginning his career as a Patrol Officer in December of 1998. He quickly rose through the ranks serving as Sergeant in the Detective Division, Lieutenant of the Traffic Unit, Commander of the Special Operations Unit, Assistant Watch Commander, Captain in the Detectives Division, and Major of Field Operations. Chief Buchanan received a master's in business administration from The Georgia Institute of Technology, a master's in public administration from Columbus State University, and a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Armstrong State University, now known as Georgia Southern University. Chief

Buchanan is a 2019 graduate of Georgia Chief School. He is also a graduate of the Senior Management Institute for Police Class 49 from Boston University and the Southern Police Institute Class 124 from the University of Louisville.

Chief Buchanan is a proud native of Atlanta, Georgia, and a graduate of Campbell High School. He succeeds former East Point Police Chief Tommy Gardner, who retired in July of this year. Chief Buchanan is an open communicator who welcomes challenges, and he looks forward to accepting the challenges of being a chief in a demanding time.

Panelist: Kimberly Corbin, CDS, COVID-CO, PCA

Kimberly Corbin transitioned to the convention production side of the hospitality industry in 2007, with already over 14 years of senior-level experience in the hospitality & meetings industry from the ground up to C-Suite Executive Mgmt. Currently, Kimberly is the co-founder and Managing Partner for Meeting Shields, LLC, the largest 100% woman & minority-owned full-service protection & emergency management preparedness firm globally. The firm is home to the original, exclusive, protective supply equipment and services, customized & designed specifically for the entertainment, hospitality, and educational industries. Kimberly also serves as Owner & CEO for Inside Out Hospitality Production, LLC in coordination with ConferenceDirect, a full-service meeting planning firm.

Community Drive:

It's back-to-school season and MPI Georgia is partnering with Hutchinson Elementary School on a uniform drive! Most needed items, sizes, and recommendations on websites to purchase these items can be found here. Thank you in advance for supporting these local students! 

Schedule of Events:

Registration: Registration will close on Monday, September 18.
Member Rate: $50
Non-Member Rate: $70
Student Rate: $25
Supplier Table: Please get in touch with the chapter administrator for more information. 

ALL Preferred and Premiere MPI members are eligible to receive member registration rates for MPI Georgia events.

Cancellation Policy:
If you need to cancel your registration a full refund will be granted if cancellation is received in writing before 5:00 PM on September 14. After that time there will be no refunds. Please send a cancellation notice to info@mpigeorgia.org. Additionally, registration fees may not be applied or transferred to future events.

Substitution Policy:
If you have registered but cannot attend the meeting, you may substitute another employee from your company at no additional charge. Please send written notification of this change before 5:00 PM on September 14 to info@mpigeorgia.org. After that time, substitutions will need to be made onsite.

Thank you Program Sponsors!

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Thank You to Our Annual Sponsors

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The Sonesta Airport North