MPI MN President's May 2021 Message

Hello MPI Members!

It was wonderful to see all of you who attended our first in-person and hybrid event at the beautiful Omni Viking Lakes Hotel as we celebrated our industry on Global Meetings Industry Day. The day was about advocating for the future and recognizing how important it is to our state's economy.

As we try to manage through these unprecedented times, which have been especially hard on our industry, we are proud of the resilience and continued commitment that industry professionals have shown, and we stand together in navigating this crisis.  We were honored to partner with; ILEA, MNFEA, NACE, PCMA, SGMP, SITE & TCWEP.  I would like to give a shout out to the GMID committee and the Safety Preparedness Committee who put procedures in place that will be used at future events.

It was great to hear from industry experts who participated on the panel and hear from our keynote speaker Dayna Frank, CEO of First Avenue, who gave us hope to see recovery in live entertainment and also shared the history of First Avenue and some tidbits about Prince. 

Our MC and moderator, Bonnie Carlson, President and CEO of Bloomington Convention and Visitors Bureau, has been a leader for many years in our industry. Did you know she has served on the MPI International Board for several years and is currently the chair-elect?  We are proud to have someone of her caliber representing our chapter. 

Our next event is WeConnect, our annual education conference, that will be held this year on May 19. Come for education, networking, great food and watch some live horse racing!

As the MPI year is coming to an end, I want to thank all of our VPs who are transitioning off the board in the end June. You had a tough year and made tough decisions, took on more than I am sure you anticipated with losing many volunteers to the devastation to our industry as well as personal losses. Our directors are moving to their leadership roles as VPs and we have a new class of directors coming in. Welcome!

I also want to recognize Nicole Coon, our immediate past president as she leaves the Office of the President.  She has been a great mentor to me and innovative leader for our chapter. In Nicole’s year as president, she led the board in developing a 3-year Strategic Plan.  In the beginning of year 1 of the plan, our world changed with the pandemic. We did not veer from the plan, only made adjustments to the initiatives. With her continued leadership on the Safety Preparedness committee and her role as VP of Membership and Events with her employer, she has contributed best practices and procedures that transfer to MPI. During the pandemic, and with the job of nominations chair, she was successful in reaching out to past leaders and committee members to fill roles for next year’s board without sacrificing quality and an engaged board.

In closing, I see hope in our industry, we are RESILIENT and will rebuild!

Warm Regards,
Barb Madigan