Meetings, "green" events, conventions, and retreats represent a $95 billion dollar industry that continues to grow. Despite the cut-backs that many businesses are facing, they will still be in need of professionals who can create an exciting and memorable experience.
A Professional Meeting and Event Planner is much more than the 'wedding or party planner' of the last century. The Professional Meeting and Event Planner must be aware of current trends, cost-effective resources, and customer service strategies to stay competitive and grow their business, or to be a partner in their organization's vision and goals.
The modules in this program will get you there. Taught by professionals in the field, each class will cover the basics you will need to work in the industry. Field trips to local hotels, interaction with staff, and real-world projects are a part of what makes this program invaluable to the Meeting Planning Professional.
Who Should Attend?
- Those with responsibilities for meeting planning and event organizing for their company, organization, etc.
- Those in the hospitality and tourism field looking for additional knowledge and skill sets
- Meeting Planning Professionals who want to update their skills and gain a competitive edge
- Individuals making a career change and considering becoming a Meeting and Event Planner
You Will Learn:
- Invaluable information about career opportuinties in meeting planning and related fields
- Specific skills and knowledge that are crucial to professional meeting planners
- The logistics to create a successful event from idea creation through implementation
How Do I Complete the Certificate?
- Complete all 10 modules (10 class meetings).
- Complete all class projects.
- To receive the certificate in the current semester, no class meeting may be missed.
- To complete the certificate in the following semester absences may be made up at a fee of $50 per class, subject to program availability.
Program Coordinator:
Marjorie Risinger, CMP, Professional Meeting Consultant. She is past president of Meeting Professionals International, as well as having received its "Planner of the Year" and "Lifetime Achievement” Awards. She has planned meetings for associations, corporations and non-profit groups for over the 30 years, from high budget events to those on a shoe string with long term and short term clients. She is instrumental in a series of Basic Meeting Planning Seminars for Meeting Planners International, Southern CA chapter and is a Platinum Speaker for MPI. She has written for many industry magazines and is consulting with several clients while traveling the country with numerous Food and Beverage topics.
Instructors:
Carroll Reuben, Has more than three decades of experience as a corporate and association event director. Specializing in high technology events and trade shows, she has produced conferences that required complex computer network infrastructures as well as a highly technical curriculum. Recognized for her easy-to-understand approach to event management, her presentations provide a straightforward approach to budgeting, speaker administration and management reporting. She received the MPI Global Paragon Award for the Best Meetings in 2000.
Warren Tash, Account Executive, AV Concepts, a national provider of technically skilled technicians and audio-visual rental equipment. As an industry professional, he has provided technical staging, video, audio, and lighting support services for high profile clientele: NASA-DFRC, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal, Fox and Disney Studios and television, E3/press conferences, Merrill Lynch, the Grammy Awards press area, USC, UCLA, Skechers USA and many others. He recently implemented the Planning & Technical design for Sony/Ericsson cellular picturephone launch, Nokia's ENGAGE smart phone and various Microsoft developers conferences.
Gary Rosenberg, A freelance meeting professional and former principal of Rosenberg and Risinger. He served as Director of Business Affairs for Billboard Publications, Inc. overseeing their Conference Bureau which organized seven Conferences each year for various areas of the Home Entertainment Industry. He works as an independent meeting planner for numerous organizations, also presenting at meetings and industry conferences. He is Past President of the Southern California Chapter of Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and served as President of the Southwest and Pacific Chapter of the Professional Convention Management Association. He has been awarded MPI’s Meeting Planner of the Year and was further honored by his Chapter with their Lifetime Achievement Award and the establishment of a scholarship in his name.
Ilene Reinhart, DMCP, CMP Has been involved in the meeting management and special events industry since 1977. Her experience includes managing programs for a large consumer electronics firm and a local CVB, to a small multi-association management company. The bulk of her career has been spent in destination management where she has been involved in countless corporate events, including the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, Super Bowls and the World Cup. Ilene served as Chapter Past President, Meeting Professionals International (MPI); Past President, Association of Destination Management Executives (ADME), and is ADME’s representative on the Certified Meeting Professionals (CMP) Board. She received the Lifetime Achievement Award from MPISCC in 1999 and was named ADME 2009 Destination Management Professional of the Year.
Margaret Develey, MBA, CMP, Director of Catering, Crowne Plaza Redondo Beach. She has over 20 years of managerial Food and Beverage hotel experience. She started her career with the InterContinental Hotels in Europe and the United States. Author of IMPRESS The Pocket Guide to Business Protocol and Dining Etiquette.
Haley Powers, CMP, Principal of InSiteful Meeting Planners, a professional site selection research firm that researches meeting sites for professional meeting planners within corporations and associations. She was a Meeting Professionals International So CA Chapter Leader of the Year 2005-2006 and Meeting Professionals International So CA Chapter President Award Recipient 2006-2007.
6 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) will be provided upon request as a permanent record of one's attendance, if requested by the last class meeting.
Introduction to Meeting Planning: Meeting Design and Program Planning
Topics Include:
- How to get started as a meeting professional
- Job opportunities
- Setting goals and objectives, timelines, meeting design, selecting speakers, and the registration process
Site Selection and Inspection
Topics Include:
- Selecting a venue well-suited to your group's needs
- How to design a RFP
- Extending your resources
- Understanding convention and visitors bureaus
Negotiation, Contracts, and Liability
Topics Include:
- Hotel profit centers
- What is really negotiable
- Contract clauses, liability, and insurance issues
Food and Beverage Management: Menu Selection and Room Set-Ups
Topics Include:
- Working within the established budget
- How to choose appetizing menu selections
- Healhy menu choices; working with menu restrictions
- Determining guarantees and room specifications
Financial Program Management: Developing a Budget
Topics Include:
- How to establish a budget
- Defining cost centers
- Determining break-even points and setting registration fees
- Cost-saving measures and where additional funding may be acquired
Special Event Management
Topics Include:
- Planning and management issues
- Themes and creative ideas
- Available resources and contracts
Communication Media: Audio Visual for Meeting and Events
Topics Include:
- Audio visual components and preventing unwanted disasters
- Operation of audio visual equipment and utilization
- Multimedia and special effects
Weddings: Planning, Coordination, and Delivery
Topics Include:
- Overall concept and vision
- Finance and budgets
- Vendor relationships
- Organization, timelines, and delivery
- Trust, stress, and your attitude
Marketing and Promoting an Event
Topics Include:
- Advertising resources
- Publicity and media coverage
- Creative design and direct mail techniques
Working for a Hotel: The Inside Story
Topics Include:
- Working with hotel staff
- Calendars, timelines, and deadlines
- Working with clients
- Troubleshooting
Note
The individual course Event Planning:Starting Your Own Business will be offered on December 5th. Please see the Business and Management; Individual Courses section for complete class information. Certificate participants will receive a 30% discount on the class.
