Name and designations: Marty Johnston Position: Virtual Reality Community Developer Employer: ColonyVR Joined MPI in November 2018 Contact information: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marty-johnston-b759a843/,

Hundreds of meeting professionals from across Canada gathered at Hotel Bonaventure in Montréal for the second edition of the EVENT on April 4-6, 2019. A collaboration between MPI Ottawa, MPI Toronto, and MPI Montréal/Québec, the EVENT strives to challenge the typical conference format and showcase ways to disrupt the meetings industry. all while elevating the attendee experience.

Every spring brings a chance for rebirth, or at the very least, a reset. If you made resolutions this year and one of them happened to be to learn more, to meet more people, to get out more or to advance in your career, MPI Ottawa is here to help!

It is a bittersweet goodbye for Laurence Lavallée who recently moved to the big city of Toronto and joined the Institute of Public Administration of Canada as its new Events Manager.

Name and designations: Arzoo Zaheer Position: Event Planner Employer: Currently Seeking New Opportunities Joined MPI in August, 2017 Contact information:

Title: 2018 Housing Design Awards Gala Date: October 20, 2018 City, Country: Ottawa, Canada Host Venue: Shaw Centre

We are all moving “a mile a minute” these days. Throughout this busy journey, though, I firmly believe that every once in a while, life sends us little reminders to help keep things in perspective.

As Canada’s youngest and fastest growing capital city, we’re seeing transformations happen overnight. Currently Edmonton has a population just over one million people, but we’re fast on our way to doubling that.

The Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists is happy to welcome Ashley Craven, CMP to their team as Manager, Conferences and Events, Corporate Partnerships! Craven who also teaches part-time at Algonquin College as well as holds the role of MPI Ottawa Director of Member Care, will have lots to keep her busy as we welcome Spring. To connect with her, please call 613-234-0012 ext. 253 or email acraven@camrt.ca

What comes to mind when you think of teamwork and communication? Collaboration Respect Listening Positivity Conflict management Reliability Openness Support Teamwork and communication is important for good relationships, team effectiveness and positive engagement. These are a few ways to enhance your teamwork and communication skills.

What makes a meeting “purposeful”? Often we hear words like innovative, purposeful and insightful being used to brand the experiences created at events but what do these really mean and how do we measure our success against these types of goals?

Name and designations: Brittany Cosgrove Position: Student Employer: (school): Algonquin College Ottawa Joined MPI in: 11/2018 Contact information: brit.cos@hotmail.com, 613-266-6891

Jeanna Andre-Murdie, Director, global accounts with The Howes Group, is one of the many members who has received an MPI Foundation scholarship.

There’s a new hotel coming to town! The Ottawa International Airport Authority, in partnership with Group Germain Hotels, has announced plans to build a $40 million facility that will be connected to the airport by an indoor skywalk. The Alt Hotel Ottawa Airport, expected to open late 2020, will feature 180 rooms over eight floors, substantial meeting space, and a top floor restaurant providing a 360 degree view of the airport’s operations.

On January 31st, over 500 attendees gathered for the 15th Annual MPI Charity Auction & Dinner which took place this year at the EY Centre. The organizing committee transported attendees back to the 70s with help from the amazing, groovy and far out decor provided by Avant-Garde Designs, who truly transformed the room to a whole other level. Many people took this theme to heart and showed how to be truly “Groovy Baby” by dressing for the era.

What comes to mind when you think of the word hospitality? Friendliness, graciousness, kindness, warmth – those are all good and the thesaurus would agree. But those of us in the hospitality industry have an added perspective about the commercial side of the equation. Although we are in the business of making people feel welcome and relaxed, knowing that everything that they need is taken care of for them, there is a level of stress that is an interesting juxtaposition. Not only for the meeting planner but also the myriad of departments and individuals who pull off a successful event. That’s a lot of stress!

Name and designations: Tessa Toutant Position: Senior Coordinator/Co-Owner Employer: Plannin’ Companion Strategic Event Management Joined MPI in September 2018 Email: ttoutant@plannincompanion.com

Grand Opening of the Fairfield by Marriott Ottawa Airport December 12, 2018 Fairfield by Marriott Ottawa Airport Ottawa, Canada ​Organizing Team: Franco Falcucci, Vice President Hospitality, Bona Hospitality, Kimberly Wilson, Sales Manager, Fairfield by Marriott Ottawa Airport and Brian Henry of Quality Entertainment ​Number of Attendees: 200

Congratulations to Ashley Craven, who in addition to her full-time role with Intertask Conferences as Senior Project Coordinator, will be starting to teach! Craven will be joining the amazing team of professors at Algonquin College in the Event Management Program. She will be teaching one course during the 2019 Winter semester, Computer Applications for Events and can be contacted at craven@algonquincollege.com.