January Monthly Meeting

January Monthly Meeting - Thursday, January 18, 2018

Early Bird Registration Rates-Closes at 11:59pm CST on Sunday, January 7, 2018
Regular Registration Rates-Closes at 11:59pm CST on Sunday, January 14, 2018
On-Site Registration Rates- Thursday, January 18, 2018

iTalk Brave Innovations and Trends

Our guest speakers will be presenting on brave new ideas and trends in the meeting and event industry in 5-minute bites:

• Wine Selection for Events - Leslee D. Miller, Amusee Wine

• BYOG (Bring your own Goggles) - Steph Pfeilsticker, Hybrid Events Authority, LLC

• Sourcing and Contract Negotiations - Jaimie Mattes, HelmsBriscoe

• Social Media - Tami Cabrera, Muddy Paws Cheesecake

• Centralized Sourcing - Chris Johnson, Land O'Lakes, Inc.

• Your Secret Weapon: Choice - Bree Meredith, CMP, BI WORLDWIDE

• Tips for getting the most from your decor or rental designer – Rachel Geertsema, Festivities

• Latest Trends - MPI Global

More about our guest speakers:

Leslee D. Miller, Amusee Wine

Leslee Miller is a dually certified Sommelier through the International Sommelier Guild and the Court of Master Sommeliers. She is the sole owner of wine consulting firm, Amusée, founded in 2004 and based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is also the co-founder and owner of national wine club, Sip Better, founded in 2017.  Currently, Leslee shares her expertise, experience and passion for the industry within a number of different settings across the globe. As a great lover of food and wine, she not only educates and shares her love for the ‘great’ wines of the world, but also finds it exceptionally important to give her subscribers a unique and exceptionally fun insight to the everyday international value-driven wine market.

Steph Pfeilsticker, Hybrid Events Authority, LLC

Steph Pfeilsticker is an award-winning thought leader and innovator with nearly 20 years of event industry experience. She founded Hybrid Events Authority to share her hybrid meeting expertise with organizations that would like to extend their content to audiences outside of the meeting room. The industry has taken notice of Steph’s work. She was named a Top 20 Changemaker, and has been the recipient of nearly a dozen awards from the meetings industry for her work. She has served as President of the MPI Minnesota chapter and has been inducted into the Minnesota Meetings and Events Hall of Fame. Steph received an undergraduate degree from Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana and an MBA from Bethel University in St. Paul, MN. 

Jaimie Mattes, HelmsBriscoe

Jamie Mattes is a 12-1/2 year HB Associate, former hotel sales guy and Past MPI Chapter President.  Jaimie sources hotels and works on numerous contracts every day.  He partners with his clients on assisting them in their sourcing and contract negotiations.  He works with numerous Procurement departments to strategize and build relationships. Jaimie and his team source and negotiate over 800+ meetings/contracts annually on a global scale with hotels, CVB's and DMC's to provide exceptional experiences for their destinations. 

Tami Cabrera, Muddy Paws Cheesecake

After growing up in Chicago’s restaurant industry, Owner Tami Cabrera acquired a taste for a dessert synonymous with Chicago—cheesecake. After moving here in 1993, she found it impossible to find such cheesecake so started her own business. Today, their St. Louis Park, MN based facility produces hundreds of Chicago style cheesecakes weekly, in over 200 flavors! Their largest markets are wedding cheesecakes and their wholesale division. They also have a national mail-order division, fundraising division, and retail division. They have appeared on Kare 11, WCCO, CBS and on Food Network’s Roker on the Road in addition to receiving several local awards including Best in Minnesota. Even the White House invited them to visit in 2011! All their cheesecakes are made from scratch in small batches daily. Tami was given the Outstanding Community Partner award for 2017. She is a single mother of 4, rescue pet owner of 6, a social media expert and a regular volunteer. For more information, go to www.muddypawscheesecake.com

Chris Johnson, Land O'Lakes, Inc.

Director, Global Travel and Enterprise Events - I lead a centralized corporate function with 16 team members, providing an integrated event and global travel strategy for all Land O’ Lakes businesses and functions.  Events include strategic internal and external business-related conferences, customer and business partner meetings and incentive travel programs.  In 2017, we managed and executed 375+ events with a combined annual spend of $38MM

Bree Meredith, CMP, BI WORLDWIDE

Before starting her career with BI WORLDWIDE (BIW) four years ago, Bree Meredith spent 12 years working in the hospitality industry, mainly in hotels and special event venues. In her current role at BIW, Bree specializes in the automotive vertical market designing meetings,  incentives and product launches all over the world. Bree is passionate about helping her clients grow and thrive by crafting powerful experiences from start to finish.

Rachel Geertsema, Festivities

Rachel Geertsema is an Event Design and Sales Coordinator with Festivities where she was awarded Employee of the Year in 2016. With just under five years of event experience, she has thirst for knowledge and relentless enthusiasm for all things events and decor. Rachel is an active member of the International Live Events Association (ILEA).

**Save the Date for the upcoming monthly events:**

• February 8, 2018 iConnect 8:00am- 5:30pm, Mystic Lake Center

• March 22, 2018 11:00am to 1:30pm, Hewing Hotel 

• April 12, 2018 Global Meeting Industry Day (GMID)