Do you have news to share? News Around Town brings updates on our members' personal and professional lives each month! Have you moved into a new role, received a designation or launched a project? Your community wants to hear about it! Read the latest updates in the October 2019 issue!

Hair Donation Ottawa (HDO) is an annual event organized this year by the CHEO Foundation to attract people who are interested in fundraising for cancer research by donating their hair and/or shaving their heads (or beards).

This monthly feature article allows MPI Ottawa Chapter members to share their recent professional and personal accomplishments with your MPI friends by featuring updates each month in this article series.

From time to time we need to update our skills as planners and as suppliers. We are always interested in what’s new but more importantly how we can work smarter and not harder. Every now and then there is a product that fills a niche and is equally easy and helpful for a variety of users. One product that is gaining in popularity and being used more widely by properties and planners alike is Social Tables.

The Canadian Surgery Forum is the largest surgical meeting in Canada. The objective of the Forum is to foster communication among surgical sub-specialties and to advance continuing professional development, clinical practice, education and public advocacy while providing members of the Canadian surgical community an opportunity to meet and network in a collegial fashion.

This monthly New Member Spotlight allows you to meet some of MPI Ottawa's newest members! This month, we feature Stacy Galasso, a student almost finished with her studies as Algonquin College in Event Management and ready to jump into the industry!

It is now a little over one month into my new role as your MPI President and I can’t believe how fast time is already flying by. I feel so privileged to have the opportunity to be part of such a great group of passionate professionals that represent our industry, and I’m very much looking forward to the year ahead!

This July, the recognition sub-committee sent a survey out to members of our chapter asking them to confirm the date they joined MPI Ottawa. This initiative was started so that we may recognize long-standing active members of our chapter and congratulate them on milestone years of membership.

The Prix Prestige Awards Gala is an amazing event to highlight and recognize MPI Ottawa members on their hard-work, dedication and commitment to the chapter. The Student Liaison Subcommittee, who are the ones contributing to the Coaching Corner articles, are very excited to be able to highlight the Student of the Year and the Rising Star Recipients from this year’s gala. Congratulations again to all the nominees and recipients.

I have always been an enormous supporter of MPI. It has become my industry home and community, and it continues to be instrumental in my career development. I was thrilled once again to be able to participate at Meeting Professionals International, World Education Congress (WEC) that took place in Toronto on June 15 – 18, 2019 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

Event Planning is a field that requires dependable teams, which are challenging to create in a fast-paced environment. In this industry, assignments are built like jigsaw puzzles. Every member must contribute in order to complete the puzzle—a Thinker cannot work without an Inquirer and an Inquirer cannot work without an Executor.

This article will attempt to answer two questions: How to raise funds if you are just starting out and still in rough waters? and, How to raise funds once your company has gained some reputation, revenue, and advantage over the competition?

Each year, MPI Ottawa hosts the Prix Prestige Awards Gala to #CelebrateExcellence of its active members for their commitment, service and involvement in the chapter, industry and community at large.

Name and designations: Sophie Branchaud Position: Owner, Creative Director Employer: Sage Designs

Ottawa Fire Truck Pull is a fundraiser event open to the general public to raise awareness for Epilepsy Ottawa. On Sunday, October 28, 2018, teams of 10 descended on Lansdowne Park, East Court to demonstrate that they have the fortitude to pull an Ottawa Fire Services fire truck 100 feet!

Congratulations to Lydia Blanchard who has recently started a new role as the Director of Community Engagement with...

In Edmonton, things have always been done a little differently. Edmontonians aren't afraid to think outside the box— from camping with bison, to partying under the aurora, and surfing on the prairies, there’s a uniqueness to how Edmontonians do ordinary things. With doers, makers, and dreamers, big ideas are cultivated in Edmonton, making it a one-of-a-kind destination for meetings, incentives and association events.

Instead of feeling anxious about how you never have enough time in one day and feeling like you are working against time, learn how to take full advantage of every second of your time in a day to ensure you maximise your results and increase productivity!