News Around Town – APRIL 2021

Member Announcements

Warm welcome to our new members:

Shannon Kerr  (Shannon Kerr | LinkedIn) is event planner for the Canadian Agency for Drugs & Technologies in Health.

Susan Jimmo (Susan Jimmo | LinkedIn) is hardworking and creative. Jimmo works as a fundraising and sponsorship coordinator for Cystic Fibrosis Canada / Fibrose kystique Canada

Erin Pham (Erin Pham | LinkedIn) has recently completed the Events management program at Algonquin College. Pham works as a technical support staff (co-op) for eSAX (The Entrepreneur Social Advantage Experience).

Chris Dingley (Chris Dingley (they/them) | LinkedIn) is a bilingual, diligent and self-motivated learner looking for full-time employment in the Ottawa are.

Brent Moore, CMP (Emeritus), CMM Brent Moore | LinkedIn

Member Updates

Congratulations Jessica Ward, CMP (Jessica Ward | LinkedIn) on starting her new position as a Show Director for EnsemblelQ

Congratulations Andrew Horsfield (Andrew Horsfield | LinkedIn) for obtaining his Digital Event Specialist (DES) Certification. Most importantly, please join me in congratulating Horsfield for accepting the position of Director of Sales at the new property Hyatt Place Ottawa West located in west end Ottawa.

Congratulations Louise Gervais, CMP, CMM (Louise Gervais | LinkedIn) for completing the Pandemic Meeting & Event Design Certificate.

Industry News and Updates

Apply for a Foundation scholarship

Join MPI or renew your membership today

For questions or further assistance, please contact kestrada@mpi.org, help@mpi.org or call 866.318.2743. They are here to help!

INDUSTRY NEWS IN GENERAL

Fredericton Named to Global Top 21 List of Intelligent Communities

The City of Fredericton has been named to the Intelligent Community Forum’s (ICF) annual Smart21 list for the fifth time, Mayor Mike O’Brien has announced.

“As the only city east of the Toronto region to make the Smart21 list, we are incredibly proud to once again receive recognition on a global scale for the work that our community and its residents are doing to make Fredericton such a desirable place to live and work,” said Mayor O’Brien.

“This is great news for Fredericton and our region,” said Larry Shaw, CEO at Ignite and Knowledge Park. “Being part of this list, and the only city in Eastern Canada, really shows that we have what it takes to work collaboratively to improve our community, while being able to compete globally.”

Fredericton joins 20 communities, and eight nations in the world list of Smart21 Communities for 2021.

The official video announcement of this year’s Smart21 Intelligent Communities can be viewed via YouTube.

More information about ICF, the Intelligent Community Awards, and the ICF Method, can be found on their website.

Ottawa - Virtual Wellness Series Continues

Ottawa Sports Entertainment Group is creating a Virtual Wellness Series, the goal of which is to provide Small Medium Enterprises, their employee’s, and working families with resources to help navigate the current times. This complimentary event series will be promoted throughout the Ottawa region.

April 28th from 1-2pm presented by TD Wealth

Link to register: https://fevo.me/3f7zPFP

Topic: “Financial Health During COVID Times and Strategies for Creating Financial Wellness”
Speakers: Shereen Debanné, VP and Investment Advisor & Paul Debanné, VP and Investment Advisor

The webinar is free!

Quebec event exclusive offer: Dare to change!

Dare to change! Offer your event attendees what video calls cannot offer during your events and meetings: an in-person experience! It is time to change and adapt and Québec is ready to welcome you, in a safe environment. Pamper your participants with our exclusive promotional offer. Go ahead, dare to change!

What’s included?

• 1 free night per stay, per attendee with room nights).
• Cocktail or mocktail served in attendees' room upon arrival (for attendees with room nights).
• 1 admission to a Québec attraction (for attendees with room nights).
• $50 to spend in a Québec City restaurant (prepaid credit card, for attendees with room nights).

For more information click on the link below :

Québec events exclusive offer: Dare to change! | Meet Québec City (quebec-cite.com)

Or contact :

Emilie Belisle (Emilie Belisle | LinkedIn) email: ebelisle@convention.qc.ca

Ottawa – Room Service Concert Series

Unfortunately, this event has been postponed until further notice due to the provincial state of emergency.

My Ottawa Local’s Guide

Vote now for your favorite local businesses and have your say in Ottawa Tourism’s #MyOttawa Local’s Guide! You have until May 11 to for your favorite coffee shop, brewery, attraction, and much more.

Ottawa is part of the Hybrid City Alliance

Eight cities—Antwerp, Cannes, Durban, Edmonton, Lausanne-Montreux, Seoul, Sydney, and Zurich—have joined Ottawa, The Hague, Geneva, and Prague in the Hybrid City Alliance. Launched in December 2020, the Hybrid City Alliance brings together like-minded destinations to offer international meeting planners a simple, streamlined, and transparent approach to engaging with multiple locations for hybrid and multi-city events.

Over the past few months, the Alliance has conducted a series of focus groups and discussions with a range of industry stakeholders (including event platforms and AV suppliers) to ensure it offers maximum value to buyers from around the world. Output from these discussions will include a white paper due for release in the coming weeks.

Ottawa Tourism has gathered info for meeting planners looking to organize hybrid events (a mix of in-person and virtual content).

TIAC Updates

Since the announcement of the pandemic over a year ago, the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) has been focused on ensuring your business survives and thrives. 

TIAC's 2021 Tourism Recovery Plan is in place and outlines the recommendations to supporting business solvency, championing safety, and keeping Canada globally competitive. 

Certification

The pandemic will impact gatherings for the coming months and years – with on-site staff playing a frontline role in monitoring, enforcing, and handling compliance with safety protocols and procedures.

Become certified, take the Event Leadership Institute's Pandemic On-Site Protocol course.

Special price for MPI Member $556 USD.

MPI's Independent and Small Business Owners (ISBO)

Are you a small business owner or thinking about starting your own business? Has the last year made you question how to keep your business moving or wondering if this is a good time to get started on your next journey of starting a small business? Consider joining the ISBO online community.

The community is a place for freelance and independent meeting planners, entrepreneurs, and small business owners to exchange ideas and share information with peers. The ISBO community has three communities: Education, Community Engagement and Long-Range Planning. 

Questions about the ISBO? Reach out to chapter advisory board member: 

Devon Binder, CMM, CMP, DES (Devon Binder | LinkedIn) Devon@reddooralliances.com 
or
Ciara Feely (Ciara Feely | LinkedIn)
ciara@ciarafeely.com

Upcoming Industry Events

Find out more about our upcoming Chapter events

The Community Engagement Committee is offering complimentary monthly CommuniTEAs for independent small business owners. These very casual online meet-ups have been designed for the small business owner or potential business owner by the engagement committee to connect the community, listen to each other's questions, share knowledge, and build a support structure. Learn more about the CommuniTEAs.

MPI OTTAWA MONTHLY DIY’s

DIYs are BACK! 💥

Looking to connect with fellow event industry peers? Catch up on the latest industry news, share recent virtual event wins, take-aways? ...Well we have you covered!

📅 Join us Thursday, May 13^th on zoom from 4-5pm (EST) to take part in the popular virtual DIYs!

👍Open to both members and non-members
💸FREE to attend
✨Attendance by drop in & no registration required.
❌no formal schedule or presentations
✔️ simply catch up with friends and share some laughs and support.

RSVP to this month's Facebook event
Or create your own calendar reminder

Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85768705569
Meeting ID: 857 6870 5569

We hope to see you there! #EventProfs #VirtualEvents #MeetingProfs

 Article written by Elodie Lortal, National Arts Centre

Article edited by Cynthia Beaudin, Canada Foundation for Innovation