The President’s Blog

Its Monday night, and I have been here since Friday.  The weather has been near 80 daily with just a touch of rain today.  All the sessions have been informative and helpful.  The Chapter Leadership Forum on Saturday afternoon, was very cool as usual as we had a great chance to interact with fellow chapter board members from all over the world. I snagged a few good ideas for us, and shared our Arizona SUCCESSES as much as I could.  A good time is being  had by all our Az Chapter Attendees,  More to report on later  :  )

Its time to check whats happening away from the Valley of the Sun in the world of MPI.  I leave Friday for MPI Intenational’s winter Meet Different Conference in Cancun Mexico.  About 10 of us representing our Arizona Chapter will be on hand with about 1000 other members from around the world,  It should be a fun time with plenty of learing I can bring back to share. I will surely shoot some pictures and a few video clips.

Upon returning to our lovely desert gound, I depart the next day (yikes) for Malaga Spain for MPI European Meetings and Events Conference in Malaga Spain, Feb 26 Thru March 3rd. We are one of the few chapters to budget and send a represntative to this conference, and I plan on taking full advantage of making contacts and and attending sessions to get a sense of whats cutting edge for you to know. I will even try to report daily as much as I can right here on the blog. Wish me luck !   Mike

Thanksgiving is upon us! Here are a few things AZMPI and I are thankful for in 2009!

• We thank a very committed Board of Directors who make AZMPI run like a finely tuned DeLorean, (sorry I couldn’t resist).

• We thank a very talented slate of speakers who have given very freely of themselves to train and educate our attendees and add true value to our MPI memberships.

• We cherish our Chapter Business Manager Holly Duckworth and Facilitator Rick Weaver, both who assisted our leadership team in developing our business plan last June, and who will come back to “check under our hood” in January. Thank you for guiding and supporting us.

• We appreciate our wonderful property sponsors who open their venues to AZMPI with such fantastic meeting space, expert audio visual support, tasty food and beverage, and of course great service. You serve MPI well and make us look good, no great! Our valued suppliers and their “in kind” sponsorships give more than most any other chapter in the world. We share this fact with MPI International on a regular basis.

• We respect the sacrifice and time commitment that members from outside the Valley exhibit to come to our events from all over the state on a regular basis. We try to come out to you at times, but you clearly do the heavy lifting and driving to cash in on your MPI experience, and we appreciate the efforts you make to join us.

• We applaud MPI President and CEO Bruce Macmillan for his vision and support of our industry in a time when it’s needed more than ever. As our economy turns the corner and is on the way back up, we thank you Bruce for putting “The Business of Meetings” in perspective as you let the world know how important our industry is to the US and world economies.

• We thank all my fellow chapter presidents that I interact with and learn from on a regular basis for their shoulders to lean on and best practices they share. Robbi Hogan from Utah and Chrissy Ward from Chicago come to mind as key “buddies.”

• We truly value our own Past Chapter Presidents who have been there for me with valuable advice and support when certain situations demand a chat on the “Presidential Hotline”. Thanks to Deborah Gardner, LoriAnn Harnish, Kathi Overkamp, Bart Lasner, Jamie Cook, Tara Thain, Cathy Clifton, Cara Tracy, Linda Ruby, Kathy McCarthy, Karolyn Kiburz , Mary Menard, & Kate Christensen to name the past 13, and further back to still-active Bobette Gordon, Anne King, Ed Scannell, Bill Johnson (and of course our beloved Jim Fausel who left us last year). You ALL are to be thanked for your support and continued service to AZMPI. No one can give a chapter President better advice than a Past President.

• We look forward to and enjoy the National MPI events to further educate and connect us to our industry and fellow members from around the world. Thanks to Salt Lake City last July, Cancun Mexico next February, and Malaga Spain also in February for rolling out the red carpet for our members.

• We owe so much to the Executive Team for their talent and dedication that truly keep AZMPI afloat. Past President - Deborah Gardner, President Elect - Laura Scheller, VP of Education - Jennifer Castro, VP of Communications - Michelle Fulcher, VP of Finance - Mark McMinn, and VP of Membership - Beth Longnaker. The rubber meets the road with you six talented Individuals as you lead your directors and chairs in making our MPI dreams a reality. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

• We thank the entire membership for their continued support and willingness to belong to our Arizona Chapter of Meeting Professionals International. In tough times, you cherish your fellow members just a bit more. Those who write that $300+ membership check, sponsorship check or in-kind donation are truly putting their money where their mouths are. Kudos for the time commitment put forth on our chapter’s behalf. Thank you all for what you do for AZMPI, and it’s hoped you find value in what you receive.

• We all love, and in unison, let’s give a big group hug to Joanne Winter, our Executive Director who lives, breathes and bleeds AZMPI 24/7. I always say she is the glue that holds it together. Thank you from the whole team in making us look good and doing the behind-the-scenes magic to make the day-to-day logistics of our chapter look easy, seamless and on track. Turkey and stuffing are very good, but with Joanne at your side, it is truly a Happy Thanksgiving.

Team, on to December we go, with a great “Heavenly Holiday Paw-ty,” on Tuesday, Dec. 15th, at the Hotel Valley Ho (see azmpi.org for details); and a fresh slate of programs coming your way starting in January. I look forward to a fantastic 2010.

Thanks again for your loyalty to MPI. Never be shy to call or write!

Mike Stawiasrki Presenting Randy Breen his Rock Star Award

Ok , instead of Back to the Future, Can we call this Back to the Blog? Um No !

I’ve never thought a whole lot about blogging, but was told recently in a training class that it is the number one way to increase your website’s visibility and ranking within the world of  search engines.  So if that type of thing is important to you? hmm, ( I am by the way an AV Geek , NOT a computer Geek  :  )  Then Blog away AZMPI, we need some nice rankings.

On the serious side, The President’s Blog is an excellent way for the President to put out timely and quick thoughts to the membership, and get equally quick comments back from members who need and crave the immediacy of it all.  We will all need to be “Trained Up” on what it means to be true bloggers, and am hoping we can involve more members in this area, along with our entries in Facebook, Twitter and  LinkedIn.

This next paragraph was so well written by Deborah, I don’t dare delete it.

Generally speaking (though there are exceptions), many blogs tend to have a few things in common just like all of us do too. We may start using this area by sharing industry news, ideas, articles, travel tips, stories and even if you want a good recipe for your upcoming weekend bar-b-que party. Ok, maybe not that extreme, unless you’re hungry-ha!  ( Well Said Ms. Past Pres !)

Alright my  MPI friends, Lets put on our  Blogging Groove and start some discussions and Sharing!  Shall I beg or ask nicely.

Back to the Future or Bust
Michael Stawiarski
2009-10 President
MPI Arizona Sunbelt Chapter