MPI Minnesota President's August 2020 Message

“Each day, and each wall I look at, makes me familiar, with each flaw on my wall that needs to change. That I need someone to re-design the walls and ceilings, to be more inviting.” (Michael Phillipson)

George Floyd and Philando Castille, their deaths and the failure of the protocols, failure of the systems, meant to protect and bring justice for them, happened in Minneapolis. 
We live where the fault lines broke, but we all saw the violent shocks across the nation:

Breonna Taylor, 
Ahmaud Arbery,
Eric Garner,
Tamir Rice,
Trayvon Martin…

There may be feelings of not being welcomed in our community. It might be a new feeling, we haven’t felt before. Our industry, all the sudden, didn’t matter when everyone is confined to their own little group, in the same four walls of their home. Not moving and exploring like they did before.

Black Lives Matter

Their lives always mattered, and unfortunately they didn’t matter enough. Or weren’t thought about enough. 

MPI Minnesota is thinking about you now. Thinking about how to be there and include you.

We’ll expand our walls and ceilings, and our little groups can get bigger with intentional thought and action. 

The Minnesota Chapter of MPI, has thoughts to expand; and it begins with focusing on diversity. Intentional initiatives, to do our part to give opportunities to people from all different cultures.  Initiatives to find new ideas, to diversify our set of ideas and deepen connections.  My past letter, the one speech I gave, talked about deepening connections. 

Now I come to you; focusing on new connections. Making a new impact, with new connections. Looking at the potential in people, knowing that everything is uncertain.
I’m asking myself, as well as you. Do I know someone, or can I know someone that would be a great meeting professional?

Do you know someone? A bright, happy, social connector? Detail oriented, with a heart for service? Someone that, like you has the drive to succeed.

The hotels, venues, and our industry is full of this potential.

Are your eyes open to people we haven’t considered before; because, they were not an exact fit, or they didn’t fulfill all of the credits to finish a degree. The skills they lack, a mentor can fill those holes. 

If someone you know or someone you barely know were to ask you to connect them with an opportunity, or offer advice on how to enter the industry, what would you do? You would connect them. The world works this way, for better or worse. Nepotism is the bad side of this. The good is we believe in taking care of those close to us because we believe in what they can be.

As connectors, we need to see that some communities don’t have someone at the top, or barely even in the middle, to benefit from nepotism.  None of us or our industry benefit from nepotism if the people hired are unqualified or unwilling to learn and improve. 
We want hard workers, connectors, people with passion, with a mind and heart aimed at service.  This is the service industry. Right?

I know many of you have other passions, are mentors, and are worrying about what is next.

We book our events months and years into the future. If we look past COVID, maybe the future we can want includes the best of us, all people.

Our chapter is taking steps to help this happen, but we rely on our members to make sure we are on the right path.  

Our first steps, to make this happen are open to feedback, know that we are listening.

• The MPI MN Chapter is a community, where everyone is welcomed, supported, and celebrated.  Each one of our members should feel like we care. Our chapter is continuing to learn and grow, to create an inclusive and diverse professional community through learning and working on improvement.
• Each member will hold one another accountable to this principle.
• A Diversity, Equity & Inclusion task force will be created to hold us to our word.  That our marketing, membership and education initiatives are pointed in the right direction and are inclusive.
• We will provide education to fit our ideas of mentorship, inclusion, and connection. The seminars and classes, first will focus on the biases held by some of us, and will continue to grow to focus on how to change our industry to include people that have been excluded.
• We vow to provide opportunities for listening, and to facilitate conversations around learning, and clarifying our principles.
• Our industry events will be planned thoughtfully, with building our industry in mind, but with building our people first.  All will be included and cared for.
• We will reach out to the community around us, with your guidance.

Everything I am saying feels heavy, and I can feel the weight you are all carrying. We are strong and you always lift people up.  We always work harder, and our work has always been uncertain, like it is now.  

Let us lift for others. Make the burden less.
We will meet again.
We will meet others.