MJMeetings Plans “Destination Celebration” Event In Kansas City!

Last Thursday, April 16, 2015, was North American Meetings Industry Day (NAMID) – an initiative by the Meetings Mean Business Coalition to raise awareness about the incredible value that meetings, travel and events bring to the U.S. economy.

I was fortunate to be the professional planner for the Greater Kansas City area’s NAMID event titled, “Destination Celebration” which brought together representatives from over 40 destinations across North America and nearly 100 meeting professionals from around the region.

Attendees networked and engaged with the destination representatives to learn about their cities meeting offerings and network together for best practice sharing.

Working closely with co-chairs David Kinney, Director of Midwest Sales for the Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau and Lisa Lopez, Director of Sales for NYC & Co, we set out to create an event that not only allowed for a great business exchange and rich networking, but also one that was fun.

We began with a goal to have 20 destination representatives and roughly 50 meeting professionals and, in just two months, grew it to double that size!

We selected a wonderful venue, Studio Dan Meiners, in downtown Kansas City which offered a unique and eye-catching space.

We then filled it with excellent food by delish! catering, springy floral by Dan Meiners and fun enhancements like a photo booth from Photos Booths & More where attendees held up a blackboard proclaiming what “Meetings Mean” to them.

It was a wonderful way to celebrate the first annual NAMID. We already have plans in the works to make this an annual event in Kansas City each year and are excited to build on the success we had with this year’s event.

Thank you to everyone who attended and all the destinations who participated!

Oh, and you can see even more great pictures from the event here: Destination Celebration – April 2015 – Kansas City